
Manipulation Bob Carroll,Marlee Cooper, and Matt Smederovac
EVERYTHING we see, hear, or read in the media is manipulated. • Cameras, microphones and computers (typewriters for the old folk) do not occur in nature. • By using these tools and making conscious decisions about how they are used, we are manipulating the outcome – the final product that will be seen or heard by the public. In this world a man must either be an anvil or hammer. ~ Henry W. Longfellow
Define • Dictionary.com • To manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner • To adapt or change to suit one’s purpose or advantage • Dictionary • “exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage” Political Media Emotional Organizational Interpersonal
Manipulation • . “Interestingly, in the wake of real or perceived manipulation (no matter the circumstance or environment), a pit typically forms in the stomach, the throat constricts and the face flushes, as if to reinstate our humanity physically for all to see” (Bugeja, 2008).
Theory • Agenda Setting Theory • Framing • Cultivation/Echo Chamber (form vs. material experience) • Rhetoric • Looking glass self • Uncertainty Reduction Theory • Information Manipulation Theory
Cooperative Principle(Grice) • Expectation of Predictable Behavior • Quantity • Quality • Relation • Manner
Information Manipulation Theory(McCornack) • Covert Violation of Predictable Behavior • Quantity • Quality • Relation • Manner
Lie Types • Metts • Falsification • Distortion • Omission • Turner et al. • Concealment • Relevance • Diversion • Bavelas et al. • Message equivocality
Different Media: Different Expectations • Entertainment • Marketing/Advertisement • Opinion/Editorial • News • High • Medium • Medium • Low
News • Framing – can never be avoided. • Verbal • Visual • Editing – Context • I hate Bloomington and wish I had never run for Mayor. • I don’t ever want anyone to say that (long pause) I hate Bloomington and wish I had never run for Mayor.
News • Staging – Moving things or people to get a different representation of what happened. Asking people to re-enact. 1978 ABC News Exploding Pinto
Email and Social Media • More personal • What is the sender/receiver relationship? • Friend • Public Figure • News Agency
Thoughts…. How have you been manipulated today? How have you manipulated others today? Where do you draw your personal lines? Positives? Future Implications