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Media and Claims
Name
Professor
Institution
Course
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The phrase "social problem" is commonly understood to relate to societal situations
disturbing or damaging society, such as racism, crime, and similar issues. The term "Social
Problems" refers to a first-year seminar that is presented at several different schools and
universities. In a typical seminar, students examine what can be learned about various
circumstances categorized as social problems. In contrast, the sociology of social issues employs
a different analysis method and utilizes a different definition of a social problem. This method—
sometimes called constructionist in some circles—defines a social problem not in terms of a
specific situation but rather as a process. It focuses on how individuals learn to comprehend that
certain situations ought to be considered a social issue or how they socially create social
problems; in other words, how people realize that certain conditions ought to be viewed as a
social problem.
In most instances, addressing social problems begins with claimsmakers who contend
that a given situation should be treated as a concern, that this problem should be understood in a
particular manner, and that it needs to be addressed (Best, 2017). Other people respond to these
claims and change them, which means that the social issue is built and put back together again by
the media, politicians, the general public, people who work on social problems and make policy,
and critics who look at how well the policy works. The procedure is more difficult because some
claims elicit an immediate reaction while others need assistance drawing in an audience. At the
other end of the spectrum, it is conceivable to regard all assertions regarding social issues as
truthful, factual, and accurate.
The constructionist theory of social problem-solving may be helpful in this situation.
Thinking about social issues as a process benefits from the realization that claims must be
presented convincingly in the social problems sector, where claim-makers compete to be heard to
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bring their claims to the notice of the media, the public, and politicians. This notion suggests that
claim-makers must compete to be heard in the market for social issues to get the media to cover
their claims (Best, 2017). We should pay special attention to the construction of the issue, the
language used to make claims, who is expressing which claims, and other factors. We can find
intriguing questions about a group of claims if we take a constructionist position and adopt this
posture (Best, 2017). However, constructionism is incapable of informing you which
circumstances really should be important to us. This is because individuals have their own set of
values and sense of what is or is not bothersome, what needs to change, and what kinds of
adjustments are required.
The first example of how the module's content relates to real-world issues comes from
Daniel Trilling's article, "How the Media Contributed to the Migrant Crisis," published in the
module. The person making the assertion contends that reporting on disasters contributes to
preconceived notions about people living 'over there.' When did people realize that the word
"migrant" started to gain prominence over the numerous other labels used for persons on the
move? This is the first allegation that is made (Trilling, 2019). The news media were able to do
the fundamental duty they are tasked with in times of crisis: explain what is occurring, who is
impacted, and what is required the most. This was successful in all of these cases. However,
there is typically more to this than just reciting a list of facts and statistics. "Human tales" are the
most valuable to journalists, even though "human stories" is an unusual concept when you stop
to think about it.
The second illustration can be found in the article "Impartial journalism is laudable. But
false balance is dangerous" by David Robert Grimes. When the evidence is unmistakable, the
concept that ethical journalism necessitates the treatment of diametrically opposite perspectives
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as equally genuine is not true. Grimes contends that objectivity is necessary to the practice of
responsible journalism and that the avoidance of bias is something that reputable news
organizations take great satisfaction in (Grimes, 2016). This should be appreciated since robust
debate is required for a thriving media ecosystem and, by extension, an informed society.
However, presenting both "sides" equally may result in deceptive coverage, which can lead to
societal issues if done in the face of adverse scientific evidence that points incontestably in one
way. Covering both "sides" equally can also result in coverage that is not accurate. The British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has recently started teaching reporters how to avoid false
equivalence and explain complicated and controversial scientific facts, which is good.
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References
Best, J. (2017). Social problems (3rd ed.). W.W. Norton & Company.
Grimes, D. R. (2016, November 8). Impartial journalism is laudable. But false balance is
dangerous. The Guardian; The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/nov/08/impartial-journalism-is-
laudable-but-false-balance-is-dangerous
Trilling, D. (2019, August). How the media contributed to the migrant crisis. The Guardian; The
Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/01/media-framed-migrant-crisis-
disaster-reporting
