Insomnia

Lines

The Germans do a real good job at doing most things right. One exception is lines, waiting in lines that is. When you are waiting at the bus stop and the bus arrives, everyone clusters together right in front of the doors as to make it extremely difficult for the passengers to exit. It's quite silly I think. The best word to describe this would be a clusterfuck. Moving on from this inefficient technique is waiting in line in a store. Say there is only one checker open in a store that has the equipment for two. The line is really long in the only line available. Then, all of a sudden, as if it were magic, a second checker arrives at the second checking station. One would think that the new line would follow the order of the second half of the long line, or at least maintain some sort of order in respect to the original line. What happens instead, if you're not paying attention, is you end up in the back of the new line even though logically you would be first. The second half of the first line stampedes to get there chance to save themselves a minute of time, leaving others in the dust. I haven't yet figured out the logic behind the German line ideology, for now I just watch and have a little laugh to myself because in all honesty it's trivial.

The Framing of News through the Channel of Domestic Culture

When one watches two newscasts that cover the same news, but are broadcasted from different cultures, many questions are raised. How are the cultural norms and perceptions reflected? Who influences who? Does culture influence the newscast or is it the other way around? And is this news an accepted representation of the culture from which it was birthed?

                The two broadcasting stations under analysis are the Tageschau from Germay and the nightly news from NBC. Similarities and differences will be examined through the scope of the above questions. Some may seem obvious while others may surprise the reader because once revealed, the channels through which the newscasters frame their news will become apparent.

                To tackle the question of how cultural norms and perceptions are domestically reflected in news, one must first understand the cultural norms under analysis. In America, television must hold the viewer’s attention because we yearn for entertainment. The newscasters understand this and give a brief overview of what the program will offer the viewer. Additionally, background music and flashy special effects are incorporated to create an aesthetically pleasing setting. If something does not hold our interest, we will move on to the next more interesting thing. On the other hand, the Tageschau does nothing of this nature. The German people have a very straight forward culture and the news they are presented with is a visual cyberchild of their way of life and the world around them. When the Tageshau comes on, the news immediately starts and there is sternness to the speaker’s demeanor, complementing the cultural norms of the German people.

                Similarly, influence between newscasts and its cultural counterpart work hand in hand for the end result of how the news is framed. Germans are known to be an efficient people. The news from Germany’s end is influenced by this cultural understanding of efficiency and the news plays to that ideal. The flashiness and special effects are unnecessary in German news as it is in American news. Newscasters understand this psychological principle and implement this tactic to maintain a high viewer rating. If the way in which news was aired did not complement its domestic culture, the mass public would not take to what they are being presented.

                Though newscasters frame the news to complement the culture in which it is broadcasted, a question can be raised as to whether the news is a realistic representation of the culture. From an American’s subjective point of view the cultural framing used in the Tageschau appears to be a valid representation of the German culture. The news is straight to the point, serious, slightly grim, and even the tone of voice with which the speaker presents the information flows within a uniform tone of monotony.

On the other end of the spectrum, American news can also be a decent representation of its culture. The mood of the news is different than that of the Germans. Emotions are being infiltrated and a response, especially from the uneducated, is given with blind eyes. In America we sometimes worry about inconsequential things. For example, pertaining to the NBC news, a piece about a zoo keeper scaring a baby panda onto its back was thrown randomly into the program. Why was this? Some form of entertainment? A tactic to ease the viewer’s mind after a grim presentation of something happening in the world or even on our own soil? Perhaps it was just a cultural thing.

Ultimately, news is framed by the culture in which it comes from. German news must complement German culture as it is the same anywhere else in the world. If this was not done, the potential response from the viewer would not be nearly as well received. Looking back through this short writing I noticed that I implemented the American style into the introduction and also throughout the entire paper. Giving an overview and attempting to create interest to the reader before they got into the body of the writing. Additionally, writing in a certain way, being creative in the way I expressed ideas, similar to the special effects in the American news. I did not even notice I was doing this until half way through writing. I wonder… could this writing style be traced back to my culture?