Page 133 - Critical Theories of Mass Media

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118 Then
building (for example, the court building for a high-profile court
case), to photo-opportunists such as President Bush speaking to
the media upon an aircraft carrier.
+ Pseudo-events are easier to disseminate because they were designed to be
propagated and repeated: stemming from a combination of their
dramatic nature plus their circulation within a self-referential
media matrix within which ‘newsworthiness’ is defined by the
media itself, easy dissemination of pseudo-events becomes the
inevitable, self-justifying process of a system that is both the
gatekeeper for their prior identification and for subsequent
circulation. The formulaic nature and innate reproducibility of
news events adds to their potential for dissemination to contrib-
ute to a general environment of spectacle where pseudo-events
become the filler for round-the-clock news bulletins. The viewer
becomes quickly acclimatized to this new grammar of the society of
the spectacle – the pseudo-event.
+ Pseudo-events cost money: although rather an obvious statement, the
financial investment made in pseudo-events provides further
encouragement for their wide dispersal and repetition in order to
justify their expense by creating a return upon the investment –
hence yet more momentum for the dissemination of pseudo-events
is created.
+ Pseudo-events are designed to be easily intelligible: although desirable
in some senses, it is important to note that this is a particular
form of intelligibility peculiar to the media. Deeper levels of
meaning and sophistication are sacrificed for immediate accessi-
bility with media-friendly forms of communication such as the
soundbite. The depth to which the media’s pseudo-events penetrate
the wider social life is vividly illustrated in the way in which US
Presidential television debates now closely follow the form of a
quiz show. The previous political practice of ‘debating’ is rede-
fined into soundbites that better suit the television format –
carefully timed two-minute responses to questions of national and
global importance.
+ Pseudo-events are socially convenient: their intelligibility is thus
enhanced by the way in which they are packaged for our
consumption at the most appropriate and regular times. Thus,
for example, irrespective of world events on any given day there
is always enough news to fill the requisite half-hour long news
bulletins at a time to suit the viewers. In the first Gulf conflict,
for example, military actions were at least partially coordinated
with television news schedules rather than vice versa.

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