Progressive Era - Blog Post #7

 Mainstream Media Affect

Mainstream news media today only puts out and shows you information that they want you to see and hear so that you form opinions and beliefs that align with their opinions and beliefs. The media hides stories, ideas, and beliefs that are unacceptable, unfavorable and radical because the media is trying make you think and act a certain way. I have never heard of the two websites: ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative which definitely has a lot to do with how unfavorable the media deems the opinions on these two websites are. The writers on these two websites voice their opinions which completely goes against what the media believes. The media doesn’t believe in anybody’s opinion or that anybody should have an opinion but the one that they put out to the public. A lot of the time mainstream media hides these websites so that the ideas, beliefs, perspectives, and opinions from people on these websites doesn’t shine to light, and instead stays hidden because the last thing mainstream media wants is for people to start supporting the ideas, beliefs, perspectives, and opinions form these websites because the media wants people to only support what what they are sharing to the world. 

Overton Window

A lot of the ideas and opinions that those hidden websites are writing about fall outside of the Overton window which is a scale that deems government polices are either acceptable or unfavorable and radical. Ideas that fall within the Overton window are acceptable ideas, beliefs, and opinions to society and this is what mainstream media puts out to the public is things that fall within the Overton window. The beliefs, perspectives, and opinions that are written on these hidden websites are outside of the Overton window as society deems them unfavorable which is another reason why these websites are hidden, and not talked about. In this instance, antiwar is deemed unfavorable and unacceptable in society so that idea falls outside of the Overton window meaning these sites are not going to be easily accessed because this goes against the belief of society. If antiwar was an idea that was seen as acceptable in society then these sites would not be hidden, and would instead be showcased most likely to the public and media.