Media Reflection #2
The article I selected as a positive use of media for this week’s reflection comes from The New Yorker. Columnist Jelani Cobb discusses the reasoning behind Nike’s recent decision to make controversial quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” advertising campaigns.
What stands out in this article is that Cobb explains the reasons behind Nike’s decision to feature Kaepernick in a relatively balanced way. He examines the reactions of the advertisement’s supporters and detractors, giving both groups fair representation. This type of reporting gives the audience a good idea of how this issue impacts them. The Kaepernick situation began two years ago, and there has not been a week where the story has gone unmentioned by the national media. What Cobb does in his article is inform his readers about a situation that has divided the country from a new business perspective.
Instead of taking the traditional political route with this story, Cobb explains Nike’s decision in terms of business, which has not been emphasized enough on common social media sites like Twitter. This method of reporting exposes the reasons why Nike chose Kaepernick along with the reactions to the decision, instead of just the latter. This is relevant because a major company like Nike does not care about standing up for political justice, and if they do it is certainly not their primary concern. Cobb knows this, and he decides to explain the business side of the decision, which is Nike’s primary concern.
For my example of poor media, I went to Buzzfeed where I stumbled upon an article analyzing the reaction to a particular scene in Childish Gambino’s recent music video for his song “Feels Like Summer.” The BuzzFeed article discussed reactions and interpretations of a scene in the video that depicted a crying Kanye West wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat while being hugged by former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Reporter Tanya Chen goes through and explains several possible interpretations of what this scene in the video means, which is fine. But she goes through all these reactions and interpretations from various internet sources without mentioning the most important one: Childish Gambino’s. The only time Chen references it is at the very end of her piece saying, “BuzzFeed News has reached out to Gambino and his team about what his actual intentions and the scene’s meanings were.”
This is almost laughable that Chen would devote an entire article to a music video scene interpretation and barely even mention the original artist. I don’t care what @JayIsValid and @wasteofdevotion have to say on the issue. I want to read about what Childish Gambino has to say about his own music video. People can argue all they want about what the scene means, but in the end only one opinion matters, and Chen does not seem to understand that concept.
Another gripe I have with this piece is that the reporter does not consult any educated sources regarding the scene. Not being able to get the artist to comment is understandable. Many musicians refuse to comment on their own artistic choices to inspire more debate and intrigue over the work. But I would think that after realizing that Childish Gambino was not available for comment, Chen would seek out the opinions of music experts or high ranking people in the industry. The fact that Chen just cherrypicks random tweets makes any of the given interpretations lose credibility. Due to Chen’s lack of viable sources, the article lacks relevance, and no official interpretation can be put forward. This ultimately makes the article pointless.
Good Use of Media: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/behind-nikes-decision-to-stand-by-colin-kaepernick
Bad Use of Media: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/crticisms-of-criticms-of-childish-gambino-depicting