"The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures" Written by Neil Postman and Steve Powers

     In this article Neil Postman and Steve Powers talk about the different types of language and the different types of pictures used in television. One type of Pictures used in television is moving pictures, this type is something that goes into depth, and for instance, it has sound and motions. A stationary picture is just a picture with no sound or motion. It is something that is just captured by a camera.  Each of these kinds of pictures all holds a certain language. The language is how we take the picture, what we describe it as and how we view it. Postman and Powers describe how each of these images effects television and the people behind it and the differences between journalist and anchorman.  They have examined all the different types and broken them down so the reader can understand them.

     Although journalists do take time to get every aspect of the story and make sure that they understand it before broadcasting it on television for millions of viewer to see. It is important that the anchorman do the same as well. It would be terrible to set down and watch the news and see that someone did not get the story correct. With those millions of people watching as well, it would seem as if they did not take the time to get the correct details. The News is something that everyone seems to watch and critique differently, details, pictures and the language (how it is stated) needs to be set.

This article can be found in the following Book: Pop Perspectives: Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture, Located on pages 482-489.

Postman, N., Powers, S., & Gray-Rosendale, L. (2008). "The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures". Pop Perspectives: Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.