Is Fake News the Real News?

In Canada, new things happen all around us every day. In order to keep up to date on what is happening in our city, most individuals turn to news casts. Some television shows such as The Daily Report and The Rick Mercer Report are not regular news broadcasts. These shows tend to act as a fake news programs. These shows rely on comedy in recent news stories and political figures to deliver the news. The question is, are satirical news reports a mainstream form of culture jamming? In the text, it is explained that “the objectives of culture jamming often include consciousness raising (raising awareness of social and political issues) as well as using the media to criticize and dominant culture” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012, pg. 214). Based on this quote in our textbook, I believe that satirical news reporting is a mainstream form of culture jamming. Though these television shows may not be entirely focused on explaining what has happened in current events, they are bringing awareness to the situation. Culture jamming is described as raising awareness of social and political issues, but “it can also reference a more playful, spontaneous form of improvising and engaging with the media, as when musicians jam together” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012, pg. 213). By using humour to explain current events, this not only brings popularity to the television show but it also brings awareness to those who do not enjoy watching the news. Comedy is liked by many societies because it can give you a good laugh and make you feel good about yourself. These points above prove that satirical news reports are a mainstream form of culture jamming in our society.

                I agree with the notion that reportage such as this are useful to the public sphere. The public sphere is where we discuss and debate issues of social concern. Satirical news gives individuals a new perspective of current events. This gives us a diversity of opinion which can be useful in our culture. Instead of only watching news casts that give one sided opinions, we are able to see the events through a different light. These reports may bring more awareness to the public sphere because instead of only noticing the negatives in news reports, we are able to laugh at the humour of the situations.

O'Shaugnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society (Fifth ed., pp. 184-185). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.