| 1 | [[quoteright:318:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strawman_news_media.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:318:[[BitingTheHandHumor Welcome to Fox News.]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"Welcome to'' [[UsefulNotes/NewsNetworks Fox News]] ''-- your voice for evil."'' |
| 5 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" |
| 6 | |
| 7 | In fiction, the news media will often be presented as less than impartial. The media outlet may churn out fluff pieces and slanted reporting praising the parent company or propaganda praising the government, and often LowestCommonDenominator trash designed to keep the 'sheeple' from thinking. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | They may be [[StrawCharacter heavily biased toward one end of the political spectrum]], with only [[FoxNewsLiberal token, ineffectual representation]] given to the other side. Which end, extreme conservative or extreme liberal, [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on]] the political views of [[AuthorTract the writer]]. Conspiracies are very likely to be involved. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Sometimes the media are given a shallow, even vapid, appearance. They are shown as caring more about celebrity hijinks, sensationalized violence and crime, and [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome missing white women]] than about things like wars, poverty, and corruption that are affecting far more lives. These news desks will be staffed by men and women who look like they came out of a fashion magazine rather than a journalism school. These are likely to display a bad case of WorstNewsJudgmentEver and simply [[NetworkDecay selling out for ratings]], and only say what people want to hear because people don't want to be told that they're living in a CrapsackWorld; they want to escape from everything. Or they will actively promote the idea that the world is a CrapsackWorld (because IfItBleedsItLeads), try their best to [[MediaScaremongering scare people]] into continuing to watch the news, and blame all the woes on political opponents. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Compare with PropagandaPiece. See also OldMediaAreEvil. Likely to be staffed by the FoxNewsLiberal and the PompousPoliticalPundit, and possibly an ImmoralJournalist. Can sadly be TruthInTelevision. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!Examples: |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 21 | * In one chapter of ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'' some journalists looking to make anti-interspecies romance propaganda erroneously assume that Legosi and Juno (who are both Gray Wolves, or at least appear that way. Legosi is actually 1/4 Komodo Dragon, though the amount of characters who aren't family that know this can be counted on one hand) are a couple and ask them to give their opinion on interspecies couples, expecting a negative response. Cue Juno grabbing the microphone and screaming like a lunatic about how she's madly in love with a red deer on national TV. |
| 22 | * The nation of Luzianna in ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' takes to censorship around the middle of the series to hide the fact that the war against the Moonrace is not going well at all. They don't menace journalists, though--rather, they happily buy up whatever articles or photographs they produce, and then decline to publish them anywhere. |
| 23 | [[/folder]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 26 | * ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': |
| 27 | ** Lexcorp has a media wing, with a news channel that, depending on the era, is called WLEX or [[AlphabetNewsNetwork LNN]]. He's also occasionally bought the Daily Planet to make a point, including one period when all the Planet staff were relocated to [=LexCom=], a multimedia website which Lois was disgusted to find "repackaged" the news rather than reporting it. |
| 28 | ** Galaxy Broadcasting isn't usually an example, even in the Bronze Age when Morgan Edge was replaced by an evil clone. In the early Post-Crisis era, however, Edge was known for unhinged editorials where he claimed that Superman was actually a robot. |
| 29 | * In the last issue of Ann Nocenti's ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' run, the Kingpin decides that if he can't force newspapers to run or not run the stories he wants, he will ''[[StartMyOwn start his own]]'' media empire. |
| 30 | -->'''Kingpin:''' What sells newspapers?\ |
| 31 | '''Underling:''' Crime... Tragedy... Violence...\ |
| 32 | '''Kingpin:''' Well then, we'll just have to start a war. |
| 33 | * The news show/comic "Around Cybertron" in ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass''. Every Autobot is forced to watch under penalty of death, and the news coverage alternates between slanderous anti-Decepticon propaganda, {{paparazzi}}-gathered stories, and IfItBleedsItLeads. |
| 34 | * Surprisingly largely averted by J. Jonah Jameson in the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' stories. While he is obviously biased by his stubborn hatred of superheroes, especially Spider-Man, Jameson otherwise has an impeccable reputation for being an honest and courageous journalist, whom even death threats by mobsters like ComicBook/TheKingpin cannot intimidate from exposing their villainy. Even with his bias against superheroes, he believes most of the stories he publishes slamming them to be true and will make retractions if shown otherwise. |
| 35 | * The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg. His lawyer wonders if it's wise to be criticising Justice Department policy, and he replies that in this specific case, opposing Justice Department policy ''is'' being pro-Judge. He goes on to blame Maitland's "weakness" for a riot in another sector entirely that she has no connection to, and which ''actually'' started when a pro-Judge movement ''riled up by Glenn News propaganda'' begins harassing a vigil for a woman who was wrongly killed by the Judges. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 39 | * When [[ComicBook/RoadToPerdition Max Allan Collins]] was writing ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' in TheSeventies, he introduced Wendy Wichell, a reporter who skewed every news story to make the police look like brutal thugs, and Tracy in particular. This was a bit of LeaningOnTheFourthWall TakeThat against MoralGuardians claiming the ''Dick Tracy'' comic is too violent. |
| 40 | [[/folder]] |
| 41 | |
| 42 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 43 | * There is a ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fic named ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8575642/1/ Cirno News Network]]'' where the first headline is '''MORIYA SUWAKO ABANDONS FAITHFUL!''' Here is an excerpt: |
| 44 | -->"Angry followers vent their frustrations, with one calling for a new goddess named Cirno to take over the current earth goddess. Others agreed and began chanting in unison. Slogans such as 'All hail Cirno the Strongest', 'Freeze the frogs' and 'Cirno for Goddess' were among the popular chants." |
| 45 | * In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''/''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:/''Borderlands''/''Halo'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, this trope is surprisingly averted given that the [[StateSec Republic Intelligence Service]] has utterly [[TyrantTakesTheHelm supplanted]] the normal civilian government, but they're perfectly content to ''let the media report everything'', from PokeThePoodle to [[ForScience mad science]] and even [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slavery]] to fuel aforementioned mad science. It's a bit of a XanatosGambit, if people see this as crossing the GodzillaThreshold they will support RISE; if people rebel the government has an excuse to crack down even more in the name of galactic security. |
| 46 | * The ''Fanfic/TriptychContinuum'' of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfics has Murdocks, a rare example of an anti-government Strawman News Media that seems to exist solely to criticize and disagree with anything the Diarchy says or does. [[note]]Similarities to Fox News, run by Rupert ''Murdoch'', and its relationship to President Barack Obama are probably not coincidental.[[/note]] There is also a more rarely seen pro-Diarchy media which is equally mindless in its support of the government. |
| 47 | * ''Fanfic/TheDevilsInTheDetails'': In "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741089 Excommunicado]]", Peter manages to undo Mysterio's attempt at pinning Peter for the attack on London by accusing the Daily Bugle of posting an altered video accusing him of being a terrorist without fact-checking, basically putting a target on a ''minor''. While Peter ''is'' Spider-Man, the various points he make are legit enough for suspicion to be thrown off of him and get the Daily Bugle in trouble. The fact that Peter still has the stubs to photographs he took of himself as Spider-Man at street level is only more damning on the Daily Bugle's part. By the time it goes to court, Matt paints J. Jonah Jameson as a psychopath taking out a personal grudge against Peter (who is, again, just a teenager) by accusing him of being a superpowered terrorist. |
| 48 | --> ''"Peter, I know you can hear me. You're scared, a scared child, a scared child that just got accused of being someone with a lot of very powerful enemies. I need you to be smart about it. And you are very fucking smart."'' |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 52 | * The Weather News Network in ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' has Sam's attempt to report on [[spoiler:the food storm]] is cut off by the head news anchor, due to her [[HollywoodHomely not being attractive enough]] to be on camera. |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 56 | * ''Film/{{France|2021}}'': Even if she places herself in some dangerous situations such as a war zone, France de Meurs (Creator/LeaSeydoux) cares more about her image and makes sure interviews last as little as possible so her face will be shown as much as possible and she talks with [[invoked]]{{padding}} most of the time, and she has some small actions staged to look good in her coverage. |
| 57 | * In ''Film/MeetJohnDoe'' and ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'', the media (and politics) are ruled by cigar-smoking fatcat businessmen who have politicians in their hip-pockets -- and even order the physical destruction of opposition-presses and suppression of opposition-speech, all the while staging agitations and rumor-mongering, giving them complete control over a sheep-like public. At the time ''Mr. Smith'' was released, however, it was considered [[TruthInTelevision very believable and topical]] because of the audience's then-recent experiences with Tammany Hall scandals. |
| 58 | * UBS in ''Film/{{Network}}'' dissolves its news division and rolls it into its entertainment division after Howard Beale's rants become a hit. Later, [[spoiler:they cross over to being controlled by a company's interests when they silence Beale after he delivers an angry rant protesting UBS' merger with a Saudi Arabian conglomerate. They then have him killed due to his show's ratings plummeting as a result of his muzzling]]. |
| 59 | * ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' has a corrupt corporation controlling the media as the BigBad. Elliot Carver, head of the Carver Media Group Network (CMGN), is trying to start a war between Britain and China in order to get exclusive broadcast rights in China. |
| 60 | * In ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'', Umbrella covers up the virus outbreak and uses its power to convince everybody that Raccoon City was destroyed went the reactor exploded. In addition to the media, the state's governor approves of Umbrella's actions. No mention is made of the people who escaped the city. WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture is used in reverse, the video showing the truth is declared a forgery. [[FridgeLogic Presumably, the millions of laypersons who are well aware that nuclear meltdowns do not cause the same kind of destruction as a nuclear bomb were all paid off somehow.]] |
| 61 | * The media in ''Film/VForVendetta'' is controlled by a totalitarian fascist government, and the "Voice of London" is an amped-up (British) version of a Fox News pundit, with plenty of social conservatism and nationalism. |
| 62 | * ''Film/NaturalBornKillers'' is a ruthless satire of the vapid presentation, with [[IfItBleedsItLeads the media's coverage]] of the [[OutlawCouple Bonnie and Clyde-esque]] {{Villain Protagonist}}s only giving them more attention and incentive to commit their crimes. |
| 63 | * ''Film/HisGirlFriday'' (like its original ''and'' its remake, both called ''The Front Page'') is a subversion, in that while it depicts the newspapers mainly as vapid, and pressmen as consistently willing to tell BlatantLies, it nevertheless suggests that the Press is the main instrument for securing justice from an over-powerful government. |
| 64 | * ''Film/MorningGlory'' is PlayedForLaughs, with much of the action focusing on (and mocking) a vapid TV morning talk show. |
| 65 | * ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'' depicts a future news media that has descended into an extremely vapid form, starting with the news anchors being a [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless hunk]] and a [[MsFanservice bikini model]]. |
| 66 | * In ''Film/TheChase1994'', every single news outlet in Southern California is vapid. One of the drinking game rules is drink whenever some reporter tells you their channel is the first to bring you ''any''thing about the chase. |
| 67 | * ''Film/BroadcastNews'' shows a bit of this. Notable is an early scene where Holly Hunter's character while addressing a conference of local TV newscasters, screens some of the vapid, fluffy clips that are presented as "news" in place of genuinely important stories... and the assembled anchors spontaneously applaud at the clips. |
| 68 | * The bad guys in Creator/AkiraKurosawa film ''Film/{{Scandal|1950}}'' are the sleazy gossip-mongers of a sleazy tabloid, who print scurrilous rumors without bothering to make sure they're true, and who then bribe lawyers after being sued for slander. |
| 69 | * The entire plot of ''Film/FiveStarFinal''. The ''Gazette'' is a trashy tabloid which does not hesitate to ruin a human life in order to sell more papers. Randall and his secretary Taylor are the only ones who even have a hint of conscience about exposing Nancy Townsend to public shame and destroying her life. |
| 70 | * In the first ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' films, J. Jonah Jameson again proves he is the exception and not the rule. When confronted with evidence that photos he published of Spider-Man committing criminal acts were faked, his first response is to fire the offending journalist and lament that, for the first time in 20 years, he will have to print a retraction. It's a subtle line, but it shows that as an editor, he is so dedicated to getting it right the first time, not even tiny slip-ups (like a mistyped data or typeod name) are allowed to go to print. He's just that good. |
| 71 | ** ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' [[spoiler:reveals in TheStinger that the MCU version of ''The Daily Bugle'' is a political talk show instead of a newspaper, still manned by J. Jonah Jameson (who is [[RoleReprise still portrayed by]] Creator/JKSimmons), who takes doctored footage of Mysterio's rampage and death (that puts the blame on Spider-Man) as gospel truth and in the space of a single minute turns all of New York against "the menace" once again. Talk about a SuddenDownerEnding.]] |
| 72 | * One of the DVD extras for ''Film/AntMan1'' features Scott Lang being interviewed by a news program concerning the vandalism that landed him in jail. Although he tries to explain away his reasonings (a demonstration against corporate corruption), it turns out that the news program is controlled by said corporation and so the interviewer makes every effort to ensure that the corporation remains above reproach. |
| 73 | * ''Film/HometownStory'' (notable today mostly because it is an early appearance of Marilyn Monroe) is essentially an entire film of this. A former senator returns home to run the town paper. Wanting to increase his popularity so that he can retake his Senate seat, he starts looking for a "cause" that he can champion. After failing to prove that the local factory is polluting the river (because it isn't), he starts running a daily opinion piece about the dangers of corporate profits run amok. Unfortunately, he completely ignores the real social and economic arguments on this issue and instead basically just asks "why should big companies make so much money?" This makes it easy for the local business tycoon (who owns the aforementioned factory) to show up and decimate him with a short speech about how "the real profits are all the benefits consumers get from these products." Then to drive the point home, the newspaper man's little sister is trapped by a cave-in, and the "big corporations" jump in to save her. |
| 74 | * In ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', the Federal Network reported on the (probably) coincidental asteroid strike as an attack on earth by the Arachnids on Clendatu. The disaster is twisted in such a way that makes it seem like the [[TheEmpire Terran]] [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Federation]] has no choice but to declare war on Klendathu. The Network also espouse anti-Arachnid propaganda, with one interviewee stating "the only good bug, is a dead bug!" and a mother [[EvilLaugh gleefully cheering]] as her children squish some insects on earth. The Network also glorifies the military, and is putting a very positive spin on how [[BugWar the invasion of Klendathu]] is [[ForeverWar quickly becoming a quagmire.]] |
| 75 | --> Would you like to know more? |
| 76 | * In ''Film/AprilShowers'', TV executive Helen Mann is shown to manipulate Jason (who has just survived a school shooting and seems to be developing PTSD) in service of getting a good story of a "hero". |
| 77 | * ''Film/BobRoberts'': Aside from [[IntrepidReporter Bugs]], all of the news media are easily manipulated or biased for Roberts, uncritically passing on his faked claims about his opponent and himself. |
| 78 | * ''Film/TheFamousFergusonCase'': All about yellow journalism, as a bunch of sleazy scandalmongering reporters descend on a small-town murder case. They basically fabriccate a story of the wife killing the husband, blowing up rumors and planting lies as they cajole/threaten the DA into filing charges. They're all sitting around and congratulating themselves over the looming conviction, when the one IntrepidReporter on the scene publishes his scoop, revealing that Mrs. Ferguson was innocent after all. |
| 79 | [[/folder]] |
| 80 | |
| 81 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 82 | * The classic example of media controlled by a tyrannical government: Creator/GeorgeOrwell's ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', where the government control was so intensive that they had an entire department devoted to altering historical records. Of course, one of the ''points'' of ''1984'' is that the Soviet government was and had been doing this for the past twenty years. |
| 83 | * The entire news media in ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' is portrayed in such a form. Their quest for ratings is partly responsible for the disaster at Yonkers, which starts the Great Panic. |
| 84 | * Another example of traditional media outlets failing during the zombie apocalypse comes from the ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'' trilogy. Television, news, and radio spent far too long denying the truth about the threat; meanwhile, the speed and ubiquity of bloggers made new media a far more effective means of spreading information. |
| 85 | * The ''Daily Prophet'' from the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series is such a mouthpiece for the Ministry of Magic that it seems quite happy to change its views whenever a new Minister comes to power. In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', they spew both bile and derogatory remarks towards Harry and Dumbledore, while in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', they back Voldemort's Nazi-esque dominion. In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', meanwhile, the paper touts Harry as TheChosenOne, conveniently 'forgetting' that they'd spent the previous year smearing him. When Hermione asks Rita Skeeter in ''Phoenix'' if the ''Prophet'' is in the business of saying whatever the Ministry tells its staff to report, Skeeter scathingly replies that they're in the business of [[MoneyDearBoy selling newspapers]]. |
| 86 | * ''Literature/AmericaTheBook'' contains a one-page TakeThat at the media for abdicating their responsibilities of fact-checking government processes in favor of ratings, pointing out how, when America was getting ready to invade Iraq, the media was covering the finale of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and the [[IfItBleedsItLeads Kobe Bryant rape case]]. It also mocks political cartoons like ''ComicStrip/MallardFillmore'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' for letting their politics get in the way of the humor. |
| 87 | * In Terry England's ''Literature/RewindTerryEngland'', the media goes nuts over the Rewound Children and proceeds to make their lives miserable. |
| 88 | * John Ringo tends to write extreme cases of this, typically complaining about the environmental impact of things when it makes no sense, like radiation from nuking a swarm of AlienSpaceLocusts. |
| 89 | * ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' has had some instances where she has to duck the press, due to their sensationalism. The one time she uses them, it's to terrify Pavel Young. |
| 90 | * In the ''Literature/{{Dexta}}'' series, all news outlets are run directly or indirectly by one of the Big Twelve [[MegaCorp megacorporations]]. This becomes a plot point when an editor quashes a news story that would damage one of the corporation's new business opportunities; while the IntrepidReporter who's covering it theoretically ''could'' blow the whistle to a rival, he'd never be able to work again. Nobody trusts a traitor, and there's no such thing as independent media in this 'verse. |
| 91 | * The military thriller ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', written by an ultraconservative author, treats the mainstream media mainly as the blindly loyal PropagandaMachine of the villainous Wall Street oligarchs and corrupt bipartisan consensus insiders. There are exceptions, but they tend to be more of the [[VoiceOfTheResistance underground media]] variety. |
| 92 | * The more of a celebrity the protagonist of the ''Literature/JessicaChrist'' series becomes, the more she grows to hate the press, most members of which seem to be out to make her look as bad as possible. It doesn't help that she gets easily flustered when interviewed and tends to provide a ton of statements that are easy to quote out of context - at one point, she [[EpicFail somehow managed]] to assure the reporter that she was [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial definitely not]] raising an army of TheUndead. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 96 | * Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirtyRock'', where Liz discovers that the nice local store she gets her jeans from was owned by Halliburton the whole time (and a dramatic {{Sting}} plays). She laments to Jack about how the news outlets let her down by not reporting this, and he responds that the New York Times are also owned by Halliburton (another {{Sting}} plays). She goes back to the store, and makes an impassioned speech about UsefulNotes/CheGuevara, only for the clerk to inform her that [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Che's grandfather was Domingo Halliburton]] [[RuleOfThree (cue the Sting)]]. |
| 97 | * ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'': The ''Hazzard County Gazette'', which naturally tilts all its news coverage to paint its publisher -- Boss Hogg, of course -- in the most positive light possible. The same is true for WHOGG radio, which is also controlled by Boss. |
| 98 | * ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Several episodes feature the local news media as vicious, bloodthirsty, ratings-seeking outlets who care more for getting the story first rather than accuracy. The primo numero uno example is "In God's Hands," where a news reporter continually reports (wrongly) that Trivette had fired his gun during a shootout (with a street gang) and one of his bullets had struck and critically wounded a six-year-old boy; the same reporter is seen harassing the family and hospital staff, and bungles key facts each night on the news as the investigation is ongoing. In the end, Trivette is cleared -- a bullet from one of the villains' guns had struck the boy -- but no on-air correction is ever shown. |
| 99 | * ''Series/Adam12'': Although it is implied that the police department and local media have a positive working relationship, one episode made a clear exception: "Good Cop – Handle With Care," where two rouge freelance journalists, Bowen and Gurney, harass Malloy and Reed as they try to go about their duties. Malloy has had past run-ins with reporters such as Bowen and Gurney (who are trying to sell a story to the papers about police brutality), but the rookie Reed is distracted and always looking over his shoulder. Things come to a head when Reed has trouble handling a drugged-out suspect (after he goes into a seizure) and an incriminating photo is published in the newspaper, and Malloy has trouble trying to convince Reed to ignore these guys and they'll go away. In the end, Bowen and Gurney show up as officers are chasing down armed robbery suspects and when they try to suggest to the crowd that Malloy and Reed were arresting innocent people, the distraction ends up causing one of the robbers to fire his gun, shooting an innocent man to death. |
| 100 | * ''Series/InTheHeatOfTheNight'': The Sparta Police Department and the city's newspaper, the ''Herald'', have a love-hate relationship, but Chief Gillespie and his officers work well with the newspaper to inform the public and have a grudging respect for each other. This relationship is seriously challenged when the ''Herald'' hires a young editor named Jethro Puller, whose style is sensationalist (to say the least) if not disrespectful and unethical. Things come to a head in the Season 4 episode "Perversions of Justice," when Puller way oversteps his boundaries and refuses to abide by ethics, good taste and presumption of innocence after he publishes a story about a teacher being accused of sexual misconduct with one of his students, even without criminal charges filed. This turns the entire town against the teacher, and even when evidence makes it clear the teacher is innocent and the case will be dropped, Puller is unrelenting ... even after the teacher commits suicide. Gillespie is pissed and has a talk with Puller, telling him he convicted the man without so much as a trial or even criminal charges. When Puller tries to justify his actions in that he has a right to harm a man's reputation just because he's the press (under the guise of "informing the public") ... and then suggesting he plans to do the same to Gillespie, the chief really blows his top: "I am legally obligated to suffer you and protect you, but I will surely fail in my duty unless I stay away from you ... '''''AND YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!'''''" Although Puller is seen in a later episode, it is implied that he didn't last long at the ''Herald'', as future seasons have different editors for the newspaper (and relations between the police department and ''Herald'' are healed). |
| 101 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': |
| 102 | ** [[spoiler:President Clark]] turned the news media into his mouthpiece after taking over Earth's government. |
| 103 | ** There is also an interesting inversion in which Sheridan convinces the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to accept White Stars policing their borders by pretending that the Voice of the Resistance is covering up some new, powerful invisible enemy, [[ParanoiaGambit using their own distrust and paranoia against them]]. |
| 104 | * ''Series/TheSentinel'': Reporters simply broadcast rumors without doing any research. In the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentinel_(TV_series)#Series_summary last episode]] the media reports on Jim's super-senses based solely on the previews from Blair's research doctorate. |
| 105 | * ''Series/CopRock'': The only concern of the media are the ratings. |
| 106 | * ''Series/MissionImpossible'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2uz3kxZQbU "The Play"]] a subversion is used. The premier of the PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny is willing to allow some freedom of speech and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl3UiuKCQMY parody]] of the government. The cultural minister is the person who censors all speech and prints propaganda. |
| 107 | * ''Series/{{Flash Gordon|2007}}'': Both of the [[http://flashgordon.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_110:_Conspiracy_Theory TV stations]] shown are obsessed with ratings and Dale's attempts to promote the value of integrity are ignored. |
| 108 | * In ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' a reporter refuses to do a negative story about the big company that owned her newspaper. |
| 109 | * The whole premise of ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' seems to revolve around Globelink being controlled by the big company. Sir Royston Merchant is seen only through his underling Gus Hedges and through some of his family members in later series, but exerts a powerful and, yes, sometimes egregious control on what Globelink can report or run. Most storylines actually end in defeat for the protagonists, sometimes merely giving in and shoving the hot story to the bottom of the pile, and sometimes being on the verge of a huge and annoying scoop but then damaging, wiping or recording over the tape accidentally, so that the evidence for their claims is vaporized. |
| 110 | * ''Series/LawAndOrder'' has done this many times: |
| 111 | ** The season 4 episode "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS4E1Sweeps Sweeps]]": The journalist manipulated someone into shooting his guest so that he could get better ratings. Based on daytime talk-show hosts, especially [[RippedFromTheHeadlines the Jenny Jones incident]] (although Jenny Jones didn't actually do this, of course). |
| 112 | ** "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS14E Embedded]]": A muckraking journalist who prided himself on exposing corruption was apparently shot by a US soldier after he gave away troop positions in a broadcast. The case is hampered when the federal government arrests the reporter and charges him with treason, and when new evidence emerges indicating that the reporter might have set it all up. [[RippedFromTheHeadlines Based on a similar controversy]] surrounding Geraldo Rivera's broadcasts in Afghanistan. |
| 113 | ** "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS17E5PublicServiceHomicide Public Service Homicide]]" featured a [[AssholeVictim pedophile being murdered]]. It turned out that the murderer (whom the pedophile had raped many years before) confronted him for a TV show (on victims confronting their abusers), and the investigation then examines whether or not the producer manipulated the whole thing. [[RippedFromTheHeadlines Based on]] Series/{{Dateline}} and the To Catch a Predator show. |
| 114 | ** "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS19E17AnchorsAway Anchors Away]]": The victim was a journalist who had been demoted to vapid journalism duty thanks to newsroom politics, and the two news anchors were similar as well. |
| 115 | * ''Series/WithoutATrace'': The episode "White Balance" (basically MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome: The Episode) features a TV reporter who's more than eager to do multiple interviews with a missing white teenage girl's mother. Jack constantly pesters him about reporting on the also missing black teenage boy, and he promises to do so ''after'' he gets his juicy special, then tries to leave without Jack noticing. While the reporter isn't the only one prioritizing the girl's case, it's repeatedly pointed out that it's a vicious circle: people see the story about the missing girl, they call the FBI with tips, which gives the team more leads, which means they need more manpower, which means they have to pull agents off the boy's case, which means they get ''more'' leads on the girl, which means they need more manpower.... |
| 116 | * ''Series/ColdCase'': One episode features the murder of a female news anchor who was investigating a factory whose employees were getting sick (she would have been among the first to publicly identify the link between asbestos and mesothelioma). Before this is revealed, the team and the victim's own mother criticize her for focusing on puff pieces instead of actual news. Then it turns out that the factory was a major donor to the news program and was having the story suppressed, in favor of a puff piece about their Halloween party. |
| 117 | * ''Series/EretzNehederet'': During the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, they produced [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHTNuBKtzHc this skit]] as well as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYUL1R4pupU this mock interview]] with the leader of Hamas, satirizing Creator/TheBBC's reporting on the war. The BBC reporters and newscasters [[{{Demonization}} believe anything bad must be Israel's fault]], and they twist themselves in knots [[TheoryTunnelVision trying to justify this view despite evidence to the contrary]]. When a recording of a Hamas operative outright says "it was us who bombed the hospital", the BBC says "I guess we'll never know the truth", even when the Hamas members repeatedly claim credit. |
| 118 | [[/folder]] |
| 119 | |
| 120 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 121 | * Music/GreenDay's ''American Idiot'' mentions 'one nation controlled by the media' in a negative light. |
| 122 | * Joe Jackson's ''Sunday Papers'', is an extended TakeThat! at the seedier end of the British Sunday newspaper market. |
| 123 | * Music/MichaelJackson, angry with how the mass media reported on his eccentricities and scandals, wrote several songs on the topic ("Tabloid Junkie", "Privacy", and the posthumously-released "Breaking News"); the video for "Leave Me Alone" is similar, though the song itself is not about the tabloids. |
| 124 | * Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" addresses the vapidity of television news. |
| 125 | -->We can do the innuendo\ |
| 126 | We can dance and sing\ |
| 127 | When all's said and done\ |
| 128 | We haven't told you a thing |
| 129 | * Ice T's song with Bodycount, "Now Sports" criticizes the news for its vapidity and indifference to human suffering: |
| 130 | -->This weekend,\ |
| 131 | Seventeen youths killed in gang homicides.\ |
| 132 | Now sports. |
| 133 | [[/folder]] |
| 134 | |
| 135 | %%[[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 136 | %%* ''The All American Report'' seems to be a straw man for "old school" wrestling "purists" who hate the modern independent circuit, although many of Ashley America's views about "tradition" are unfounded.[[/folder]] |
| 137 | %%It's not clear how "in-universe" this is. If it's a wrestling gimmick, it's probably fine, if it's a real news source, it probably comes under No Real Life Examples. |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 140 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' presents a variety of different in-universe newspapers. Some, like the Korranberg Chronicle, are bastions of reasonably ethical journalism that seem interested in a wide variety of stories and want to inform their readers. Others, like the papers known as the "Five Voices" (such as the Voice of Karrnath or Voice of Thrane), are ranting {{Propaganda Piece}}s so devoted to nationalistic chest-beating that if they were revealed to be quori plants intended to stoke paranoia, xenophobia, jingoism and violence nobody would be that surprised. The Voice of Thrane snippets include claims that any Brelish soldier could secretly worship the god of betrayal and ranting about warforged lacking souls, while the Voice of Breland has a lengthy article of conspiratorial fearmongering about Cyran refugees, as an illustration of how deeply yellow the journalism on display is. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 144 | * Reflecting Music/MichaelJackson's view of the press (see Music above), the Creator/CirqueDuSoleil show ''Theatre/MichaelJacksonONE'' has this trope serve as the primary antagonist -- the Tabloid Junkies are evil {{Paparazzi}} who harass the other characters and the audience, and are revealed to be servants of Mephisto (aka the {{Paparazzi}} Monster), a HumongousMecha. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 148 | * Hunter Helquist in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' works for the Hyperion Truth Network, and always badmouths your characters, as well as the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group run by the original Vault Hunters from the first game. No matter what happens during the story missions, he always paints you in a bad light while glorifying [[BigBad Handsome Jack]]. Fortunately, a sidequest is available later in the game that allows you to shut him up for good. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/DyztopiaPostHumanRPG'': |
| 150 | ** The ZNN only exists to parrot pro-Zeta propaganda. In her final bonding event, Eliza mentioned that although she was personally against the occupation of Vulcanite, Zazz and Akari forced her to write fluff pieces on both Zetacorp and the Church of Cycles (which they control) in order to excuse their terrible leadership. |
| 151 | ** To a lesser extent, Sho Sharker is a show host whose focus isn't only news, since he also has game shows and celebrity/politician interviews. However, he is in on Zeta's plan and like the ZNN, mainly exists as a mouthpiece for Zeta in order to make the people of Vulcanite more compliant. He doesn't seem to be very good at it, since his ratings are propped up by bots and most of the Vulcanite citizens see through his lies. |
| 152 | * USTV in ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'' is pure, unadulterated propaganda claiming that [[BlatantLies the situation in Empire City is fine]], and blatantly tries to cover up the very existence of Cole. |
| 153 | * In ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA IV]]'', Weazel News and WKTT have a conservative bias, [[Creator/{{NPR}} Public Liberty Radio]] is openly leftist, and ''Fizz!'' and [=OurOwnReality.com=] worship celebrities. |
| 154 | * In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', UNN is blatantly pro-Dominion. Kate Lockwell, one of its anchors, isn't but is constantly shut down by her boss Donny Vermillion. However, once it's proven that Mengsk was behind the Zerg invasion of Tarsonis in the first game, Donny has a complete breakdown on-camera (turns out he had a brother there), and the last he's heard of it involved him being found in nothing but his socks, a copy of Emperor Mengsk's manifesto, and a jar of peanut butter. |
| 155 | * The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games feature recurring [[ButtMonkey Designated Punching Bag]] Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani of Westerlund News, who makes a habit of flagging down [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] for an interview and barraging him/her with loaded questions. Each time you encounter her, the option is eventually presented [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential to lay her out with a right hook]]. The third time, however, she will [[TookALevelInBadass duck your punch and try to lay one on Shep in return]]. [[spoiler: Also in the third encounter, if you elect ''not'' to hit her, al-Jilani will break down in tears in fear and frustration over what is happening [[DoomedHometown on Earth]], and you can [[VideoGameCaringPotential win her over to your side.]]]] |
| 156 | * The various news sources in the ''Xtended'' GameMod for ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'' slide between being legitimate news sources, such as the multi-racial [=GalNet=] News and the [[HumansByAnyOtherName Argon Federation]]'s Interstellar Broadcast Corporation, to crazy nationalist sources like the [[LostColony Solara]] News Network (considers the Solaran military to be the [[BlatantLies most competent]], downplays corruption, Terrans are literally the devil, etc.) and the racist and hyper-isolationist [[PlanetTerra Terran]] Morning News (one article, for example, claims that the Kingdom Of [[StarfishAliens Boron]] may be descendants of Terran aquatic life and, [[InsaneTrollLogic therefore, are a Terran colony subject to Terran taxes]]). |
| 157 | * Raptor News Network (RNN) and its chief anchor Bob Barbas in ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' is the propaganda arm of Mundus' demonic empire, used to keep the human population docile through a mix of lies, banality and outright brainwashing as well as slandering any threats to their control, such as Dante. |
| 158 | * ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' has the Picus Group, a 24-hour global media conglomerate with a heavy anti-aug bias, who are eventually revealed to be controlled by The Illuminati to "spin the news" worldwide in their favor. [[spoiler:Midway through the game you raid their global headquarters, discovering a hidden base where their more blatant fabrications and manipulations are conducted and learning that their head anchor, Eliza Cassan, is actually an advanced Illuminati AI designed to monitor global communications and censor what they don't want people to hear.]] |
| 159 | * ''VideoGame/{{Suzerain}}'': |
| 160 | ** The Republic of Sordland is home to six fictional newspapers, each with very clear editorial lines and will comment on your actions and events throughout the game. ''The Holdsord Post'' is a mainstream conservative outlet, while ''The Lachaven Times'' is a more moderate, liberal rival. ''Sordland Today'' is owned by an oligarch, and its favorability towards you is dependent on how you treat him personally; it is possible to make it a mouthpiece for the government if you're friendly and supportive. ''The Radical'' is a anti-establishment leftist newspaper, while ''Ekonomists'' is strongly capitalist. The only news source that doesn't fit this trope is ''Geopolitico'', which reports on international relations and events without any obvious bias. |
| 161 | ** The Kingdom of Rizia is a more extreme example. The state manages all media content, and aside from the aforementioned ''Geopolitico'' there is just one national newspaper, ''The Royal Herald'', which is heavily supportive of the monarchy. If you choose to relax press censorship, a new newspaper, ''Voice of Rizia'', will pop up to provide an opposition voice. |
| 162 | [[/folder]] |
| 163 | |
| 164 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 165 | * ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' has The Kane Broadcasting Company is a television broadcasting corporation run by Percival James Kane, it has come into prominence with its massive smear campaign against Sonic. |
| 166 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': The Credomaran news, mostly represented by Frank Hannibal. Hannibal hides behind journalistic integrity, then intentionally tries to make the mercenaries look bad for ratings by editing the footage to the point of just flat-out making things up. He even helps spread a blatantly false story about the mercenaries infiltrating the station for weeks (they had only been there for a few days) and torturing residents. LOTA's second act as king of the station is to shut Hannibal down, hard. |
| 167 | -->'''LOTA:''' Now please stop pretending you are the voice of the people. You are simply loud, and wearing a microphone. |
| 168 | * ''Webcomic/LovelyPeople'': Journalists are mentioned to all be verified by the World Council. They are also heavily implied to be mouthpieces for World Council propaganda. |
| 169 | * ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' parodies this trope by having one show feature [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/punditry 'the angriest, dumbest person we could find']] to represent the opposing viewpoint. |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 173 | * ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' is a sympathetic example. Cecil is, aside from occasional moments of ambiguous sarcasm, always very positive about the viciously totalitarian city government. This is PlayedForLaughs most of the time, but once [[spoiler:[[MegaCorp StrexCorp]] takes over the town]] it gets increasingly obvious that what he's allowed to say is heavily censored, and he isn't happy about that. At one point, he gives the end of the episode from the ''roof'' because they cut his mic, [[CantStopTheSignal but he pirated the signal]] in order to continue talking about [[spoiler:[[LaResistance Tamika Flynn's rebellion]]]]. |
| 174 | * ''WebAnimation/FreedomToons'': ''The Echo Chamber'' hosted by Dr. Mac is an InUniverse news show with an extreme left-wing bias replete with {{Demonization}}, [[TheWarOnStraw Strawmanning]], LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics, and InsaneTrollLogic. |
| 175 | [[/folder]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 178 | * The ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' episode arc ''Hunter's Moon''. WVRN reporter John Carter frames up the title characters for the bombing of the police HQ's clock tower, [[PowderKegCrowd turning the public against them]]. Carter is really the Quarrymen leader John Canmore/John Castaway in disguise. He is one of the Canmore siblings who fired guided missiles at the Gargoyles, who were nested in the clock tower. |
| 179 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 180 | ** Most of the Springfield media depicted are corrupt and bereft of integrity. The portrayal of Fox News in Creator/{{Fox}} Broadcasting's flagship show is as biased and subordinate to evil tyrant Rupert Murdoch (who once voiced himself there, no less). |
| 181 | ** An entire episode -- the season 15 finale, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E22FraudcastNews Fraudcast News]]" -- centers on Mr. Burns' takeover of the local news media upon learning about published reports that had announced his death (he had been thought to have been killed in a landslide when Geezer Rock collapsed, only to have survived) and is outraged that he was being labeled as being a hateful man nobody liked and that the destruction of Geezer Rock did everyone a favor. Burns responds by using his vast wealth to purchase every media outlet in Springfield, then begins a public relations campaign to improve his image, notably as a benevolent philanthropist who is out to improve life in Springfield and ignoring altogether any suggestion of scandals or corruption. |
| 182 | ** Another episode to lampoon this was "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman Homer Badman]]", which insulted sensationalist news media, overblown scandals, one-sided stories, and their ability to ruin people's lives. Homer is accused of grabbing a babysitter's butt and made out to be a sexual predator with mobs gathered outside his house and news cameras pointing through his window. On the DVD commentary for the episode, the writers argue that the episode is ''more'' relevant now than it was when it aired. |
| 183 | * ZigZagged by DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''. Outside his hatred of superheroes, his integrity as a journalist is unimpeachable. That said, of course, while he'll begrudgingly print the truth of events after ComicBook/SpiderMan is cleared of some wrongdoing, he'll continue to demonize the web-slinger until that happens or spin the truth to make Spidey look bad. |
| 184 | -->'''Peter:''' I can't believe you're printing flat-out lies!\ |
| 185 | '''Jameson:''' LIES?! Listen, you callow, insubordinate pup! The ''Bugle'' only prints FACTS! ''[aside]''... [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and whatever it takes to connect the facts together.]] |
| 186 | * In ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', a [[ScoutOut Girl Scout]] gets her foot stuck in Zim's lawn. The media flocks to report on the horror that the poor little girl is going through. |
| 187 | * ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': Eventually, the Buzzfeed-esque website Diane works for is bought out by a corrupt megacorporation that poisons every industry it obtains and is directly responsible for the death of an employee. She attempts to put out an expose on the company as her last act before she's fired, but the CEO catches on and has her brought to his office before she can do so. Ironically, he ''wants'' the story published. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney He's so rich and corrupt,]] he managed to get a law passed that legalizes murder for rich people, and he knows that the only people who are powerful enough to do something about it are just as rich and corrupt as he is, so he actually considers it ''good'' publicity. |
| 188 | [[/folder]] |
| 189 | ---- |
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