GTP Mass Debating Contest Real REAL Final Round!

[Danny]

So twas written, so shall it be.

Unless anyone has any objections?

 

[Dave A]

I obje... No wait. Another weeks perfectly fine for me.

 

[Danny]

I expect them to be of such quality that I have a heart attack and die, ok then?

 

[Danoff]

I gather the term "Mass Media" is referring to massive news organizations and not the entertainment business.

 

[Blake]

Hello? Chris? Brad?

 

[a6m5]

Are we on?

 

[Danny]

I gather the term "Mass Media" is referring to massive news organizations and not the entertainment business.

It's entirely up to how you interpret it. Whatever side you've gone for is fine.

Deadline is tomorrow

 

[Touring Mars]

Hello? Chris? Brad?

Will try to come up with something later. At work at the moment. Send us any thoughts you've had so far.

 

[Danoff]

It's entirely up to how you interpret it. Whatever side you've gone for is fine.

Deadline is tomorrow

Ok, I'm assuming we're talking about news media. Otherwise the topic is increadibly broad.

 

[Danoff]

Team AAMMM
The Benefits of Mass Media Outweigh the Negatives​

The ability to transmit information quickly to the public improves overall safety and plays a vital role in preserving democracy in free nations.

Mass Media Improves Overall Safety

Mass media is often responsible for lifesaving information. 1.2 million people, 92% of the affected population of Louisiana, evacuated prior to Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in New Orleans[1]. More than 1600 people were killed by the storm[2]; imagine how many would have died if mass media had not alerted people to the hurricane’s trajectory and the danger it posed. After the storm, the media coverage of the aftermath helped to speed up and direct the lagging government response. Both Katrina and the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia are examples of mass media helping raise awareness and generate support. Non-governmental donations to tsunami relief efforts from the US topped $1.8 billion. Mass media enabled many of those donations by creating widespread knowledge of the events

Examples of media raising awareness range from exposing the dangers of lead poisoning[3] to breaking the Watergate scandal (Washington Post[4]) to uncovering corporate scandals like Enron (Wall Street Journal[5]).

Freedom of Information is Vital to a Free Society

In a democratic society, informed voting depends upon information reaching the masses. Without large media outlets carrying stories quickly and cohesively to the public, influential individuals like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. wouldn’t have had as potent and far-reaching an impact on voter opinion. That’s because relying upon thousands of local media outlets to discover and carry a story is much less reliable than needing only one person to alert a larger outlet.

Mass Media Drawbacks are Countered by Market Forces

The potential drawbacks of mass media are countered effectively by the free market and abundant access to information in the internet age. Bias and misinformation immediately create a market for truthful reporting. When CBS recently reported forged documents critical of President Bush as legitimate, internet bloggers and reporters eager to obtain viewers/readers uncovered the forgery[6]. Fox News was created to counter a perceived liberal bias in the media. Al Jazeera was created to offer free speech in a region dominated by state-censored media[7]. In news, reputation is critical, and competitors are happy to gain viewers/readers by uncovering poor reporting.


Conclusion

Without the fast, unobstructed flow of information to massive numbers of people, freedom, democracy, accountability, and personal safety would be in jeopardy – a truly great cost.

Word Count: 399

[1] Whitehouse.gov, Katrina Lessons Learned – Chapter 3: Hurricane Katrina – Pre-Landfall. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from whitehouse.gov. Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/chapter3.html
[2] Michelle Roberts, Families say stress of Katrina hastened deaths of loved ones. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from The Boston Globe. Web site:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...ess_of_katrina_hastened_deaths_of_loved_ones/
[3] James Whorton, Brush With Death: A Social History of Lead Poisoning. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Environmental History April 2001 issue. Web site: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3854/is_200104/ai_n8929482
[4] Washington Post, The Watergate Story. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from Washingtonpost.com. Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/splash.html
[5] Smith, Rebecca and Emshwiller, John R. 24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America. Collins, August 2003.
[6] Brent Baker, Wash Post, NBC, CNN and FNC Feature Experts Who See Forgeries . Retrieved from MediaResearch.org. Web Site: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2004/cyb20040911.asp#2
[7] El-Nawawy, Mohammed , et al. Al Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East. Westview Press, April 2, 2002.

 

[Danny]

ERM....Team E?

 

[Touring Mars]

Sorry guys, I just haven't had a chance to sit down at the computer in the last week and compose anything. I don't know about Casio, but Blake has told us that he doesn't really have anything to go with on this either, so unless I can persuade the other team to allow us an extended deadline (like the end of next week i.e. the 20th April), I don't think I will have the time to respond properly.

 

[Danoff]

That doesn't really bother me, but I'd want Dave and Kenny to weigh in.

 

[Dave A]

I certainly wouldn't mind.

 

[Touring Mars]

Team E

The Drawbacks of the Mass Media Outweigh the Positives​

The job of the mass media is to report factual information – and as such, facts must be subject to rigorous standards of scrutiny and verification. But facts and ‘news’ are increasingly two different things. 'News' is selected information shown to us through the filter of the reporter. Today, however, the mass media includes more than just those sources whose standards of accuracy and reliability (and motivations) we trust. The mass media, coupled with modern technologies, now enables any individual, group or organisation to reach a global audience, whether or not their words have been subjected to any scrutiny whatsoever. The result is a confusing and distorted mixture of facts, lies, dogmas and opinions, where the truth is frequently harder to find than fictions.

Increasing access to information and the ability to provide information is only beneficial if that information is reliable. Accuracy and balance should count for far more than speed and sensationalism. Quality should always trump quantity. Evidence should always trump opinion, speculation, dogma or bias. These are the prerequisites of good reportage. But without any discrimination based on quality and evidence of truth, then these prequisites are no longer guaranteed.

Good reportage will always play a central role in a healthy democracy and is an essential ingredient of free society. However, the benefits brought to us by the mass media by good reportage are being outweighed by a tendency towards populism and motives far removed from simply reporting the facts - the desire for higher ratings, higher profits and pandering to preconceived biases. A consequence of decreasing discrimination between newsworthiness and populism is that it leaves the media machine susceptible to subversion by any number of people who want a quick and dirty way to grab headlines in order to fulfill their own agendas, be they political parties, religious groups, environmentalists or terrorists. There are many reputable media outlets in the world, like the BBC or Al-Jazeera for example, but they differ from most nowadays by focusing on good reportage rather than churning out what they want us to hear.

Conclusion

Reliable, accurate and balanced information demands high quality and properly regulated journalism. The motives of today’s mass media, however, ensure that these qualities are in very short supply. Good reportage is hard - bad reportage is all too easy, and all media outlets should be subject to the same standards of accuracy, but they no longer are.

 

[Danny]

Great work by both teams 👍

I think it's fitting that the last round is one of the greatest.
I would also like to thank all participants, contestants and judges for their hard work put into this contest.👍

You now have a week (lemme know if you want more) to mould a rebuttal.

 

[Danoff]

Our rebuttal is ready to go, but since Team E hasn't posted there's yet, I'm using the time to get more input from my team. I'll post it shortly either way.

 

[Touring Mars]

Team E: Rebuttal​

Mass Media Improves Overall Safety

Mass media is often responsible for lifesaving information.

Mass media is also capable of misinformation on a grand scale. It’s the veracity of the information that is key, not that the information can be disseminated per se. False information is atleast as harmful as good information is helpful. False alarms regarding natural disasters endanger people by increasing apathy, for example.

Freedom of Information is Vital to a Free Society

In a democratic society, informed voting depends upon information reaching the masses. Without large media outlets carrying stories quickly and cohesively to the public, influential individuals like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. wouldn’t have had as potent and far-reaching an impact on voter opinion.

The modern media now gives a disproportionately loud voice to whoever cares to make their opinions public. Today, mass media is used as much to slur one’s political opponents as it is to inform the public of one’s own policies. Today, Osama Bin Laden is as much a benefactor of the presence of the media as Martin Luther King Jr. ever was.

That’s because relying upon thousands of local media outlets to discover and carry a story is much less reliable than needing only one person to alert a larger outlet.

On the contrary, the veracity of information is more likely to be established if it has been corroborated by many independent sources rather than a single source.

Mass Media Drawbacks are Countered by Market Forces

Bias and misinformation immediately create a market for truthful reporting.

The opposite is also true. Lower thresholds of discrimination and an ever more insatiable appetite for ‘news’ mean that market forces are eroding standards, not preserving them. From atrocities such as 9/11 to creationist or environmentalist misinformation, the modern mass media is more concerned about getting the message out, rather than whether or not it should.

 

[Danny]

It's coming along nicely for the last round (ever!)

 

[Danoff]

Team AAMMM Rebuttal​

…all media outlets should be subject to the same standards of accuracy…

The difficulty arises in who sets the standards. Whatever panel or department manages these standards will have their own agendas and may introduce new “lies, dogmas and opinions”. Only a free society, with competition ready to counter distortions, can hope to expose biases.

Currently, consumers of information set reporting standards. Competitors expose standards violations while consumers enforce them by taking viewership elsewhere.

Accuracy and balance should count for far more than speed and sensationalism. Quality should always trump quantity.

These value judgments must be made by individuals. Learning of an impending hurricane early, even without many details, can save lives – even if the reporter spouts off about environmental policy. In such a case, speed far outweighs bias or lack of detail.

Also, quantity can trump quality. Without a multitude of stories, highly localized news can be lost. Recently it was reported that drinking water in my area might be contaminated. The reporter gave few details, but getting some information encouraged me to take precautions and investigate. If the report required more detail, such a localized story might have been dropped.

These situations highlight why consumers must determine what information is important.

There are many reputable media outlets in the world, like the BBC or Al-Jazeera…

Indeed, most consumers (like Team E) can identify these reputable organizations. Desire to maintain viewership is the mechanism that maintains high standards for mass media.

Word Count: 199

 

[Sage]

My vote’s in.

 

[a6m5]

Me too.

 

[dougiemeats]

I have submitted my decision.

 

[Danny]

We await decisions from Famine and Wenders.

 

[Wenders]

We await decisions from Famine and Wenders.

Yeah yeah, it's coming. After dinner, Big Brother and NCIS. I know I said I'd do it yesterday but I was busy mothering that son of mine.(Ok so really I was just watching telly and stuff)

 

[dougiemeats]

Did anyone happen to see "The Word" segment on The Colbert Report tonight? It was pretty funny watching it after reading through the arguments.

 

[Sage]

I can’t even get access to the TV tonight – mix a Warriors basketball game with a suite full of NorCal students, and, well, you know…

 

[dougiemeats]

The Word: Who Cares?

 

[Danny]

Okay, I'm tired of waiting for Famine.

Wenders voted Team E 'because'

First off I’d like to congratulate both teams for making it this far, and I’d like to congratulate the other teams for their hard work and great debates.

For this final round: my vote goes for Team AAMMM. Both teams had excellent rebuttals, but I felt that Team E’s opening arguments were a little too general while Team AAMMM had more concreteness in their arguments and examples (in other words, both teams made effective claims, but Team AAMMM was was clearer in its grounds for its claims).

Congrats again to both teams!

Team AAMMM, hands down.

Again, I thought the Team AAMMM had the easier argument, but again, this team just does not slack off(only if our favorite sports teams were this consistent!). Barrage of points, backed up by solid facts, research. My hats off to you guys.

Team E, Nice work. 👍 You guys did target, raised few great points that made a lot of sense. If the playing field was more level, I think that would have made a game of it. In order to defeat Team AAMMM, who has pretty much been a mass-debating machine, armed with the stronger position on top of that, I think would have taken a more drastic approach. Though to be honest, I don't know what that approach would've been, or if that would've been enough.

Thank you for all the hard work by all teams. Congtratulations to the Team AAMMM. A well deserved crown. 👍

Well done to both teams for presenting convincing arguments and providing excellent rebuttals. It is undeniable that in this age of bloggers, web video clips, and real-time reporting, sensationalism has often pushed aside quality in the quest for an audience. However, it is also difficult to argue against the value of this instantaneous exchange of information when we have witnessed its advantages. I feel that Team AAMMM delivered a more convincing statement, emphasizing the importance of communication by means of mass media, while also providing an effective argument in response to its drawbacks.

Congratulations to both teams; you certainly did not make it easy. My decision goes to Team AAMMM.

Congratulations Team AAMMM!

 

[Danoff]

Gosh, you never think you're going to be the one that wins. I don't even have anything prepared...

First of all I'd like to thank the academy (judges). I'd like to thank my team mates Dave A and Kennythebomb, who's constant support made this possible. I'd like to thank Jesus Christ *points to the ceiling for dramatic effect* for guiding me, and my wife for her constant love and support without whom I wouldn't be where I am today. You're the best baby!

I'd like to think key grip number 2 for his role in this. And the lighting guy - what the hell was that guy's name?

Mostly I want to say that Team E did a great job and really gave us a run for our money. It was clear that our team had the easier side of the debate, but Team E didn't complain, and they put together a suprisingly solid argument considering the topic. My hat is off to them. Despite the advantage in the topic I was still quite concerned about how the judging would come out.

Also a big thanks to ultra for getting this off the ground. I had a lot of fun, and I think a few other people around here really enjoyed it as well. It was a lot of work, and I'm kinda glad it's over, but it was fun too.