Is the fake news the real news?!

               Satirical news reporting is a somewhat prominent source of political news for me. Is it fair however to say that these forms of news are real news, or better put are mainstream forms of culture jamming? This questions needs to be approached by looking firstly at if them being mainstream degrades their being defined as culture jamming, I don’t believe it does. Culture jamming can be defined as “a mode of resistance to the norms and conventions of mass culture that exposes and opposes the media’s underlying power structures and ideological messages (Media and Society pp 213).” So then how can these forms of mainstream media be considered culture jamming?

This is because of counter-hegemony and the idea that “culture jamming speaks about refusing to consume, and refusing to be seduced by images that offer unattainable, unhealthy, or unethical ideals (Media and Society pp216).” These satirical news programs present a world view that goes against what is typically presented to us in western society, in doing so they act as a medium to disseminate these counter hegemonic views on the world. Although it must be noted that these programs do exist inside of mass culture and mass media, which would seem to lessen their ability to be called fully culture jamming. However, through existing inside these forms of mass media, they are better able to express their views to the masses, which much like media is a goal of culture jamming; to expose and oppose ideological messages.

So then these programs being mainstream, may lessen their ability to be named as culture jamming, but does not however degrade the effect that comes out as a result of the counter hegemonic ideas.  The goal of culture jamming is to promote a better understanding and promote a discourse around a subject, which is achieved by these satirical programs. They present these ideas and ideals to the masses and in doing so they encourage the same thing as culture jamming does.  In doing so these programs become invaluable to a society that does not place much emphasis on political discourse or counter hegemonic ideas in the traditional media (mainly tv news). By being inside of the traditional media but presenting a different and critical view of events, these satirical shows are presenting a new side to the information being given to the masses, which can only lead to discussion and a desire for understanding. Without these forms of counter hegemonic views, the public sphere would be greatly lacking, even if these views are presented in a comedic way.

These satirical programs may not be as radical as some forms of culture jamming tend towards, but this does not change the programs tendency towards approaching situations from a counter hegemonic view, even if just slightly. This promotion of alternative ways of thinking and approaching a subject is what marks these programs as being a mainstream form of culture jamming. They may use jokes and be inside a system that is counter to their presented ideals, but they offer an approachable and understandable view on counter hegemony and critical thought relating to the dominant ideology.

                Work Cited

O'Shaughnessy, M., Satdler, J. (2012). Media and Society. 5th Ed. South Melbourne, Oxford \University Press