Advocating for same-sex marriage has come a long way in America. A Pew Research poll conducted last year shows that approval of same-sex marriage throughout the country has a slight majority of a little over half the nation (52%). That is huge! It shows what direction in the coming years and even into this year the country is headed. And yet there is still so much animosity surrounding the subject. There probably will be for a long time to come. And honestly, that's okay. There will always be people who are for and against things. With more and more states allowing for same-sex marriages to be legal, the fight for gay couples' equal rights is far from over though. Currently, sixteen states (plus Washington D.C.) have legalized same-sex marriage. Below is a map provided by CNN of an interactive map that shows the current status of each state in regards to same-sex marriage.
More and more over the last few years, politicians and media outlets have had to respond to the interest and debate among American citizens about same-sex marriage. Since 2011, 11 out of the 16 states have legalized same-sex marriages. Just in the last three years this has become a super topic for both politicians to fight for or against in their states and for the news media to talk about. Both politicians and the media gain things from talking about the subject over and over again. Politicians get support from their constituents if they speak out and follow the wishes of their citizens with which way they vote in the matter, while the news media in a way benefits even more. One main way the news media benefits by continuing to broadcast stories about same-sex marriage is through ratings on the TV or hits on their websites by people clicking on the story. The news keeps putting the stories out, because the American people want to read about it. Plain and simple. As we talked about in our Media and Politics class, if stories are viewed as timely, important, and interesting, then they will be put forth more. It's packaged for consumption. The people want to know more and more about it, so the media is going to keep putting it forth. As we also discussed, what is presented by the media most, also has to have some sort of presence of conflict; the topic is the result of a struggle. Conflict is just more interesting to the public. We all know it. We all love a good drama. And the same-sex marriage debate is definitely a conflict here in the U.S. and is definitely a struggle for those on both sides of the issue.
In an article I read recently by CNN, it discusses the recent stance of the Kansas House and how it has approved a bill "allowing refusal of service to same-sex couples." In a very republican dominated house, the politicians approving this bill were doing it because their constituents in the state of Kansas want this bill to go into effect. It makes sense that the bill would be approved due to the nature of the ideals of the people living in Kansas. And it makes even more sense that CNN or other news organizations would report on it because it is such a hot topic. People on both sides of the debate want to click on this story and see what's going on. Especially since as stated in the article, "The Kansas bill would seem to buck the trend." This very different direction that Kansas has moved from that of many other states, is even more of a reason CNN would want to write about it, because even more people will want to read and talk about the state that is swinging the other way on the issue. With so many states legalizing same-sex marriage, it is even more interesting to people to read about the state that is doing the complete opposite and taking it to the next level even.
Whether you are for or against same-sex marriage, it is undeniable that this issue is at the forefront of social issues in politics as well as one of the top reported social issues in the news media in America, and it isn't going anywhere for a long time to come.
Julia, I think this a really good post. The only thing I would add is a little bit of background detailing why people are for and against gay marriage. I know it seems a relatively simple thing, but it's important to understanding each sides argument. Maybe some of the history of the movement? Other than that, I have no other criticisms.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Format is great, the graphic in the middle really catches attention. Maybe add more of a personal touch on it, possibly an opinion section.
ReplyDeleteThis post is well-written and you did well at making sure both media and politics were clear themes in its content. In the paragraph that starts "More and more," I think you are a bit too abstract in your claims that the media has focused on same sex marriage to a great extent because of the interest it might draw -- first, you need to show evidence that there IS a lot of coverage of this issue out there in the press (and how are we gauging that this is "a lot" of coverage) and you would need to show that it does draw in ratings or gain website hits, etc. You need some solid evidence to back up your claims. I also am a bit confused by the argument that CNN covers the Kansas bill story to try to gain readers -- is there an extent here to which a development like this is simply important for people to know? Are they just informing citizens in a useful way? Are there other ways they could have covered the story? You might have something here about how the same-sex marriage issue is usually covered in the context of conflict instead of consensus (can you think of some ways that it would be covered by the media that do not involve conflict?), or you could talk about potentially what the impact is of that on public opinion about this issue, but I'm just not sure the CNN article helps make the specific case that your argument points to.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I enjoyed reading it. One suggestion of mine would be to cut down the length of paragraphs and make smaller, more concise ones to keep the reader's attention. I liked the point you made at the end of the fourth paragraph where you talk about the media covering states that deny gay marriage rather than allow it. It's really interesting and it's something you can expand upon. Maybe find more evidence to back up this claim. Overall I liked the piece and found your opinion on the subject to be unique.
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