After reading/watching up on The Yes Men project, the first thing I thought about was just how vast the reach of the media really is and how the internet makes it so much more accessible. I actually watched the Dow interview before in a class, but I have no recollection of being told that it was completely fabricated. I’m not sure if that is because I wasn’t paying attention or something else. Whatever the case may be, I actually think that what the Yes Men do is really interesting and kind of necessary. Journalism and the media are supposed to be about bringing the truth to the masses, yet they often neglect to truly do that. Instead they feed us lies and half-truths about things that could potentially change the way we view our government, its relationship with us, and with those outside the confines of our American borders.
When thinking about the Yes Men project in terms of our own radio project, I think it does help in giving us ideas on the range of things we can say on air. It proves that we can virtually have a show in which no tongues are held (except for those trying to say the 7 words that are to be left unsaid) and no topic is off limits even if what we say isn’t the absolute truth. I think this freedom provides for an interesting element to be added to our show, yet I do still question the ethics of it all. I mean, lying is wrong in every sense right? So the Yes Men creating false news releases and interviews or my group broadcasting a radio show with false information trying to pass as being real should be just as wrong. The outcomes of such broadcasts are interesting, yes, but are it worth it to know you lied to millions of people (tens in our case) and gave them a false hope?
When thinking about the Yes Men project in terms of our own radio project, I think it does help in giving us ideas on the range of things we can say on air. It proves that we can virtually have a show in which no tongues are held (except for those trying to say the 7 words that are to be left unsaid) and no topic is off limits even if what we say isn’t the absolute truth. I think this freedom provides for an interesting element to be added to our show, yet I do still question the ethics of it all. I mean, lying is wrong in every sense right? So the Yes Men creating false news releases and interviews or my group broadcasting a radio show with false information trying to pass as being real should be just as wrong. The outcomes of such broadcasts are interesting, yes, but are it worth it to know you lied to millions of people (tens in our case) and gave them a false hope?
I don’t know what the answer to that question is, but the fact that the Yes Men have the balls to do it causes me to give them their props. More power to them, I’m just not sure if I am ready to follow in their footsteps. I’d rather make a path of my own…. Create my own footprints to stomp all over the media with.
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