Emotional Manipulation in Journalism

This paper explores how journalists use emotional manipulation to influence their audience. In particular, it looks at how journalists select and present information to evoke an emotional response in their readers or viewers.

It is well known that people are more likely to remember information that is presented to them in an emotional way. This is because emotions stimulate the release of chemicals in the brain that aid in memory formation. For this reason, journalists often try to elicit an emotional response from their audience in order to make their stories more memorable.

There are a number of different ways that journalists can manipulate emotions. One common technique is known as fearmongering. This involves presenting information in a way that makes it seem more dangerous or threatening than it actually is. This can be done by playing on people's fears and exaggerating the potential consequences of a situation.

Another emotional manipulation technique is known as bandwagoning. This involves trying to convince people to do something simply because everyone else is doing it. Bandwagoning often relies on people's desire to fit in and be like others. It can also be used to make people feel like they are missing out if they don't take part in whatever it is that everyone else is doing.

A third emotional manipulation technique is known as guilt triping. This involves making someone feel guilty for not doing something or for not taking action on a particular issue. Guilt tripping usually rely on people's sense of obligation or duty. For example, a journalist might try to guilt trip someone into donating money to a charity by pointing out all of the good that the charity does.

All of these emotional manipulation techniques are used in journalism in order to influence people's opinions and actions. While some people may be aware of these techniques and try to resist them, others may be more susceptible to them and may not even realize that they are being influenced in this way.