Report on the Analysis of Good Versus Bad Media Representation

This report examines the complexities of media representation, focusing on the analysis of good versus bad incidents. It uses the example of an overbooked United Airlines flight as a case study, exploring the conflicting perspectives and the impact of media coverage. The report delves into the legal aspects of overbooking, the public's reaction, and the role of media in shaping perceptions. It also discusses the broader implications of media representation, including the portrayal of terrorism, accidents, and other news events. The report emphasizes the importance of responsible media practices, including presenting both positive and negative perspectives to foster a balanced understanding among the public. The references include sources on media representation, content analysis, and public understanding of science.

Running head: GOOD VERSUS BAD KNOWLEDGE
GOOD VERSUS BAD KNOWLEDGE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

GOOD VERSUS BAD KNOWLEDGE 1
Media representation at most times focuses on the bad and the evil that occurs in the
world or it represents the achievements of famous people. There are very less incidents when
the media has represented the incident as good versus bad. One such incident occurred in the
beginning of 2017, when the weird incident occurred over the United Airlines flight. The
flight was overbooked and a horrible scene took place after that resulted in somewhat
violence at the Chicago O’Hare airport. An airline passenger was asked to remove from the
flight (Airhelp.com, 2017). He refused to give up his seat to others and was thrown out of the
flight due to his refusal. Fortunately, the video of the entire incident went viral and
speculations on both the good and the bad about the incident started. On one side, as it was
completely legal to overbook flights, it become extremely disruptive at the moment when the
particular person did not want to leave the flight due to certain emergency situation.
There are many incidents that occur in media that can be claimed as both good and
bad but in this cases, the good thing was that passengers supported the man and after making
the video viral, the man got much sympathy. On the other hand, the overall incident was
considered to be bad and the airline was held responsible for the creation of the overall
problematic situation and the harassment that the passengers had to face due to their policies.
This particular incident went viral in no time and it attracted the attention of many throughout
the world. This incident also created question on the good and the bad impact of the media
(Riff, Lacy & Fico, 2014). The incident also welcomed many protagonists to write blogs and
articles and make people aware of all the rights and values that a particular passenger possess
when he or she boards a flight.
There have been many other incidents as well that can be claimed as the good or the
bad about the media incidents. The news of terrorism, death, murder or accidents are the
common form of news that are regularly observed in the media and creates the question of
good or bad in the news incident (Zajc & Erjavec, 2014). At times, it become really difficult

GOOD VERSUS BAD KNOWLEDGE 2
to assume whether the incident is a good or bad one but it has to be said that media has a
significant role to perform for the society. The media should be responsible for taking care of
the overall activities that take place in the society. The media should be responsible to come
up with both the negative and the positive perspective of any particular news and should
convey the positive attitude towards the people in the society. The idea is to convey a positive
attitude among the people and to create a better place for everyone to live in.

GOOD VERSUS BAD KNOWLEDGE 3
References:
Airhelp.com (2017) What To Do When You Have an Overbooked Flight Retrieved from:
https://www.airhelp.com/en/blog/what-to-do-when-you-have-an-overbooked-flight/
[Accessed on: 31-8-2017]
Orgad, S. (2014). Media representation and the global imagination. John Wiley & Sons.4
Riff, D., Lacy, S., & Fico, F. (2014). Analyzing media messages: Using quantitative content
analysis in research. Routledge.
Zajc, J., & Erjavec, K. (2014). “Othering” agricultural biotechnology: Slovenian media
representation of agricultural biotechnology. Public Understanding of Science, 23(6),
678-687.