Being in the media, purposefully or otherwise, can have unintended effects, many of which the media will never stop and apologize for. Such is the case for Neda Soltani, a professor of English literature, whose Facebook picture was downloaded and disseminated among Iranian protesters – en masse. According to the New York Times article In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests Neda Agha-Soltan, notice there is no “i” at the end of her name, was shot in the chest and died when she went to witness a protest in Tehran shortly after the conclusion of the elections that reinstated President Ahmadinejad. Her death was caught on video and subsequently went viral.
Shortly afterward the media published a photo of Soltani claiming it was Soltan – a mistake that Soltani has had to live with ever since. In an article for the BBC, Neda Soltani: ‘The media mix-up that ruined my life’, Soltani discusses the repercussions she has had to deal with to include becoming a martyr for a protest she did not participate in, government persecution, accusations of being a CIA spy, and becoming a political refugee.
Neda Soltani (left) and Neda Agha-Soltan (right)
There are a couple of things at work here. The first is media and journalistic responsibility – or lack thereof. Because of the speed at which news travels across the internet, media outlets feel more and more pressure to release information as fast as possible, without taking the appropriate amount of time to verify the facts, or allow the complete story to play out before reporting on it. This is all part of the cycle to bring in a larger audience, in order to attract more advertisers and increased revenue for which the media competes with other outlets. As Ahmadinejad is not a popular foreign leader here in the United States, the media rushed to publicize the fallout that followed. Soltani and Soltan were both used as pawns to frame the protests. Second, few members of the media have attempted to correct the record, which is part of what makes the BBC’s coverage important as a model for reporting. For a typical American media outlet, their is an old adage that “if it bleeds, it leads” which basically means that violence will always be covered right up front, especially political violence that can incorporate a pretty face as a victim. What is reprehensible is the lack of responsibility to correct the record in the aftermath — but that’s not what audiences will stop to see, or advertisers will pay for, as a result. Cognitively, people are conditioned and drawn to stop and witness violence or tragedy. It’s a part of our innate nature to be curious as to the fate of others. We learn through observation. The media plays upon this to garner attention and profit repeatedly. Increasing one’s media literacy in regard to the economic agenda of the media is the first step to understanding how audiences are told what to think about, and how to think about it, and to freeing one’s own mind from their effects.
References
BBC News Magazine. (2012, Nov 14). Neda Soltani: ‘The media mix-up that ruined my life’. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from BBC News Magazine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20267989
Fathi, N. (2009, June 22). In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/middleeast/23neda.html?_r=0
Wikipedia. (2012, Nov 14). Death of Neda Agha-Soltan. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan
Media Psychology 
Funny, I used this particular incident (the actual death of the Neda Soltan) as part of my Write Up! thesis for my degree. Since the repeal of the fairness doctrine in 1987 by President Reagan, the responsibility of the western media has turned to …well, what we have today. Thank goodness for the BBC and some other independent media, as well as our citizen journalists, that brought us the Iranian Protests, and the Death Seen Around the World.
I remembered the incident as soon as I came across the BBC article. It was a pretty volatile time in Iran.
The repeal of the fairness doctrine has only allowed the American media to become more partisan, which funny enough, they complain about, yet they would much rather exercise freedom over their editorial content. The media exists to make money, not to inform the public, or act as journalistically responsible entities. Of course there are international entities such as the BBC that one can turn to, which is another media literacy technique I advocate for – checking your news against other-than-national sources. The American media’s prime role is to form an audience that can then be marketed to advertisers.
What was your thesis about and how did Soltan enter into it?
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and tested to see if
it can survive a twenty five foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Costly, but funny. 🙂
Pingback: Media Affects Our Thinking Processes ?? | That's so Media Lit