In Robert C. Allen's "Audience Oriented Criticism and Television," Allen writes about how television directly influences how Americans think and act in real life and is a "social phenomenon even if we are 'alone' when we watch" (134). Along with emulating how to television tells us how to act, we absorb the commercials in between which also tells us which products to buy. Although the television can positively influence it's audience with commercials like Sarah McLachlan's sad puppy it can also nedatively influence its audience making them ignorant; shows such as Jersey Shore portray only a small population of the Jersey shore that go in tanning booths daily and refer to overweight girls as "grenades." People begin to think that all of the Jersey shore consists of these "guidos" because of this program. Because television has such a strong, ubiquitous influence on our lives, it's clear that if production power was in the wrong hands (such as the government) than it would further idiotize the American public.
     Although there are already commercials funded by lobbying and political campaigns, there has been no opaque television propaganda due to the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987; these two laws make it illegal for foreign propaganda used overseas to exist domestically. What is known as the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA 2013) tweaks the two previous acts essentially neutralizing them and give powers to the government to influence not only television, but radio, newspaper and the internet. Although this bill passed the House in May of last year, it failed to pass the Senate and Obama without provisions of the "Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2013." Demandpress.org says "The NDAA amendment legalizing mass propaganda campaigns would remove all distinction between a hostile foreign audience and American one, turning the massive information operation apparatus within the federal government against its own people." As we've seen in the past, bills rejected by one sect of the government are often redrafted and tweaked in attempt to repass them. With the government in control of the media American citizens will further become puppets of the television and become more ignorant about the dangers they face, especially of the government.


Sources:
Demandpress.org
buzzfeed.com