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a large Arab-American population. Where MTV presents various perspectives, allowing
viewers to interpret the story, 60 Minutes exclusively interviews Arab-Americans, in
essence positing the absent viewpoint as a faceless villain. “Aftermath of Terror” ends on
an upbeat note, with Patterson’s unity parade, while the 60 Minutes segment refuses to
hint at a resolution. It would be impossible to judge one as somehow quantitatively
better, though “Aftermath of Terror” does contain qualities that should appeal to viewers
who wish to judge for themselves.
“What’s Going On” fact files provided depth in dealing with basic information
that viewers would be hard-pressed to find on other networks. Instead of merely stating
that Condoleeza Rice is national security advisor, MTV’s fact file “Who is Condoleeza
Rice?” explained what the job entails. And, as with everything else on MTV, following a
“What’s Going On” spot, viewers are invited to visit the MTV news website to learn
more about the topic and to find out what they can do to get involved. Zukin asserts that
“Gen X can process text and pictures together; they like to be interactive and make
choices” (1997). It’s as if MTV read his report before he wrote it.
Conclusion
But is the information getting through? After MTV received accolades for their
1992 Rock the Vote campaign, researchers sought to establish the effectiveness of the
campaign, not just on action, but on knowledge. Barry A Hollander found MTV
coverage to be “negatively related to campaign knowledge, even after controlling for a
number of other demographic and political factors” (1995). He speculates that
programming like MTV’s might discourage political knowledge “by providing the
Convention