Are you getting the entire message?

How much media do you consume in 12 hours? Do you really stop to think about who is sending you the message and what hidden agenda they may have? This is something you can try, document your media consumption over 12 hours, and see what you come up with. Here's how I did mine.

Date: Monday January 30th (9:00am-9:00pm)

Medium: Television
Station: CNN
Background:  The show was called “Road to Rio” which was an investigation of measures different countries are implementing to go green and reduce their carbon emissions 
What caught my attention? 
To catch my attention, several pictures and models were used of a complex being built in The United Arab Emirates. There were also live interviews, simulations, and tours of wind farms. 
How would others view the message? 
Americans who believe their country is the megapower of the world or is at the top of innovations might disagree with the message in the show that China is much further ahead of The USA in terms of minimizing their carbon footprints and being able to bring to life creative solutions. 
Main Points of the message: 
1. The USA is far behind in energy efficiency and environmentally friendly practices 
2. Countries in the Middle East and Asia have surpassed the USA 
3. Countries must take responsibility for their carbon footprint and reduce it in order to slow down Global Warming. 
Why is the message being sent? 
The message is being sent in order to inform people about what different countries are doing to go green and ways their country and help reduce the carbon emissions. Also the message is intended to shed light on how far behind the USA really is in the fight against global warming. 
What was omitted? 
The fact that the USA did not sign the Kyoto protocol and hence have different priorities and goals in terms of reducing the impact of Global Warming was not mentioned as CNN is a U.S station and it would show that their ideals as a nation should be challenged.

Medium: Radio
Background: Call in program discussing issues in Trinidad
What caught my attention? The caller was using Barbados as an example to compare Trinidad to and as a Barbadian I was interested in what he was saying.
How would others view the message: The older generations would probably agree with him that the vandalism of signs should be blamed on the youth and persons who do not understand the reasons why Barbados has so many signs as opposed to Trinidad which is not tourist-oriented.
Main points of the message:
1. The youth in Trinidad are responsible for vandalizing the sign posts
2. There are not enough signs in Trinidad
3. Other islands such as Barbados which are smaller have more adequate signage
Why is the message being sent? To appeal to authorities to erect more signs, or to young people to stop vandalizing signs
What was omitted? 
The caller and the program host failed to acknowledge that Barbados and Trinidad are two different societies and thus the importance of signage in Barbados from a tourism perspective is not the same in Trinidad. Also they made a generalization of young people, instead of saying some of them.