Protest Poster - "Breaking News"

I was in a lobby the other day and the news was on their TV. The news station was focused on the election and mudslinging candidates, while the news ticker at the bottom counted the death toll caused by hurricane Sandy. The magazines next to me all had a similar focus. They raised eyebrows and doubted the future of our country while claiming to have the latest polls inside. Political projections took the largest and boldest print on the covers of these magazines and within the folds of that day’s newspaper. The election has taken over our media. As important as the election is, it sometimes seems like the news and media are focusing more on pointing fingers at and digging dirt on candidates than important world issues or even recent events like Sandy.

Some of my friends and relatives have sworn off the news and newspaper until the election is over. I believe the media has been negatively affected and consumed by this campaign. This is what I wish to communicate with my protest poster. Its title, "Breaking News", is a play on words, emphasizing how the election has broken our news and media sources' stream of information and their purpose.  

I made some aesthetic choices to further my argument. The stickers are covering the real news story. The corner of the TV is over exposed, just like the electoral coverage. I chose to use black and white for the TV and the covered image, because then the political stickers are really able to pop.

The stickers are bright, colorful, and appealing. They make what they are covering up and the surrounding world seem dull and less important as they take less of the media’s attention. That is the message I get from the media lately; the election is of dominant importance. Looking at my piece, I could have also emphasized the more negative aspects of the heavy election coverage on the media. I could have tried to also emphasize just how ridiculous and ugly this election has gotten at times because of the influence of the media and public perception.

I posted my first draft of this image to Facebook to get feedback. When I first posted this, all I got were some “cools!”, “I agree!” as well as a few likes. I was afraid I wouldn’t get much constructive feedback. As time went on, a few friends gave some great suggestions. I wasn’t able to incorporate all their ideas, but all the ideas contributed in some change or consideration in my final piece.

I had a friend share it and say, “This really makes me contemplative. What really mattes here folks?” With this being a ‘protest poster’ I felt it had served its purpose. I was able to bring a message across, raise questions, and even have it begin to spread.