Hillary Clinton, like other public figures, does have some control over her public image, however the media plays a very influential part in shaping the public’s opinions about her. The media is more critical and of politicians because they have a direct impact on our country and our lives. Much more so than other celebrities, such as actors and athletes. On one hand, scrutiny of politicians can be beneficial to the public. This allows the public to gain the most knowledge about a politician, both good and bad, when deciding whether or not to vote for them. However, when the media is in charge of shaping political opinions, there is often biased framing and agenda planning at play.

Media outlets use a number of techniques when creating an image. These include visual manipulation, zooming and distancing the camera, and recycling old news footage. Even though we trust news stations like CNN to be honest about people and events, we are actually receiving a biased message. With every news story, there are images and video clips that we do see, but also ones we don’t. The visuals of Hillary they choose to show (smiling, angry, rude, etc.) will strongly impact what the public thinks of her. The media can even use images that don’t accurately portray an event. For example, Hillary could have been happy during an event, however she looks angry in a photo. The media would then show that photo, making a naïve viewer think Hillary is harsh or uncompassionate. There is a range of reasons to why the media would try to create a biased image. These include trying to get better ratings and trying to please the politicians and corporations they are supported by.

The most simple and effective way Hillary Clinton can control her public image is to act and speak appropriately. Hillary doesn’t always do this. During her time in the public eye, she has made comments that have offended feminists and involved herself in various political scandals in the Middle East. The more a politician can stay out of trouble, the better reputation they will have. The media would not easily be able to promote a bad image of Hillary if she wasn’t providing them with a number of ways to exploit her. Even though media images can be exaggerated, they are still based on true facts. When Hillary finds herself in the middle of a scandal, she tries doing friendly or respectable things to increase her good PR and keep her image from spiraling out of control. While it is important for Hillary to maintain a good image on social media, she cannot rely alone on that. People will trust any news outlet more than Hillary’s own twitter. She wouldn’t say anything bad about herself on her own twitter.

In an ideal world, media outlets would show a complete, unbiased report of events. However, this is not the case. Hilary can help control her image by avoiding scandal and properly managing her PR. However, the majority of the influence on her image will come from the media.