"It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept."

We can't all interpret media in the same way. Everyone is different and therefore, everybody interprets media differently. Media can be edited, framed and manipulated in a way that controls what the audience receives, gatekeepers can even try to give it a specific meaning. However, it is very unlikely that people will all interpret the meaning that the gatekeepers intended due to selective processes.

Selective process is a limited media theory that relies on the assumption that people see what they wanna see in the media. Many people are exposed to a lot of different media, and sometimes, unwillingly. We have little control over billboards across highways and advertisements on the radio. However, a selective process is that in which the audience chooses what parts of the media to interpret, for the most part, in a way that is most beneficial. A democrat may watch a TV add bashing the latest presidential candidate, and instead of changing his or her mind about his political alignment, the ad would most likely validate his idea that the democratic party is better than the republican one since the republican one is doing the bashing. This way, we can be selective about how we use the content the media offers.

Once again I have to quote Perez Hilton as an example that helps me understand this concept. Perez is always publishing posts where he says that she uses drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, and that she is heavily addicted to medications such as ambien, adderall and vicodin. The image of a train wreck has-been star is one that the media has created completely. While Lindsay Lohan has done many things to allow the public to interpret her negatively, media such as Perez Hliton's blog choose to selectively process the information and make conclusions.

Other aspects of selective processes are selective exposure and retention. Selective exposure is when audiences are selective about the media they are exposed to. For example, I might choose not to read Perez Hilton's blog because he constantly insults and denigrates celebrities. Selective retention works in a semi-subconscious way, where we choose what to remember from what we are exposed to; I may choose to read Perez Hilton's blog, but not pay attention to or readily forget the insulting comments. This is how people interpret media differently and shape media in the way that better benefits them, their ideals, ideas or beliefs.