The Struggle between the Media and the Truth
In today’s society, the freedom of the press seems to be continually challenged. One of
the greatest obstacles to an enlightened public is propaganda and credulity. According to
dictionary.com, propaganda is defined as “the organized dissemination of information,
allegations, etc., to assist or damage the cause of a government, movement, etc.,” and credulity is
defined as “willingness to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate
evidence; gullibility.” Together these two can become a very dangerous combination and very
easily impede the public’s ability to be correctly informed.
“Americans who get most of their news from cable news outlets’ such as Fox News
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These filters include “concentrated ownership,
advertising as a primary source of income, reliance on information provided by ‘expert’ and
official sources, flak as a means of disciplining media, and an external enemy or threat,” and this
is known as the propaganda model (Chomsky and Herman). The propaganda model
demonstrates how the public mainly gets highly funded new, no matter how relevant or true it is.
Due to the increased use, mass media has a huge impact on the news that is made public.
With the government funded TV and radio programs, the propaganda model, and credulity, the
public may believe something to be true when it is actually an extreme distortion of what really
happened. The precedents set in place to protect the freedom of the press only protect the press
from being prevented to publicize news, there is nothing anyone can do about the use of
propaganda to distort the news that actually comes from the press. With that being said, credulity
also seems to be a problem rather than solution. Propaganda along without gathering a sufficient
amount of proof before deciding which news is true, or relevant for that matter, will be the
greatest obstacle to an enlightened
“Words of Fire,” by Anthony Collings, details the lives of different journalists in regards to free press and covering potentially dangerous stories. Anthony Collings is a former CNN reporter who shifted his focus from reporting to telling the story of journalists who have come under fire in a power struggle between government and free press. Collings puts free press into a spectrum, on one side there is the United States, where the press is largely free, and on the other side there are places like North Korea or China where press is largely restricted by the government. Collings does not focus on these extremes, but rather the places in the middle where there is an ongoing struggle between state power.
Today, it is very easy to believe anything seen on the internet. With numerous resources available instantaneously, it is impossible to know which ones are misleading, and which ones are legitimate. In the end, it all comes down to being able to distinguish a fake source, from a real source.
Now I realise it seems a bit hypocritical of me to attack the media’s representation of a news event when I myself am a part of the hype-generating circus we call mass media. However, the voice of my wise, high-school English teacher echoes in my subconscious that we should always be critical of the texts we consume and conscious of the
Consumers now have access to more information than in any other point in history, and are being subjected to partisan news on a larger scale than ever before. Partisan news outlets, such as Fox News and MSNBC tailor their broadcasts to appeal to the confirmation bias of their target audiences. Each network not only chooses which stories to run based on the interest of their target demographic, but also frames the facts in a way that leads consumers to believe that their own beliefs, however factual, are correct, which aligns with a scientific principle known as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency for people to seek out information that aligns with their beliefs,
When it comes to the press having their freedoms in writing and reporting news as well as people’s right to their own privacy, there is a line that should not be crossed in the process. For example, there have been many cases where people have been wrongly accused of crimes such as murders or even having private parts of their lives exposed. Due to this exposure, the public can see and create their opinions about them whether the information is truthful or not. Events like these can and have ruined the lives of innocent people. They cannot go back to their normal lives simply because the media has already brought too much attention to it. Therefore, it is extremely important that there are certain boundaries that should not be crossed. Jack McCullough is a perfect example of someone who was wrongly accused of a murder that he did not commit; eventually,
In the article it states, “Like so much of our democracy, the freedom of the press is only as strong as we, the public, demand it to be.” (Jones 2017). This quote supports the claim because it states that journalists that have the right
Propaganda often receives a bad name. People believe that influencing people as negative, however “propaganda as a mere tool is no more moral or immoral than a pump handle” (Laswell pg 21). It is not until the writers of the propaganda intentionally become vicious and spread lies that it becomes
Have you picked up a newspaper or magazine in the last few weeks? Then you have been enjoying one of the first amendment rights. Journalism in the United States has changed over time. These changes have affected society.
In America today, most people have their own political views. Some are legitimate, and some are the cause of one main problem: media bias. Certain media outlets are promoting biased political views on television, the internet, and social media. People that watch and read these biased media sources are constantly believing more and more of the false information that they are presenting. Media bias and fake news in the United States is a major contributing factor to many citizens’ political views, especially as a result of news outlets that promote a liberal agenda.
These are some examples of why it’s a positive thing that the Constitution has the First Amendment. The First Amendment states that Congress shall not prohibit ”or abridge the freedom...of the press...” (“The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution”). This is important because otherwise, American journalists can end up with the same fate as those living in a country where media censorship is prevalent. However, we maybe be approaching that point. The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about “the sharp deterioration of press freedom in the U.S.” which has been linked to Donald Trump’s campaign (Bromwich). One event in particular stands out as an example of this. On Inauguration Day 2017, six journalists were indiscriminately arrested with several protesters. The Metropolitan PD charged the journalists, who were there only to report the scene at the inauguration, with felony rioting, lumping them in with the actual protesters. “[These] actions were seen to contribute to a threatening climate for journalists covering the election,”
In the United States, freedom of the press and the broader freedom of speech are protected by the First
(Biography)“Truth should be a defense to the crime of seditious libel.” John Peter Zenger published criticisms of the government in 1735. Zenger was tried for libel and acquitted. His case did not necessarily establish freedom of the press or freedom of speech, but it did provide a small glimpse into the future of American freedoms. These freedoms allow us to acquire knowledge. (Abramowitz and Dunham)Countries like North Korea and China, who sensor and limit information, create an environment where the people are only given the narrow point of view of their dictators. Without open conversations and the ability to gain knowledge, people can be suppressed and deprived of basic human rights and subjected to the tyranny of their own government. The knowledge gained through free press and free speech has allowed us to cure diseases, travel by car, ship or plane and even land on the moon. Communication is a key fundamental necessity to democracy. When using the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press to be hateful and divisive, it is detrimental to democracy, and in other countries, has led to ongoing civil unrest. (Abramowitz and Dunham)The 2017 India Freedom Report, reported “an overall sense of shrinking liberty not experienced in recent years.” They also reported numerous attacks on journalists, news channels and internet channels being shut down along with (Reporters Without
Hour by hour minute by minute the media blinds us with propaganda and manipulates us into believing a biased opinion. People see this everyday with tabloids and the media. They lie to us with one sided opinions in politics for a quick buck and they lure people away from the truth. America needs to start thinking for themselves and stop letting the media control their lives. The media is creating filters and providing fake news on important situations in the world. And Americans need to wake up and solve this
Whether it is news channels on the television or whether it is Twitter and Facebook news, the public will always have a way to find out current reports. Since society has become so dependent on technology, a greater amount of individuals get their actual news online and especially through social media. As many of the public know, you cannot trust what people online are saying. Since individuals are so accustomed to getting the news online, many of them tend to believe what they just happen to scroll across on Twitter and Facebook or any other sort of social media. Finding actual facts and truths on the news have become so difficult now, due to all of the millions of different sites and places where we can get our news from. The news online tend to be biased and untrue due to how openly and freely individuals can create their own site and “reports” on current events such as a real news channels would. Social media has just made it more complicated to find the actual accuracy of current events but with enough research, dedication, and using the SMELL test, finding the right information would not be as
First of all, this is the definition of freedom of the press from lawbrain.com. Freedom of the press guarantees the rights, “to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction or restraint”. Also it is