How in the News Media the Image Becomes More Important than the Message?

In an era of global technology, instant news, infomercials, electronic town meetings, and “Made for TV Documentaries,” the borderlines between news and analysis, news and entertainment, news and fiction are constantly shifting.

Today’s media (news) plays an enormous role in the lives of people in directing a specific perception of the world around them. Most often media conduct's a subconscious effect upon its spectators in which the upshots are deliberately or illdeliberatly towards a particular topic.

The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.

The media is an important part of our daily lives. It shapes and molds the lens through which we see the world. It controls everything you see, read, and hear. Media also determines what is said, who said it, how it can be said, and who can hear it. The news for a lot of Americans calls them into action. Depending on what is being discussed it can really sway your emotions. The News can make you happy as well as make you sad or angry. Contrary to popular belief manipulation does not require a device or hypnotism; we are being brainwashed right before our eyes. Television is that most sophisticated media of worldwide communication and viewers are completely susceptible to the media molding their opinions and attitude; as well as influencing what is acceptable and what is not. There is an unconscious “groupthink” mentality that taints news coverage and allows only one side of a debate to receive a fair hearing.  When that happens, the truth suffers. In this essay, I will discuss the types of bias and manipulation, how it affects us, and the ways to prevent it.

Once Jim Morrison said that whoever controls the media controls the mind. This shows that he had recognized the immense power and influence that the media has in our day to day lives. The media plays a very important role in the society as the source of information for every person. Hence, it is very hard for the modern society to live without the media. As a result of the media being the major source of information in our society, it is an undeniable fact the media shapes people’s opinions, attitudes and actions on particular issues (Czopp & Monteith, 2006).

The power and consequently the responsibility of media, especially mainstream, is something that shouldn’t be underestimated. It often sets the agenda amongst the general public and is the reference point for the majority of the discussion surrounding it. For many, what they see and read in the media forms the basis of their opinions on most important topics. Despite warnings not to, many believe that everything they read in the media must be true.

News has spread around through different means and has rapidly evolved in just the past few hundred years, from newspapers, to news channels, and now also through online media. The purpose of these news outlets is to inform the population on current events locally and internationally. Many people feel as if the news does a good job in captivating audiences and influencing them, but wonder if they are actually reporting the news accurately. In their article, “Pictures in Our Heads,” Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson thought the same, and made statements stating that the media does effectively influence the population and insinuating that the media does not always portray their coverage accurately; this

Through the broad TV of fierce substance, and the mass correspondence of unjustifiable connections, generalizations, measures, desires, and regularizing parts, the media develops rough conduct and frightful or skeptical mentalities about this present reality.

In this paper, the focus is on the western society, California to be exact. Humans, (those who have engaged in society) are products of their society. Therefore, it is valid to say that some of our behaviors and norms are attributed to those products of society; these products of society allow for people to obtain information of what is going on around them in various ways. Products like television or radio, newspaper, and lastly internet; are all mediums which are utilized in a society to inform people of what is going on in their society and world. These mediums which are used are elected by the person, in order allow the encoding of a message to be delivered and decoded by the viewer. Even the selection of the medium chosen to receive “news” speaks about people in the society and how people are constantly evolving, therefore, the message the “news” is encoding must evolve also. The busier people are, the faster they need information, and therefore the facilitations of services which allow for “news” to be delivered have become more efficient. The repercussion for this “faster” solution has allowed people to become clouded, and therefore allowing them the power to “fill in the blanks”, regarding news and its encoded message. As Fazio’s work illustrates, “Attitude and norm accessibility influence social behavior and how messages are processed.” (EWOLDSEN,

We are living in information age, where quick access to all types of information is a way of life. People around the relay on media, for information related to politics, culture, sports, technology, economy and various other factors. Although media is applauded for its role in transforming our life by providing relevant and accurate information, there is increasing exasperation about current media practices. Many people believe that current media practices are not aligned with the objective of providing correct information to public. In doing so, media portrays a picture that is favorable to its own objective and may contradict the reality; consequently these practices are termed

The media is a well-known platform for viewers and largely impacts the people that watch or see certain programs. Therefore, it is safe assume that the media often represents realistic or unrealistic views

In today’s society, remaining connected and knowledgeable of current events and the newest trends is vital to staying ahead in business, education, and social standing. This information is supplied to everyone through the internet, newspapers, television, and radio. One can tune into stations such as CNN, NBC, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, and many others (“SQs of Media Outlets”). In order to meet the needs of viewers, readers, and listeners, the ideal media system would contain accurate, quick information, with a purely impartial view on the facts as they are known. However, this modern media system has not maintained an objective view, pushing opinionated and slanted reporting onto the population in order to create profit and gain customers. The exploitation of information media for personal gain has created a toxic and inaccurate present, constant in today’s society.

The media has always been around human civilizations since the ancient days, either in tangible or intangible form. Its initial purpose was to inform the citizens about certain phenomena. However, as time pass by, majority of people started to prefer biased media over informative media, and considered as positive trend because of ‘freedom of speech’. Even so, this essay believes that bias in the media is harmful enough to show distortion to the audience and to vilify an individual or a group.

Nobody can doubt that the role of mass media in the present-day life is extremely important for a society. Mass media aims not only to inform, educate, and entertain people, but also influences the way they see the world; it may change their views and, in general, mould public opinion. Except for newspaper reports, radio and TV broadcasts, with the help of the Internet people have an unlimited access to the most burning news and tons of important information, and as a result, they lose the possibility to evaluate the information flow critically. Despite the liberal activity of journalists, they are always dependent on political powers that are in control. Thus, there is a problem of news media bias helping to create necessary political spin in the society.

Almost every new application in communications affects the way people get their news. The influence of print journalism has declined in the face of technological advances and television anchors and reporters have become familiar to the public as they report up to the minute events. The introduction of cable television led to a variety of news channels. As with print journalism, television journalism ranges from sensational tabloid news to extensive journalistic coverage and interviews. Television has in some ways minimized the journalists by focusing on scandal instead of high-quality reporting (Columbia). Today's example of yellow journalism can be found in tabloid television. By appealing to the public through sensationalism, tabloid journalism amplifies significant events, thereby shaping the pages of history. An example of sensationalistic tabloid journalism can be seen in the coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. The purpose of tabloid journalism is to captivate the masses with their headlines about wonderful, amazing, and even shocking stories. Although many tabloids come in the form of a newspaper or a magazine, today we have tabloid television, and even internet tabloids to modify the attitude, beliefs, and behaviors of the public.