The Media And Its Impact On Society

Throughout the years the use of technology has increased, and expanded. Mass media plays a vital role in society. Mass media can be defined as any means of communication, to an extremely large group of people. Technological advancements have been extremely beneficial for prior generations, the generation we now live in, and will be for the future generations to come. Such as, providing news for the world to hear, entertainment, and much more. Some examples of media would be television, films, newspapers, and the Internet. Unfortunately along with benefits, there are disadvantages concerning gender discrimination, and sexism. Such as, women feelings forced and obligated to stay at home with their children instead of working, and the representation of beauty involving both men and women. Examples of how the media can accomplish this would be through the use of advertisements, movies, magazines, and the radio. The media has an enormous effect on people within society today.

The idea that what the masses care about politics or ruling became an almost instant situation. Those masses took the changes in news reporting in stride and mostly welcomed the printing press. The royals, religious institutions, and upper classes were the ones screaming about the horrors

Most people received primary education and were able to read newspapers, causing more and more people involved with the political world through newspapers. Some newspapers were biased and only provided favorable attention to a certain campaigner (Doc.F). A lot of people who read the same newspaper thought the same way and would agree with whatever the newspaper would say. The people would one day like a candidate, but after reading an article people suddenly believed that change should be favored over a decent president (Doc. F). To resolve such biased views, there was an increase in the variety of newspapers that were sold between 1775 and 1835 (Doc.G).

Women around the world face overwhelming oppressions in their daily lives. That is not news to anyone and these oppressions have occurred for so much of history, that it is often times overlooked by the mass majority; even the younger generations of women do not know the types of oppressions that they will soon have to face. To combat this, FCKH8.com, a well known organization that sells t-shirts and other merchandise with witty anti-racism, anti-homophobic, and pro-feminist catchphrases on them, created the video, “Potty-Mouthed Princesses Drop F-Bombs for Feminism”. As the title implies, the video contains little girls, ages six through eleven, aggressively yelling “FUCK,” towards the camera while rattling off facts and statistics about some of the oppressions women face because of their gender. The comment section of this video is erratic; the viewers often have conflicting views about the meaning of the video as well as whether or not it was successful in its purpose. One thing is for sure, the video makes an impact by using several rhetorical devices including word choice, pathos and logos; all which separate it from other pro-feminism videos that exist.

Newspapers shaped public opinions by supporting one side or the other -- whether it be Federalists or Republicans. In the Gazette of the United States, John Fenno, its publisher, supported Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists. However, one of Thomas Jefferson’s friends, Philip Freneau, created a competing paper, the National Gazette. This paper strongly supported Republicans. Sometimes, the newspapers would mix rumors and opinions with facts, thereby, controlling the public’s opinion. “News”papers were more like “editorialpapers”. The newspapers of that day directly guided and stoked public

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses” (Malcolm X). In 1797, there was no cameras, television, radio, telephones, or social media. There was not any entertainment value on campaigns the media could potentially exploit, but how could the American citizens formulate opinions on presidential candidates? How did they come to understand about their policies or stances on certain issues? Candidates would write to columns in newspaper or use printing presses to release booklets with their policies and other issues they had to address. They would talk to the public at meetings or conventions. Journalists would write down what they said and wrote a news article about it. They did not mask themselves with over exaggerated personas or make outrageous statements just to gather media attention because there was not the

Since the United States of America were first established, the news media has had a large and important role in influencing the people. Even during the American Revolution, the press helped to shape the public opinion in favor of the patriotic agenda through newspapers and pamphlets. In the Early Republic, Broadsides became popular with the people and, in the Jacksonian Era, a more voters inclusive press, the “penny press”, and the Associated Press, using a new technology known as the telegraph, rose in popularity. But, more events along the way saw to the growth of the news media as we know it today.

As the demand for information became higher in the 1700’s, competition between newspapers ensued mainly because of opposing opinions, the reputation of the editorial staff, and their access to credible information. In the early onset of the American Press, newspapers were geared towards the elite members of society, as they were educated and had the means to buy the newspaper weekly. Over time the paper became more widely available and literacy was sky rocketing, resulting in the need to appeal to multiple audiences. The early Colonial Press only consisted of weekly papers, as dailies were not introduced until later on in the 17th century.

Mondak, J. (1995). Newspapers and Political Awareness. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 39, No. 2 , 13-27.

In this Article, it explains the lack of recognition newspapers received in their role in delivering the message to the people in the Early republic. In early America, newspapers shared journal articles, poetry, advertising, autobiographies, and advocated for the communities contributing to the political activists’ bias or favoritism. During the debate, the Anti-Federalists were at a Disadvantage as the Federalists and congress members were either former editors or has close ties with the newspaper editors. Newspapers became a political culture, as they headed major political points which attributed to persuading the people to conform to views of a specific party.

Television at first allowed a new era of public communication which sparked its popularity among the nation. “As Frank Stanton, president of the Columbia Broadcasting System, put it: ‘Not even the sky is the limit.’ (Source A).” This quote tells us how television has vastly expanded public communication and that with it we can achieve so much more beyond our limitations before this invention. The main reason television was considered to have a positive effect on presidential elections was due to the fact that

There have been some controversies among the citizens of the United States as we enter the technological age and throw away some of our old stuff. One of these old things are newspapers. In today’s age, someone’s stance on newspapers may be completely different than someone else’s. Someone who grew up around newspapers may say they are completely relevant and need to be protected. Rather than, someone who grew up around the decline of newspapers may say that they are only killing the trees and mean nothing anymore; they are useless.

The age of newspapers has passed. Laura Finley’s “The Decline of Newspapers Is Bad for the US” asserts that without newspapers citizens are “deprived of information essential to understanding their world”. Newspapers are the source at which the world communicates and when they come to a cease, the information also ceases.

The intensity a moral panic imposes on society rests largely on public communication, typically through mass media. Communication is the most crucial part of life as it creates social interaction and therefore the organization of society. Communication changes according to the times and advancements in technology. The world has evolved from smoke signals in Ancient Greece to instant messaging and surfing the web simultaneously. When America was still under British control, the newspaper earned a household value. A newspaper’s job was to report news as well as opinions and private commentary.(source) Newspapers were incredibly important for revolutionary patriots working towards independence. The patriots used opinion columns within a newspaper to reason with society’s people about the benefits of becoming an independent entity. The use of newspapers raised an ongoing conflict concerning the desire to become independent versus the devotion towards remaining under British law.

Newspapers played a critical role after the American Revolution. Journalists criticized the Articles of Confederation and showed how worthless the American dollar was. Even though the Freedom of the Press was issued in the constitution, it was soon shut down with the implement of Sedition Act of 1798. Restrictions on the press were put in place. It was illegal, “to write, print, utter or publish, or cause it to be done, or assist in it, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government of the United States (constitution.org). Many people disliked it and the Sedition Act was pronounced unconstitutional in 1832. This was the beginning of the “Fourth Estate” which means the press watching over the government like a watchdog.