The Power of and the Powers Behind Mass Media

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.

For the average American there is no escape from mass media. It can be found within our news papers, movies, television and internet, which account for most of our news and entertainment source. In Michael Parenti's book, Make Believe Media, the Politics of Entertainment, Parenti attests that this mass media clouds our society's perception of reality by propagating prefabricated images that create and validate a superficial ideological world. Unfortunately, people are denied the opportunity to obtain and interpret information, which impacts our society, by media conglomerates that wish to keep their industry profitable and on the rise. Effectively, the American public's information and entertainment sources are controlled by some ten

The most common and well-discussed theory of ownership and control of the mass media is that of the Marxists’. This theory illustrates the power of the media within a society and the influence the cultural diversity holds within it. In this essay I intend to discuss the Marxist theories of the mass media, its ownership and its control; and to draw upon the extensive research and opinions voiced about Marxist media theories as well as how the Marxist theories of media place the population in a view that shows that they are easily manipulated.

Kellner and Share, Peters, and Storey’s texts all exhibit themes of media and power in modern day society and how media influences culture. Kellner and Share’s “Critical Media Literacy, Democracy, and the Reconstruction of Education” emphasizes the role of critical media in communication and technology; whereas, Peters’ “The Facebook Purge” focuses on the network societies found on social media platforms. Storey’s second chapter in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture hones in on media’s corruption on people and how social classes become established. All three texts additionally have a focus on the importance of power in the media and its effects on an audience.

INTRODUCTION In the study of mass communication, there has been a continuous debate about the more or less powerful effects of the media on the public.1 Instead of reviewing these positions and their empirical claims, this chapter examines in more general terms some properties of the social power of the news media. This power is not restricted to the influence of the media on their audiences, but also involves the role of the media within the broader framework of the social, cultural, political, or economic power structures of society. In order to focus this discussion better, I limit it to the news media, and in particular to the press, thus ignoring

Argument toward certain topics began because the bias found in the mass media. According to University Wire, “[the media is the main reason why we’re]politically divided because the fundamental flaw in our mass media system is that we have two sides.” What two sides are we talking about? We’re talking about the democrats and republicans or in other words, liberal and conservative sides. Liberals are those who believe in changes and conservative are those who believe in traditional values. What is responsible for causing the nation to fall apart? Mass media. The three powerhouse in media are Fox News, MSNBC and CNN, they tend to be bias in their news reports. When the media give biased news, certain viewers tend to go along with what the

“A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth” – Joseph Goebbels, German Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. This is the exact words of Nazis most famous propagandist in using media as a mass weapon of propaganda and mind control. Could you imagine Germany in 1930s, without Television channel, without the Internet, without every mobile device in your palm, what channel of information will you get? Of course, newspapers, flies, images, celebrities were used as tools for propaganda purposes, designed to provoke a reaction, and ultimately, a form of control over their citizen. Nowadays, with all the advanced of technologies, information can reach everyone in every corner of the Earth, the message is delivered in the subtlest ways, without people’s conscious, has shaped everyone’s decision, or at least shape their behavior toward the decision that the orchestrator want the audience to perceive. With the booming of internet, information sharing seamlessly, we must ask ourselves, the role of media in conveying, shaping the society that we are living in. Let look at few examples of U.S propaganda machine, and later, the particular case of fish sauce in Viet Nam back in October 2016.

Is the American news media being honest like it was to be back when our great nation begin? Many American’s don’t believe the media today because of the views that the media takes. The 2016 election year was one of the ugliest presidential elections in the history of the United States between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton. The news media play a big role in the election as they bring the news to the public about Clinton and Trump. The media is has changed the delivery form the traditional news delivery, to the now comical delivery in shows like SNL. Because television stations tend to be either liberal or conservative and craft stories to appeal subtle and unbiased political news coverage and commentary is increasingly difficult to find.

Media influence is the force by which ideas are injected into people’s lives shaping the very culture of society. This influence is masqueraded through hidden media message, resulting in a change in its audience which can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short term or long term. Although mass media’s influential effect can reach a wide ranged audience as an agent of socialization the responsibility to contain what it releases has not been of importance. “The media’s socially significant obligations are formally ignored.” (A.S. Zapesotskii, 2011, p 9). Media messages can be exerted through many different outlets such as TV shows, music, movies, commercials, news, magazines, games which are all gravitated to entertain audiences ultimately offering personal gratification that can sometimes blur the lines between reality and

Exploring Why the Mass Media May Exert Only a Limited Influence Over the Audience Media is the way in which large companies are able to diffuse their choice of information to the public via sources such as television, newspapers and radio stations. It is evident that the media in general has become a major function in most people’s lives and consequently has been blamed fir crime, abortion and the corruption of morals in society. I will attempt to evaluate to what extent the media exerts influence over their audiences by examining the media models. I believe that this is an important issue to consider as the media continues to centre the lives of many difference social groups as on a daily basis,

In today's fast-paced world, the society is in a constant state of flux, with personal and interpersonal contact being extruded in favour of mediated forms of communication. The mass media are fundamental for dissemination of both mass and popular culture, which, in the simplest terms, refers to the artifacts, entertainment, beliefs and values shared by the large social groups.

The mass media is a tool delivery of messages and symbols. it serves to attract attention, entertain, inform, the media serves to add value and confidence to individuals so integrated in the institutional structures and society.

Mass Media's Political Power There are two main issues regarding media influence in politics 1. Does presentation and coverage affect voting behaviour and choices? 2. Do media have an impact on political struggle and decide nature of debates?

Media in Society (2013) is a cutting-edge media studies textbook written by a group of media scholars: Richard Campbell, Miami University of Ohio; Joli Jenson, University of Tulsa; Douglass Gomery, University of Maryland; Bettina Fabos, University of Northern Iowa and Julie Frechette, Worcester State University. It serves as an analysis of the perpetual relationship between media and society through three key concepts: technology, democracy and capitalism. These themes are connected throughout the entire book, but more than anything, Media in Society focuses on storytelling. As it targets a diverse audience, it does an excellent job exploring different stories the mass media tells and the stories we tell about the media. Through a wide

It’s a Thursday night and Jessie is sitting down, munching on some chips and dip, and watching the weekly episode of Scandal with her friend Mary in the dim light of their living room. A scene comes on the television with two gay men intimately approaching each other, about to have sex. For a minute, the girls are tensely sitting in silence, not speaking, but awkwardly staring at the television. As the scene turns to a commercial, the girls begin to loosen up and start giggling. Blushing, Jessie interrupts the awkwardness, “Well you don’t really see that too much!”