The Role Of Media Coverage On The Media

An important yet under-discussed issue for our time is the media bias. Everyday free speech is broadcasted across the world but with underlying agendas of communication companies. Many broadcasts engage in the assaulting of political candidates or display of tragedies to prompt viewers to believe the media states the exact truth. However, a majority of people do not decipher the tone and mood of the channels and papers which secretly distribute the opinions of the news company rather than solely the news.

In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the media is given immense power, which it uses to deceive the public into thinking their world and their government is perfect. The government uses their power to completely control every word that the media prints. The media is set on such a high pedestal that the citizens’ hang on to every word they print. Today’s dependency on the media is not far off from Orwell’s prediction. The media is also heavily influenced by sources other than facts and truth. The modern news industry, similar to that of the Orwell’s novel, is heavily influenced by political and private sects, which results in biased news and counterfactual information.

History has changed. Ideas and standards have also changed. Back in the day, when the media or movies showed a hint or a dash of blood, the reaction of the average person was shock and disgust at the blood and gore shown. These scenes and clips shown have become more and more extreme over the years to the level of being hazardous to society. Even in the videogame industry, certain scenes that may have caused outrage and commotion fifteen years ago are now seen as childish and may even be considered as humorous. To put it candidly, most of the mass media has been used widely to its ability to influence and persuade, to glorify, and diabolize thoughts and actions of individuals. Yet people of this generation still spend a great percentage of

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 content of the media is the fault of the people’s desire. Media publishers such as the New York Times Company, CBS, and Viacom are businesses raking in billions in revenue by meeting public demand. It is public demand for specific stories which dominate media publication and broadcasting. For example, the development of uber-conservative Breitbart and alt-left Slate developed as a result of conservative and liberal yearnings for biased media outlets. Before Breitbart and Slate, and other partisan news sources, established media either leaned center-right, or center-left but surges of conservatism and liberalism were visible in election returns during the turn of the 21st century. It is a result of this surge of liberalism and conservatism

Until the 1980s, the control of the media was in the hands of the national government. From then, the control shifted to private outlets and by the 1990’s, there were more than fifty multinational companies who controlled it (“Mass Media”). Today, only about six major companies control the larger fraction of media in America (Williams, Par. 1). Norman Solomon wrote in the New Political Science Journal that most reporters and editors work for just a few huge companies. These journalists and editors are on the payroll for “mega-media institutions”, of which, only about six exist (Solomon 297). How much will the public learn if these companies generally control the output of information?

Unfortunately however, a February 2004 poll by the Pew Research Center found that “72 percent of the public has heard nothing about the media ownership [and consolidation] debate” (Connell 2004). Understanding how corporate mergers and consolidation affect the way in which the media function (especially in the realms of production and distribution) and how the media in turn directly impacts our society, our culture, our economy, and our politics – in short, our entire lives – is a necessary

In 1983, ninety percent of American media was owned by fifty companies (Lutz). Fifty may seem like a small number of media outlets to control what an entire country listens to on the radio, watches on television, and reads in the paper. However the reality of modern day media is that media has never been more consolidated. In 2011, that same ninety percent of media was owned by a mere six companies (Lutz). Granted, benefits can arise when companies become very large (Concession), but from a business standpoint, oligopolies and monopolies are not desireable. These six companies dictate what nearly every American citizen must perceive. The influence that these companies have on the 277 million Americans that they control makes one question whether their thoughts are truly their own. “Having a few huge corporations control our outlets of expression could lead to less aggressive news coverage and a more muted marketplace of ideas (Media Conglomerates).” This disturbing reality goes unnoticed, and by breaking up the oversized media outlets people will return to gathering their ideas from a variety of sources and companies with many different

Citizens do not get to elect the individuals such as Rupert Murdoch, who sit at the peak of huge conglomerates with immense influence on society (Shah, 2012). Cooperate elites and CEO 's at the top of conglomerates have an overwhelming amount of political and economic power. These individuals can filter, change, be extremely selective and strategic about what media they produce and disrupt. As a result, the media landscape becomes distorted and the public interest is compromised. Rupert Murdoch is a key individual within the sphere of media conglomerates. Murdoch has media giants all over the world. Murdoch controls two thirds of the newspaper markets in Australis, has a large share of British media, and has broadcast networks all over America Europe and Asia (Beder, 2012). I argue that he is the king of convergence and the master of manipulation. Murdoch serves as the perfect example for illustrating the effects of cooperate media elites pollution of the public sphere.

In the following paragraphs, I will be discussing on how ideology can effect the media. The first article that I will be analysing is called “Marxism and the Media” written by Khawer Khan. Khan started the article by saying that, the mass media is found everywhere and it’s influencing our daily lives. Quoting the book “Manufactured Consent” by Noam Chomsky, he states that corporate ownership is an issue that is being represented in the media. In fact, in the United States, there are six large corporations of media outlets which are General Electric, Comcast, Disney, News Corp, CBS, and Time Warner. Apart from controlling the television, radio and newspapers, they also own the outdoor advertising.

The Chomsky-Herman propaganda model, at its core, asserts that “elite media determine what topics, issues and events are to be considered ‘newsworthy’ by lower-tier media… in order to serve the interests of dominant, elite groups [in society]” (Klaehn 2005, p. 2). Most assertions of this theory are relevant for today’s mediascape, though by and large the propaganda model holds a prejudiced view of media ownership and conglomerates at the helm of power. The media industry is undergoing vast changes, with its reach and influence prominent on levels never before seen. Due to the fluidity of the media

One reason why it matters who owns the news media is that is can be seen to affect the levels of free press within a state, determining therefore how regulated or censored information becomes. The freedom of the press is a factor that is highly influenced by the organisations and public figures that own the news media. Government ownership of the media, particularly authoritarian regimes, can be seen to limit the levels of free press a country has. Barker (2006, p. 5) argues that “authoritarian regimes regularly try to censor or control the mass media’s provision of vision and information”. His argument therefore suggests that if the state has a strong control of the news media, they are more easily able to alter the information that the public receive. For example in North Korea, newspapers, such as “the official party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun, are all owned by the state” (BBC, 2011). This therefore allows the

In the 2016 election the questions of the mainstream media and their potential biases and allegiances were brought up. In the election cycle, many media institutions refused or give emphasis to stories that would hurt their favored candidate's chances of winning the election. Questions about the validity of certain claims media institutions were making or even how reliable, they were at portraying information were brought up. Media biases are potential shifts towards one side of a political argument done by a member of the mainstream press (Daxter). Media bias does not include very opinionated pieces where the purpose is clear, but rather biases in tone when delivering the news (Ferdan). Media bias can also include subtle positioning that portrays a candidate as favorable/unfavorable depending on way of their presentation. Media bias occurs in tone of delivering the news rather an outright statement. Government regulation often known as “big government” is when the government attempts to regulate a medium or principle. Although media bias has the potential to perpetuate a false narrative that can influence many voters, should not be regulated by the government because of the media’s lack of influence and the constitutional right to the media’s freedom of speech.

The media are responsible for the greater part of the explanation and experience from which we construct up our individual perceptive of the humanity and how it works. Our view of realism is based on media communication that has been constructed and has attitude, interpretation and conclusion build in. Lacking mass media, sincerity and liability are unattainable in present-day democracy. Freedom of the media carries with it convinced tasks of openness, justice, truthfulness and responsibility. The control of the media to form and tear down individual morals comes with enormous duty.

The proper use of mass media in a liberal democratic society means that any political content that is publicized through the means “mass media” should be truly what it is said or regarded to be; it is required to be genuine. Today, the term “mass media” is so broad that it is actually “difficult to capture and define. ‘The media’ is a catch-all term that includes transnational corporations, communication technologies, policy and regulatory frameworks, the practices of journalists, gossip columns, the nightly television news, blockbuster movies, advertisements, business magazines, music radio, the local newspaper and the Internet. The media are businesses and yet they are also ascribed a special function in the democratic health of a society; the media are the news media and function as journalism, but they are also the entertainment media and provide escape from the pressures of everyday life.” Living in a society where mass media is so prevalent it can be, at times, challenging to distinguish the actual facts from information that is biased or incorrect. Mass media platforms are used as a vital tool to inform a large audience, the general public, on political issues. Saying this, it is important to be able to recognize that unfortunately the media is used both in a proper and ‘improper” way. The media often times can miscue information, may be biased, and even at times erroneous. Being able to