Lights, Camera, Distortion – Ways the media fails the public
Our world is changing every day, with a constant change in both evolutionary and revolutionary terms. Not all of them however, are for the good of this planet. There are so many instances of accomplishment, heroic deeds and heart-warming instances that occur on a daily basis. At the same time, there are instances of violence, corruption and power struggles. More often than not, the news, publications and all forms of media are dominated by the latter. FS Why?!
The media coverage of what really matters to the massive population we have today is abysmal. With the world’s population touching 7 billion, and that’s only human beings mind you, there is so much need for responsible living. If you look around, you will see how most people live a life of complete ignorance and with blatant disregard to a better tomorrow. Simple things like running taps or wasted electricity are simple, yet crucial elements that need to be highlighted. There are some people who never respond to other people, or even friends telling them anything, even if it is for their own direct benefit. However, seeing a picture, or reading a caption in a noted media form makes these very people stop and think about their actions, even if it is just for a second or two. The media has the power to make a change, and they neglect their very duty.
There are countless ways the media fails the public- even online media and esubjects. If someone develops something new – a technology that can be easily adopted or an activity simple to practice – that we, as large nations can adopt and contribute to change, it is the duty of the media to bring it to the fore. We need little or no news on celebrity gossip, about power struggles in companies among the higher management – these things don’t make a difference to our world. What matters are ideas, and the many simple ways there are to implement them. OB
How many people switch off their engines while waiting at a long stoplight? Some cars have enormous engines that guzzle fuel like there’s no tomorrow, and people are indifferent to it. How often do newspapers or magazines carry a simple caption telling us to do so? Why do automobile manufacturers have to spend millions of dollars to develop technologies that switch off the engine automatically when the vehicle comes to a standstill? Would you rather pay a $1,000 for it, or would you rather just stretch out your hand and turn the key? Simple understanding is all that the situation demands, and only the media can make it possible. What we need to know is if someone finds a cure for the common cold, and not which celebrity had a haircut recently. We need to know about breakthroughs in the weight loss arena such as african mango or acai berry or about technologies that will help teachers connect with their students better, not how much Bill Gates earned last financial year!
More often than not, the various media companies are influenced by a higher power – politicians, large companies that “insist” that the news reports published are tailored to incorporate a certain message, and also includes how the public should perceive that message. That is blatant manipulation of media for negative purposes. Social media is now the ultimate standpoint. We, the people, are the ones who must take action and spread the message.
The responsibilities of the media
The media is an extremely powerful entity these days. It was always very powerful.However, with many ways to transmit information such as the radio, television, newspaper and magazines with more modern forms arising through the internet, what is said or written can reach many more people at a much faster rate. When information is misleading or biased,it can change the world we live in, sometimes in dramatic fashion. The power of the internet to inform about any topic from smokeless cigarettes to Idol Lash to flooring Garland can be seen simply by doing a Google search. The ability to target local search results from anywhere in the world with specific search engine optimization techniques such as Orlando SEO or SEO Dallas has made the possibilities for media communication endless. Wrong interpretations can create tension between nations, affect families and destroy institutions. It just makes it that much more important to recognise the influential role the media plays and the danger it holds when that power given by the public is abused. It is society’s mouthpiece, it’s conscience.
One of the major tenets for the media is it’s responsibility to shoulder the burden of information and disseminate it effectively. For this, the media must be as objective as possible. In reality, no news is ever completely objective. Once a human being writes an article, broadcasts news or types on a website, it will be exposed to some level of subjectivity. This can’t be prevented, but it can be reduced. There are many topics which demand to be reported on objectively. Many people rely on the facts when deciding whether to try health products such as resveratrol or when deciding whether to invest in property or shares based on the current market or whether to take payday loans. Whatever form of media used should have some type of ethics and integrity. Objectivity can’t be reached, but with the correct journalistic ethics it gives an ideal to work towards. Biasses in all forms should be prevented at all times.
The media should be independent of other institutions. It has been well known throughout the years the influence governments have on the media. From every side of the globe, we have heard one story or another stating the governments interference on it’s local media. By forcing media houses to close down, by attacking journalists, by shutting down certain websites and restricting what is offered by the television and radio, many of us believe that this is the only way they can influence the media. However, in many societies with a seemingly independent media background, they receive more subtle forms of influence. It doesn’t even have to be subtle! With many media-houses displaying a preference for a certain political leaning, the chance of receiving objective information is close to nil.
It must be free from the influence of the private sector also. Even though it can’t be avoided in most cases, because they provide funding through advertisements and other ventures, their influence can limit information used for your judgement. If that brand name drink is safe to consume, that restaurant is sanitary or if the car you seek to buy may be safe, you may not know! Another more recent issue has arisen though. With the rise of social media and search optimization that is affordable to everyone through cheap seo services, information can spread like wildfire with no responsibility being taken simply because it is an institution without ethics or standards. JSN It must be noted, that many people are obtaining all their information from social network sites!
It is all up to the user to make sense of this overload of information, some from formal and informal forms of media. BeiBei Each of these forms have a responsibility to the public to display information that is as objective as possible to as many people so they can be their own judge and not be told what to believe. PF We live in a world with many different views so it is even more challenging for the media to be fair and unbiased, but they must do it.
The vice called Media
The media business is the most insensitive business around the world. Agreed, most of the businesses are usually relentlessly aggressive, however, there are some ethical protocols even with competitors. The Media on the other hand, are not concerned with anyone’s wellbeing/privacy/integrity. All they are concerned about is themselves and the addition of spice to any news which can sell their news better than their competitors. The Media is notoriously known for the different ways in which it distorts the truth.
For a long time, the most common forms of media communication were printing and broadcasting. However, since the 1990s, the Internet has also contributed largely to this communication. More companies and channels have come up with their own news media for doing business. Needless to say, there is cut throat competition amongst all of these news media. This competition sometimes turns into an abomination for some people. The Media has the power to make or break someone’s career. It can turn someone into a heroic figure overnight but at the same time destroy someone’s image permanently. The media can make customers trust in a good product such as Crescent Processing or it can spread lies. The Media can make people believe certain things which no one would have believed otherwise. The Media has been misusing all these powers over several years to distort the truth.
The Media is no one’s. It will communicate good things about certain subjects (topics/personalities/events) only because currently, that subject’s “good qualities” are more sellable and popular than its “bad qualities”. As soon as the subject gets a little unpopular or if the media has enough sellable poison, the same people will write things which would eventually humiliate the subject and bring it down. This is the obnoxious nature of all the news media around the world. Although some people are aware of this fact, they are helpless.
The paparazzi are like a bunch of hungry hyenas trying to steal/suck whatever is available. They sell all the candid photographs of celebrities to media which shamelessly publishes the same for their business. It is believed that the pursuing paparazzi were partially responsible for the death of Princess Diana. These paparazzi harass celebrities and destroy their privacy and personal lives. One can’t think of other immoral, unethical jobs worse than these, except terrorism!
However, the media’s vices do not stop just here. They are largely involved in bias. Some news items are conveniently ignored or avoided about certain topics so that people are not made aware of the truth. The main reason can be the aforementioned nature of the news media. The second reason can be political involvement. Yes, the bad news continues. There is significant political involvement in the media too. We all know how bad the reputation of politics around the world is. We shudder to think what these two malevolent forces can deliver in combination! Some media channels are paid money by these politicians to broadcast certain news about some topics. These channels oblige the politicians by distorting the truth. Even the vice-versa happens. Certain influential media channels bribe cheap politicians to speak incorrectly against someone/some topics. The manner in which they present the incorrect news is such that, people sometimes are totally unaware of the truth.
It is a fact that media has failed more often than it has delivered. Slowly but surely, the common man is losing trust in the media.
How the media can distort public opinion
The media holds the key to almost all the information that we see or hear today. They are the only entity that can dictate the opinion of the public to their direction. Have you ever asked yourself if the information that is portrayed by the media is the gospel truth? Most importantly have you ever considered or the thought of the fact that the media can distort public opinion? It is true that sometimes the actual public opinion differs from what the media claims is the public opinion. This is one characteristic of the media that is slowly leading to its failure. This is why businesses conduct their own campaigns of business intelligence before making important marketing decisions rather than simply relying on what the media may tell us about a certain market. The media likes to give out information according to how they feel is right for them or in a way that is going to create controversy to boost their ratings or favor a certain motion.
There are several ways on how the media can distort public opinion. The first method of doing this is by reporting lies. This is what is heavily used by the media so much. They report and send out information that is not true. They indulge in reporting news and information that is inaccurate and some that satisfies their needs. Since the media has become like a Bible to many people nowadays, it is likely to be believed by many people. Motivational speakers can reach an enormous audience and have a huge impact when it comes to convincing people thanks to the media. Consider this, how many times have you been involved in a strong argument with someone about certain information regarding the news and then you decide to refer to the internet? There are many occasions when this has happened; and whatever information that you get whether it is not the actual truth, you are going to settle on that it is the truth. For example an article on the best online CRM software or a video that recommends Patek Philippe watches is likely to convince you that these products are the best, and in many cases these products are the best but it is thanks to their prescence in the media that you listen to the message. In this way the media would have distorted your opinion on a certain issue through the internet.
The other technique that the government uses to sway the minds of people is by creating imaginative opinions. If you are a careful news viewer, it is very easy to notice this. There are times that the public can be asked what they feel about a certain topic or whether they believe if something is true or not. It is not in all cases that the media will give the correct information on what the people think. You as the viewer might think that the public has a certain opinion regarding something and what the media did is just play around with the results to suit the interests of certain people. The media has a way of playing with the psychology of the masses just like marketers do so with free offers such as free wii points or voucher codes in order to get people to take a certain action such as purchase more fancy dress costumes. They will heavily use this to their advantage. They can get the opinion of one person and generalize it. Since they know that many people follow them and believe what they say, they will report anything. The only problem comes about when another media reports a different view on the same story. This brings a state of confusion in the viewer’s minds and leads them to have a distorted opinion. The media can only do people good by just reporting facts. This is one way that they can actually, win the crediblity of the people.
Why the Media Needs To Adopt a Higher Ethical Standard
If you look for the same story on different IYC news media shows you are likely going to find that each channel or newspaper will have a slightly different story. You would think that seeing as how a story is really only one way that they would all have the same facts and the same story. This is not the case however and it is because the different media outlets will use their opinions to help with swaying the story one way or another to make it sound best for them.
This is often times very frustrating. There needs to be some kind of ethical standard that these people try to live up to. This should hold them to reporting the truth and for them not to purposely try to mislead the public with their opinions by leaving out or adding in information that can sway the story in a different way.
The really sad thing is that you don’t know what media outlets you can trust anymore. It is not just the liberal or just the conservative media that is taking part in being misleading. This is happening with all the different outlets out there. They are all swayed stories in one way or another.
If a certain outlet feels that reporting a story will make them look bad, even though it is relevant to the people who watch the local news or read the local newspaper, they might leave it out just to help their view on things. This has been shown time and time again as some stations or newspapers will report on an important story and others will act like the event never even took place.
If you are a form of media and your job is to inform people about stories that are relevant to them and have an impact on their lives then that is what should be done whether the story could potentially hurt your own viewpoint or not. Reinventing Aging The people have a right to know what is going on around them and things can’t just be left out or even misconstrued simply because it is what you want to do. This is not acceptable.
These are just a few of the many different reasons that the media needs to have some standard to live up to. They need to have some kind of code put in place that would require that they report the truth without misleading the viewers or even refusing to report the story all together simply because they don’t want to. This is especially important when it comes to reporting statistics. If it has to do with those in the local area they have a right to know about it and for that reason it needs to be reported. Just one example is the health product african mango that has the potential to help alot of people control their weight – it is important for the public to know about such information. If the media has difficulty in being objective when reporting the facts an independent essay writing service could be used to critique their work. If the media starts to live up to a higher code of ethics it could make things better for everyone as they are able to see the full truth of things and are better able to make informed decisions when it comes to what they do and how they vote as well as other things.
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