Why Media Ownership and Diversity Matters - Essay Example

Why Media Ownership and Diversity Matters The Honorable (Full (Room (House) Office Building United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 for House Re: The Importance of Media Ownership and Diversity Dear Congresswoman/man My name is (Full Name), and I am Journalism, mass media and communication student from (institution). I am from the (State) and I am writing to express my opinion to you regarding the importance of media ownership and diversity. My intention to write this letter is based on the current status of the media whereby the chance to offer the public media diversity and minority ownership remains a challenge. By writing this letter, it is my firm belief that you will take a leading role in advocating for issues pertaining media ownership and diversity. From the onset, it is vital to highlight that various legislations and court rulings have rolled the gains made in the ownership of media in the country with the issue of ownership concentrated on certain key elements while women and the minorities face challenges in media ownership. Simultaneously, it is evident that employment of women and the minority in the media industry experiences little progress despite the country’s efforts in engaging the minorities and women in various fields due to affirmative action. Undeniably, there is a persistent lack of women and minority representation in the management of media houses and broadcast companies, which consequently narrows the economic and professional opportunities in one of the most influential industries in the country. The issue does not only occur in management. However, watching prime time news in the media depicts minorities in a bad light. For example, the scenes that the media subjects their viewers to involve Latinos invading the borders of this nation while the black community in America is painted as criminals with handcuffs on them following incidents of crime and consequent arrest by law enforcement agencies. Indeed, this depiction of minorities paints a gloomy picture on the country’s media. On the other hand, women also face widespread underrepresentation on prime time news. In line with this, a study held by 4th Estate during the 2012 presidential poll in America observed that there were seven times as many quotes from men than from women in the country’s main TV news programs newspapers. To make matters worse, the country’s media focused more on men than on women even in instances whereby the news focused on issues related to women. Consequently, this is an indication that there is the presence of widespread exclusion of women and minorities in the country’s media, which leads to the stories of these vital groups remaining largely untold. Research studies indicate of the effectiveness of news coverage in impacting on public opinions based on various approaches such as agenda-setting and framing (Avery and Peffley 134). In line with this, setting an agenda determines the issues that media and broadcasting houses discuss in order to influence public opinion. On the other hand, framing involves the communication of content by a media or broadcasting house to the public. Consequently, it is essential to point out that the framing of the content and agenda-setting influences the way that the public in the country will perceive issues that are political, social, and economical in nature. Based on this, it is evident that the failure to involve the minorities and women in management and employment in media has failed to ensure the presence of an agenda that sets to debate issues that affect them and how to solve these issues. For this reason, the country continues to debate on minority issues that are not conclusive since the people responsible for setting the agenda for discussion are not fully involved by the media. On the other hand, their involvement in setting the agenda might not be effective since their issues will not be solved effectively based on the evidence that ‘women issues’ tend to take a backstage even when they are being discussed in the country’s media. From a broad perspective, I should point out that access to ownership of the media is comparable to participation of a community in the process of developing policy or the act of pluralism. In line with this, it is evident that a democratic nation should involve all groups, whether the majority or the minority groups, in the process of developing and suggesting policies through a process of interaction. In view of this fact, the country prides itself as one of the democratic nations in the world. Consequently, it is beneficial for the country to consider the involvement of all groups in media ownership and enhance diversity in ownership and in participation so that the country can effectively enhance the public’s participation in developing policies through an interactive process in the media. In this regard, democracy dictates that people should be provided with an opportunity to organize and participate in the process of influencing politics and policy. Enhancing political participation and influencing policy can only be achieved through a process that allows diversity in media ownership. In line with this, it is crucial to point out that this cannot be achieved when the country allows consolidation of the media and the formation of large monopolies that control the engagement of people in media. For example, encouraging ownership of large monopolies and consolidation of the media by individuals such as Rupert Murdoch is tantamount to ensuring that an individual sets the agenda for discussing pertinent issues in the country. In such incidents, it is evident that the range of voices that should discuss pertinent issues in the country changes to only one voice with the country tending to lose other critical voices within the community that might influence policies and impact on the country’s politics. In this case, this emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the country promoted diversity in our media in order to encourage diverse coverage of opinions. In effect, this will promote competition in our media and ensure the presence of diversity in the country’s media, which will consequently protect the local media industry from the control of minor players. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for regulating media ownership in this country. In line with this, the commission is meant to play an integral role in ensuring that the country’s media encouraged diversity and media’s ownership was not left at the hands of a small group of players who eventually control the entire media. Nonetheless, the commission continuously seeks to engage in activities that promote media consolidation by relaxing regulations that restrict the ownership of various media channels under one company or individual (Galfano 17). While the commission was meant to promote and protect local markets from prominent players, relaxing these rules and regulations is similar to opening up avenues through which the leading industry players will consolidate their ownership of the media industry by acquiring the small players. In effect, this underlines the importance of regulations that ensure that the country’s media ownership issue was not compromised by rules that relaxed the issue of ownership. It is not lost to observation that the country still has strict rules that protect ownership of the media. Nonetheless, it is clear that the ownership of the media is shrinking due to increased consolidation with six leading companies controlling the news in the United States (Common Cause). In effect, controlling news is equivalent to controlling politics and other pertinent agenda in this country. Ours is a diverse and complex society. With this in mind, the local media should play a pertinent role in ensuring that a range of issues was covered in the society. These issues include those that affect the underrepresented segment in our population that include minorities and women. For this reason, it is vital to address issues related to ownership and diversity since the media will continue to play a crucial role in shaping policies and politics despite the increased use and the advent of the internet. Moving forward, it is essential for the country to ensure that it kept alive debate on crucial issues, which is civil engagement of the people. A young Latino man is more likely to engage in a civil action after debate and influence from another person of a similar background, than a white male from a different setting would involve this man. Consequently, the issue of diversity will play a pivotal role in our media and only through ensuring equal representation of various groups can the country achieve engagement of minority groups in the country. The country cannot achieve this by the increasing consolidation and buy-outs of local media entities by the big players. The minute a prominent player buys a community radio station or a newspaper, the country loses its agenda of equal civil engagement of the country’s population. In conclusion, for our democracy to be healthy, we need media that is robust and diverse in order to ensure civil engagement of all people and ensure that people directly played a role in influencing policy and the country’s politics. To achieve this, the country requires media that represents the country’s diversity and complexity. This is the reason why ownership and diversity are crucial in our society since they support and enhance our democracy. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each one of us, and especially to you as a lawmaker, to encourage diversity and ownership of the media by the underrepresented. Yours Sincerely Name Works Cited 4th Estate. Female Voices in Media: Silenced. N.d. Web. 12 April 2013. . Avery, James M., and Mark Peffley. “Race Matters: The Impact of News Coverage on Welfare Reform on Public Opinion.” Race and the politics of welfare reform. Eds. Sanford F. Schram, Joe Soss, Richard C. Fording. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003. 131-150. Print. Common Cause. Facts on Media in America: Did You Know? N.d. Web. 12 April 2013. . Galfano, Jacob. “Speak Truth to Power: Diversity in Media Ownership” UW Bothell Policy Journal (2008): 17-20. Print. Read More