To What Extent Does the Media Influence the Public Perception of Global Events - Term Paper Example

IMPACTS OF MEDIA ON PUBLIC PERCEPTION By Location To what extent does the media influence the public perception of global events? Introduction The formation of any public perception begins by setting of an agenda by the main media outlets around the world. The setting of the agenda determines what is worthy to be broadcasted as news and when and how to report it. The setting of news’ agenda is based on a different number of news, work and environmental factors that determine the newsworthy stories. The broadcasted news that we watch on our television have both negative and positive influence on our perception to global issues. The aim of this paper is to discuss how media influences the public perception on global issues. One of the key components that are essential in the development of public perception is framing. Framing refers to a situation whereby a certain piece of news or a story is broadcasted in the media to sway the attitude of the public. For instance, most politicians frame their political issues on national televisions to persuade people to vote for them (Baum & Potter 2008, p. 39). Likewise, media negatively and positively affects public perception on global issues such as conflicts, trade, environmental issues, and many others. For instance, if politician A once supported a policy that increased income taxes for the middle class people, a framing news headline will read “Politician A Discriminates the Middle Class Citizens”. This will influence news viewers to start having a negative perception about Politician A. Another main component that influences public perception on global issues is social desirability. Social desirability refers to the notion that the public in general forms perceptions that are based on its believe (what the public thinks is a popular opinion). Based on the setting of the media agenda and framing, most frequently a certain opinion is repeated in several media channels and social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter until a false vision is created in the minds of people. The alleged truth is in point of fact extremely far from the exact truth. Public perception on global issues is always influenced by political, media and public relations (McCombs 2013, p. 34). In addition, global media make use of a broad variety of advertisement techniques to spread their message and change public perception. Television has been viewed as the major medium for influencing public perception since 1950s. However, the use of internet is increasingly becoming an important medium in this realm. The media have significantly changed over the past years. Due to the availability of communication channels such as radios and televisions, all classes and populations are being exposed to different numerous types of media. The advancement of the internet has provided people with a convenience media resource. A large group of people are living in rapid paced societies. These people have no enough time to read and explore the truth about the broadcasted and documented information on the media. The producers of news and all media publications are always aware of this weakness and make use of media to influence public perception and opinion on global issues. The problem is that a large group of people is gullible and most societies are easily influenced by the way the media represents some global issues. On the other, the media respond to the demand of people and provides people with information that they crave. Unfortunately, the public is aware and needs more information about politicians’ vices and movie stars than they desire about global issues and political developments (Baum & Potter 2008, p. 43). The reason behind this is that the public likes to watch TV shows with the initial form of information. One of the positive aspects of the bias of media is that it facilitates change in the perception of people about classes in a positive approach, expose individual to different cultures, create environmental needs awareness, and needs of other people. Although media has negative impacts on people’s perception on global issues, it also should reflect the views of the public. With the increasing representation of African Americans, Hispanics, and other ethnic groups, the global media is currently working under pressure to represent these groups in a positive way. Another negative influence of media is that it has the ability to control what the public hears and perceives. For instance, most of the newspapers of the United States are owned by individual who control the news’ slant. They only need to publish information that will influence people’s perception in either positive or negative way. The environmental issues are good examples of how the media negatively affect public perceptions (Schramm & Roberts 2011, p. 45). The news producers use news headlines that influence the perception of the public about global issues. Another example of media bias is when protestants went to Washington protesting the proposed bill about health care, the public was informed that only few people were protesting while in the real sense there millions of people who attended. Another factor of media that leads to influence of public perception on global issues is photographs. A small group of audience can seem like a large one depending on the camera’s angle. In addition, a picture of a large group of people can be cropped and appear smaller. Often, most programs invite prominent, well-known guests who have conservative views to influence the perception of the public. Frequently, people from one side may decide to watch a particular program that supports their perception for them to feel justified (Baum & Potter 2008, p. 45). Most of television program affects the ideas of people about public relationships and morality. There are program controllers that work behind these shows to bring out the biases to the public. The ubiquity of mobile phones and television and also the internet has been playing a major role in the media of influencing consumers. Almost all people in developed countries have televisions in their homes and mobile phones. The unlimited access to broadcasted news and programs has resulted in an increase of 24hr programming. The mass media is currently affecting the way people think when it comes to matters of business (Schramm & Roberts 2011, p. 53). Most business people and organizations use media as a means of advertisement and most of the represented scenarios are literally false. In order for a TV program or show to be effective, people must be able to identify the characters and their actions. In addition, the idea that global media have influence on public perception can still be witnessed in the public health field. As with the broadcasted news, the public understands the influence caused by entertainment programs concerning health matters as well. It has increasing become clear that the fictional TVs play a vital role in influencing public perception about the state of health care policies and system. Very important aspects of health care systems are currently being broadcast on televisions, thus, improving health message and perception of people about their states of health (Baum & Potter 2008, p. 52). The media have highly helped in improving the state of public health in many countries because many people believe that the media plays a positive role of educating the public about important health messages. Because of the entertainment, media has greatly captured the thoughts and actions of many people, the public health organizations of the United States and other countries around the world are increasing using entertainment media as a way of spreading health messages to the public. This effort is currently referred to as “entertainment education”. Entertainment education can be defined as a way of enlightening the community about a global concern or issue by including educational information in entertainment programs (Schramm & Roberts 2011, p. 56). This method of influencing the public perception on global issues raises awareness, increases knowledge, creates favourable positions, and motivates people to take the right actions. Modern people should understand that they are living in an era of technology advancement, content diversification, and media saturation, whereby it is not easy for those who are willing to understand the world we are living in to tell the “real” things. In the type of environment we are currently living in, there no doubt that the media has both negative and positive impacts on the public perception about global issues (McCombs 2013, p. 77). Conclusion In conclusion, the media has highly influenced public perception on global issues because it always decides around our desires. Every person wants to be successful, make enough money, be happy, and look attractive. The media on the other hand, makes use of these desires to come up with its own images. When people see these images, they automatically fall into them and think that they should follow them in order to attain the desires. Similarly, the broadcasted news that we watch on our television have both negative and positive influence on our perception of global issues. Social desirability and framing are the main components of media that are highly influencing public perception on global issues. The problem is that a large group of people is gullible and most societies are easily influenced by the way the media represents some global issues. It is essential for policy makers to examine deeply on an issue before any policy is implemented and not only depend on the media information. Bibliography Baum, MA, & Potter, PB 2008, The relationships between mass media, public opinion, and foreign policy: Toward a theoretical synthesis, Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 11, 39-65. McCombs, M 2013, Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion, John Wiley & Sons. Schramm, W, & Roberts, DF 2011, The process and effects of mass communication. Read More