The Diversity in the Media - Essay Example

The term diversity loosely refers to something that is varied or different according to the Minster English Dictionary. With reference to media diversity, there are two major considerations which include ownership and coverage which are very significant and there are certain measures that can be taken such as ensuring an equal representation of various stakeholders in the media industries as well as promotion of a varied ownership structure of the media as a way of attempting to establish diversity. To fully understand the whole concept of media diversity, it is imperative to take a close look at the meaning of the whole phenomenon. Thus, according to a journal entitled ‘Media Diversity Matters,’ [online 2008], a diverse media is one that is inclusive of minorities and women in content, varied employment structures, that is who reports, or produces what we consume and most importantly the ownership structure of organisations that dictate what we hear and see as a way of ensuring that all the stories of America can be told and be heard in a fair manner. According to the same article mentioned above, it can be noted that the media especially the mainstream media is less diverse from the inaccurate, narrow representation of minorities and women on television as well as on radio owing to the disproportionate lack of women and minority reporters as well as producers and owners of the media. While it cannot be absolutely concluded that there is absence of diversity in the American media, the portrayal of minorities and women is often inaccurate and unfair at times which calls for equal participation for all sectors of society in media outlets through ownership and employment. This can be one of the most viable options of ensuring diversity in the media. The media have a powerful influence in shaping the behaviour of human beings. According to an article entitled, ‘Diversity in media and entertainment industries,’ [online 2008], Africans, Hispanic (Latino) and Asian Americans are often portrayed in ways which stereotype and reinforce negative images of each ethnic group. Thus, lack of diversity in the media impacts negatively on how stories are covered and limit opportunities for ethnic minorities in these professions. It is therefore, very important to have a diverse representation of various ethnic groups to participate in the media in form of employment and ownership. A close historical analysis of the growth of newspapers in US shows that a major trend that has shaped today’s newspapers is the ownership structure. Indeed, the newspapers are in business of generating revenue but the profitability of American newspapers is due largely to the buying up of individual papers by chains. According to Everette (1994), economic forces such as soaring costs of labour, materials and services have led to great expansion of chain ownership of newspapers. Such chains are large corporations that are well established and often acquire smaller media organisations to become part of their operations. “Dating back from the early 90s, there has been a steady growth of chains and the independently owned newspaper is close to extinction,” Everette (1994:96). He also noted that for instance by 1993, the Garnet Corporation owned 121 newspapers as well as 10 television stations and two radio stations in 33 states. Given this scenario, it can be seen that chain groups are continuing to dominate the ownership of the media. This change in newspaper ownership has certain implications on the operations of the media as a whole. It implies the ability on part of the chains to control the content of the media thereby potentially shaping how we think or our world view of events. In some instances such chain groups would also be involved in other large corporate business other than communication hence they would be more concerned with reaping profits with very little commitment to the local communities and are not likely to be committed to journalistic traditions of playing the watchdog role as they would only be committed to reaping profits. It can as well be noted that chain ownership greatly limits the number of independent voices. Indeed, the United States does have a few national newspapers for example, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal. However, most of the newspapers are local in their orientation though they are in most cases owned and controlled by chain groups. Newscasts on television or the general reportage in the media should reflect the ethnic diversity that exists in the society at large and ensure that the coverage is overally fair, unbiased and colour blind. The recently held elections in America were so much hyped in the media such that they received so much coverage since they were under the spotlight the world over. In an article entitled, ‘Obama will end affirmative action,’ (online 2008), it is stated that many people have hopes that America would be colour blind and at least the racial discrimination would be reduced to minimal level by virtue of having a first black African American president who would use his influence to fight against racism which is believed to be reigning supreme in most sectors of the American societies that are dominated by white elitists. This assertion bears testimony that the portrayal of media coverage is skewed in favour of white Americans at the expense of other minority ethnic groups. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for the regulation of the electronic media which include radio, television, wire and satellite. Specifically, it determines reviews and policies of media ownership including the number of the stations a media company can operate in any given company. However, according to the Journal entitled ‘Media Diversity Matters,’ FCC has frequently failed to protect America’s diverse voices. The Communications Act of 1996 deregulated national radio ownership rules and eased television ownership limits. This made it easier for, large, white male owned corporations to own media outlets nationwide, thus severely limiting the diversity of ownership, employment and content. Thus, a close analysis of the argument raised above, there are several factors that determine the ownership of the media especially in America which has seen most media outlets being controlled by a few, powerful corporations that are dominated mostly by white males. The content of the media reflects the views of the owners in most cases hence diversity is limited. In order to promote a fine balance in diversity especially between ownership and employment, there are certain recommendations that can be made. Restraining concentration of media ownership would be greatly recommended as a way of ensuring diversity in the ownership of the media. It can be noted that chain ownership of particularly the print media in America is dominant hence these powerful media groups would ultimately shape the content of any information that would be disseminated. In this case there would be need to regulate the number of media outlets a company can be expected to operate in any given market. Indeed, if a chain of media is operating the highest number of both print and electronic media in a given market, it would have great influence over the content of the media products which would greatly lessen diversity of views. I would rather propose that a chain group should be limited to operate one kind of media such as either print or broadcast media. If one influential organisation is allowed to monopolise all the various media in one community area, then there would be a risk that only one voice would be heard across the board. It is common knowledge that the media would reflect the views of the owners than the views of the public hence if one group has greater control of both print and electronic media, diversity would certainly be affected negatively. This does not promote variety and it would be highly recommended that there should be variety of ownership of media especially in one community to promote diversity of views and ideas of the people in that community. If there are many actors in the media industry where it would be owned and controlled by different organisations, there would be some form of competition which would also mean that there would be different views coming from the media. Simply put, it can be noted that competition in the communication field would help promote a diverse range of interests that would impact on the public in so many different ways. If there is competition, the various media outlets would be competing to capture a wide audience hence they would strive to represent the interests of the public which would constitute their audience in their coverage. In most cases, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities or the less privileged who would be poor are often excluded in the mainstream media. Their views are hardly heard and they are relegated to the lower echelons of the society because no one would be representing them thus, their needs and aspirations are not represented in the media resulting in less diversity. However, it must always be borne in mind that every human being has a right to express him or herself without hindrance and the media is the most common platform that can be used by a wide range of people get information or to pass it to other people in the society. To promote diversity, it would be imperative for the inclusion of these people with disadvantages in influential positions where they can make decisions such as management such that their interests would also be taken into consideration. By ensuring that there is mixed blood in the employment structure of any media outlet, it would necessarily mean that there is diversity as it would constitute a wide range of views. Localisation of media is another viable option of promoting media diversity as this would promote the portrayal of views and cultural values of the people of the local community. To do this, there would be need to integrate locals in the management of the production of locally related issues especially local programming where aspects like news and other related issues that reflect their cultural values are covered. Involvement of the local community in the media would go a long way in ensuring diversity as these people would represent the interests of the communities that are often excluded in the media coverage. The interests of the public would be represented in this scenario which means a diverse coverage of a range of issues. Over and above, it can be noted that the ownership structure of media outlets has a great influence on the ultimate content produced hence there should be a variety in ownership structures so as to promote diversity in the media. The locals should also be involved in the production process of media content as a way that can positively influence diversity in the products. Reference 1. Melvin L. DeFleur & Everette Dennis (1994), Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts Perspective, 5th Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 2. Media Diversity Matters: LCCREF Media & Communications Project [online] Available at, http://www.civilrights./assets/pdfs/media-justice-activist-toolkit.pdf (Viewed on 5 November 2008). 3. Diversity in the Media [online] http://www://www.media4diversity.eu [Viewed on 06 November 2008] 4. Ethnic Majority: Diversity in the media and entertainment industry [Online] http://www.ethnicmajority.com/media-homehtml [Viewed on 05 November 2008]. 5. The Federation Communications Commission-homepage http://www.fcc.gov Read More