W1 Discursive - Essay Example

For example, in 1991 an African American motorist was beaten up by White police officers in Los Angeles. The incident was video recorded by an onlooker and it was shown to the public through news. The criminal trial pertaining to the incident pronounced that the officers were not guilty and were cleared from several charges of police violence. Since it was clear to the public after watching the video several times that the police had erred, the event paved way for riots and civil disturbances and there were much debated about racial issues in Los Angeles (Harris, R.J. 1999 p.156). In this case, the instant availability of news resulted in the social conflict over an unfair judgment which was of advantageous to the victim in availing justice.

The advancement in news coverage may be reiterated with the changes in the nature of policy making in the case of drunken driving. Media has a strong impact on policy making. The power and depth of the news and the lack of these factors have varying impacts on policy making. In the case of drunken driving during the period 1978 to 1995, it was observed that strong media coverage during the early 1980’s paved way for immediate action from policy makers to find an immediate solution to the issue.

However, when the volume of news coverage reduced in the late 1980’s, there were only sluggish decisions from policy makers that could prevent the menace only in the long run (Yanovitzky, I. 2002 p.422-451). It is irresistible for a majority of the public to stay away from news reports of terrorist attacks. Though it is horrific to read details of terrorist attacks in magazines, newspapers and watch footage on television, many people find it impossible to abstain from knowing these worse circumstances around the world.

The ease of availing this information through media may evoke a feeling in the