Some recent instance where the mass media seems to have act an agenda for what public should think - Essay Example

of the of the of the Effect of the Media on Public Opinion The media as the watchdog of society has to publicize and check the activities of leaders, in the public and private domains. Journalists are required to safeguard the public interest and protect it from the damage resulting from incompetence, corruption, and misinformation. An independent and free media promotes transparency; however, journalists have to face serious constraints and obstacles, while discharging their duty. Such restrictions are pronounced in the autocratic nations, where the journalists are subjected to several constraints (Odugbemi & Norris).

In a true democracy, the people are the masters. Consequently, they are entitled to complete information. The media is crucial for providing such information to the public, and it was provided with a number of privileges by the founding fathers of the US. In addition to this freedom the medial is duty bound to provide accurate and complete information. However, this has not always been realized and there were several instances where the media had failed to live up to this requirement. This was noticed with regard to health care legislation, wherein the media failed to provide proper details of the proposed bill (Does the mass media overstep its boundaries?). The reality in the US is that the media, in its totality, is subject to domination.

The armed forces of this nation exert a tangible influence on the media and treat it like the other factors involved in national security operations. Thus, the populace is provided with information that has been scrutinized and suitably altered by those responsible for national security (Stanton, 2011). In the list of priorities provided to the Navy Seals, collecting information from the lair of Bin Laden was higher than eliminating him. Such information was anticipated to have considerable bearing on the global and domestic information environment.

Consequently, quite a bit of information in computer hard drives and other media was collected by the Navy Seal Teams (Stanton, 2011). Therefore, the influence of National Security Operations has to be taken into consideration, while evaluating the information provided by the media. This applies to any type of media, whether it is the Press TV, Fox News, Al Manar, the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post (Stanton, 2011). The centralization of mass media generates the following dangers. First, power related to information is distributed in a disproportionate manner.

The beneficiaries of this imbalance are those who are in control of centralized media. Second, knowledge is transmitted without specifying the context. This leads to misinterpretation. Third, the tendency to concentrate on the sensational, which in turn results in the trivialization of reality. Fourth, the promotion of some specific agenda by playing upon the emotions of the populace. Fifth, neglect of intricate issues, due to paucity of funds and time. This results in over simplification, which once again produces the trivialization of reality (Stanton, 2011).

Ideally the media should promote general awareness among the public with regard to the pressing social problems. Furthermore, the media functions as a bridge between the leaders and officials, and the public. In the event of major disasters, natural calamities, conflicts, and crises of humanity, the role of the media is crucial. By providing comprehensive coverage of such incidents, the media can render justice to the populace. Works Cited Does the mass media overstep its boundaries? n.d. 19 June 2011 .

Odugbemi, Sina and Pippa Norris. Do the news media act as watchdogs, agenda – setters and gate – keepers? n.d. 19 June 2011 . Stanton, John. US National Security Information Operations: Obama’s Bin Laden Kill Sets Precedent. 10 May 2011. 19 June 2011 .