Media Ethics and Violence in Media. The Effect of Media on the Public - Essay Example

?Topic Media Ethics and Violence in Media Introduction The article “Imitation media violence and freedom of speech” elaborates on the presence of violence in media and how it influences people largely to imitate violence. Various scandalous events and crimes, many a times media project may largely reflect high level of violence and obscenity which may harm the public. The author claims that children who are more influenced by television and media has a general tendency to imitate behaviors seen in media .The article states that this kind of social behavior aggravate the violence among children and lead to chaos in society So I agree with the article and believe that the media should follow ethical standard and should broadcast less violent information in order to avoid imitation of criminal behavior among public especially children. The article states that the tendency to imitate among young children is high, same as in infants. This news with violent content can have a negative impact on the children as they imitate what the criminals are doing which aggravate anti – social behavior in them. The author states that studies have shown the psychological effect of crime on children and their behavior. Today, crime is an important part of the news media. The media certainly has a complex and strong influence on the society and it is their responsibility and obligation to follow ethical standards to protect the social security of the public. The Concept of Media Ethics Ethics in the Greek means “Ethos” and it deals with principles regarding the way in which we need to live with the “good “and understanding the distinction between right and wrong. Media ethics is a set standard of principles and laws a media professional should follow during the practice of their profession. This is particularly hard to do, when actions have to be taken quickly, as is often is the case in media. When it comes to the media, however, we don’t always know what is right. Ethical issues are not clearly new. But this issue need to be clearly reviewed and updates on regular basis. The ethical context is ever changing, creating a necessity for careful evaluation of the ethical issues that confront media professionals. The role of media is to educate and enlighten the public and for this it should follow an ethical framework in order to realize their full potential. The responsibility of media extends beyond the importance attached to news coverage. Ethical issue arise when the media professionals assumes a position that conflicts with the best interests of the public. Media ethics has been formulated in order to allow journalist to produce news which are fair, accurate and socially acceptable. The main motive of media ethics is to create information which is justifiable and safeguard public interest. Media ethics are formulated with an intention to safeguard the interests of public and regulate immoral action from the media professionals. The Effect of Media on the Public Within the last few decades, the popularity of media has grown exponentially due to the technological advancement and economical development. The society today largely depends on communication and information delivered by the media outlets. The daily lives of people are significantly directed by the media. A common man wakes up with the television and gets himself updated with the help of radio, internet and television regarding the latest news throughout the day. Nowadays, the most of the culture, values and beliefs of a person is molded by the media business. We get the experience of the world and perception of life from the media. We built up our knowledge on worldly facts and events with the help of newspaper and news channels. The trust that people keep on media is high and the lives of people are tied strongly to media world. Especially, the teenagers are more bonded with media as they are constantly in touch with internet and television channels. Nowadays, it is trend to see crime, obscenity and vulgarity on internet and television channels which is triggering a negative impact on the young generation. In a way media is misusing the trust, confidence and authority the public has given them to exploit the morality and ethical value of teenagers. The media is getting highly skilled in exposing images and news with violent content .Lately, Media has become more and more unethical in their business conduct and has been purely focusing on money motives. Media has a huge responsibly to public and they have a major role in shaping their lives. The Violence in Media and its influence on society Most of the people accept that media violence is dangerous. They understand that exposure to violence filled media can provoke children and perhaps also adults to become more aggressive and even to commit violent crimes. Children who now watch television or surf internet encounter countless acts of violence and fighting’s which has a psychotically effect on them. It is impossible for children to avoid witnessing these violent acts again and again. There is another outcome to the media violence as with the emergence of television and other media, the crime rate in American and Canada has increased dramatically. This violence in media also aggravates the criminal tendencies in people and can lead to domestic violence. The news channels nowadays are too transparent about crime story coverage, especially about political conflict and war scenarios of different countries. Since, children are at a developing stage; these crime stories have a negative effect on their culture, values and beliefs. Children have the habit of imitation and when they see violent act on television they tend to imitate this at school or neighborhood. They get more inclined to aggressive behavior which will hamper the peace and social order of the society. The violent behavior of another person create arousal in people and they get motivated to do the same action .If we do not deal with media violence in the right manner, our society will continue to experience increased violence and crime. Media and Aggression among People Ethics focus on the emotion of empathy – which is the human tendency to feel for others – then the desensitization connected with high exposure to media violence may devaluate the very basics of ethics. Human have become less sensitive to human sufferings and has lost the essence of being a human. Media violence has been effective in increasing the fear factor among its viewers .The common underlying principles of ethics are empathy, self – control and a respect for life. However resistance to criminal tendency has become minimal as the depiction of violence in the media has increased in decades. At times, viewers undergo increased apprehension and anxiety when they identify or get attracted themselves with the victim or crime scene. The display of weapons can also influence a viewer to engage in aggressive thoughts and action. People may assume violence as a possible solution for their problems and indulge in them without any thought of guilt or regret. The realistic nature of crimes scenes reported by the media elicits a more violent behavior in a viewer. The presence of weapon in media gives insight to teenagers and criminals about their use. Sometimes, the way in which media projects military weapons and fighter jets can stimulate a viewer and persuade him to perform violent acts. It is not really about the presence weapons, but the way in which they are presented makes a huge difference. Nowadays civil unrest and killing has become rampant on news channels and documentary and people are less sensitive to these issues. Implication of Media Ethics on Media Violence In current age of globalization, viewers and readers are served with information and news which are crime – related and of violent nature. Today the media environment is jarred with constant deadlines and news bulletins. This has put the journalist in a challenging environment of focusing on stories which are attention demanding. Hence the violent events like political unrest or conflict or issue arising out of social or physiological are the central theme for media professionals. In this race for attention seeking news headiness, the media has forgotten the minimal moral requirement or ethical standard of their profession. We see pervasive messages that include sex, violence and humor because these topics or frames, reliably capture audience attention. In general, people expect journalist to play a role in protecting societies and impart beneficial knowledge. A journalism which works with ethics is ethical journalism. Providing the viewers with a news account that is socially viable, moral, accurate and reasonable is the duty of every journalist. It is mandatory, for media to censor that element from the news report that might disturb the social ordinance of a society. The media has been lately performing so irresponsibly as though they have no responsibility towards the betterment of the society. Most media journalist subscribe to the theory of “ objectivity” according to which reporters should present only the facts while scrupulously omitting from their stories their opinions, interpretation, conclusions , theories and value judgements.Journalist has the core responsibility of verifying the news of any malicious content which display extreme violence. The ethical responsibility of Journalists Journalists have a significant role to play in molding our understanding about the environment we live in. The role of media in a society is very constructive and if it works against ethical standards and moral principles then the effect on society and people can be adverse. The central ethical principles of journalism are truth and objectivity. However crime cannot be displayed on news channels and newspaper in their true form. Most of the content of criminal stories and violent events are harmful to children and adults as well. A journalist as well as the media person should evaluate whether the new content is acceptable by viewers. Developing a credible normative ethical framework remains difficult due to the demands of media practitioners’ daily problems and routines and the predominance of rather simplistic utilitarian conventions and guidelines Using a moral framework which is based on duty provide as an efficient method to judge the ethics of using violence in media coverage. In order to reduce the violence and crime display in media, a certain level of responsibility should be established among corporate media executives, producers, policy makers and journalists. The responsibility of the journalist towards the public is high .Even though a reporter is supposed to present stories in their true form, the security and safety of the viewers are to be taken in to consideration. Moreover, editors and publishers must ensure that code of ethics is observed rigorously not only by their staff but by anyone who contribute to their publications. The journalist has a moral obligation so as to not publish misleading, vulgar and distorted images including pictures. The journalist should understand that family audience’s privacy and health is of prime importance and this should be considered while relaying news. The publication or news should not intrude into the privacy of individual or family. According to media ethics, the reporters or media are not allowed to display the images of pictures of sexual assault or violence to the public. A journalist must understand fully the danger of restraints, persecutions and violence, which his activities may provoke. In fulfilling his duties he should oppose any kind of extremism whether racial, political, sexual or criminal. A journalist must also refrain from activities which may harm the moral and physical health of people. The reporters are supposed to adhere to those norms with particular strictness which could harm the interests of minors. A journalist should understand that once he takes a weapon into his hands, their professional activity comes to an end. A journalist cannot display rumors and distorted crime and violence facts t public to catch their attention. On receipt of a report, the editor and journalist has a responsibility to make amendments in the matter to make it viable for public viewing and to reduce negative reaction from them. The media should not publish violence and crime in the form of humor which can attract the attention of children and teenagers. Effort from media to reduce violence The media shall make every possible effort to build bridges of co-operation, friendly relations and better understanding with the society and communities. It should be understood by the journalist and media professionals that the news or crime stories reported by them are of public importance. Most of the time reporters tend to air news which is of no importance to society or public. Nowadays, the main aim of the news channels of newspaper is to pull the audience and popularize their business medium. Media does not have the right to misuse the confidence and trust the viewers have placed on their information delivering authority. The media has the obligation to maintain the secrecy of certain events to protect the goodness of the public. The media should divert a bit from the motive to gain business popularity and profit and thing more about social service and welfare of the society. They should make it a point to dedicate more time and effort one educating the young children and people on ethical and moral principles to lead a peaceful and healthy life. The media can report crime but the display of image and violence should be kept at a minimum level. The media corporate and professionals should induce noble principles as responsible journalism, standards and quality of performance, truth and objectivity for there is always a tendency for abuse and to mislead public at certain circumstances. Journalist and media should understand their limitation and work within the permitted legal boundaries. Conclusion The way in which news is mediated has a great impact on the children and general audience. Nowadays, the nature of Media and the news content telecast by them are of falling standards and against the ethical standards of the media. It is not about the production of news but mainly how it is consumed by the public is what matters. I strongly agree with the article and believe that children being imitative should be delivered news and stories which are of less violent in nature. I agree with the article that the imitating behavior found in monkey is largely present in young children and they automatically absorb violence seen in media. The media is in a way is taking advantage of the curious nature of human being to know the event and activities happening around him. The author is completely right in mentioning that media and journalism activities have a social nature and it has a direct impact on people especially children as they tend to imitate media. The media should strive to produce acceptable form of news which does not provoke people in to aggressive or anti- social behavior. Media professionals should aim at creating information and reports which is acceptable to all age groups. Television and newspapers are accessible to all people alike; hence their power to influence children is also credible. Media should understand their role and strength in shaping the life of young generation .A strict adherence to media ethics is mandatory for media as children grow up watching them, and it is necessary that they should be given positive information about life. Read More