The Role Of The Mass Media - Essay Example

The role of mass media Prepared for: Date: Student name: Course name: Student number: Submission Date: 1 Table of contents Contents 1 Table of contents 2 2 Introduction 3 3 The role of mass media in identifying, promoting and shaping global issues 4 4 Conclusions 11 5 References 13 2 Introduction Mass media is the collection of communication instruments that can convey identical messages to numerous people who most of the time happens to be physically separated. The identical information may then be relayed through recordings, televisions, radio as well trough print such as books, newspapers, magazines among other printed materials. The media industry, either as a public or private entity, plays a very critical role in the economic development of both local and international world economies. The media in its entirety is responsible for gathering support or opposition for those who govern, providing a voice for the people or not doing so, highlighting or failing to do so the views and or the sins of the industry, and by also spreading economic information. Their major roles comprise of representing the special case of democracy by endeavouring to achieve two goals that includes facilitating for access of public information and protection of free expression. However, the media will only perform better and be efficient and effective in providing accurate and useful information if they certify some basic conditions such as having and achieving a broad reach, provide better and quality information, and also if they are independent and free from political and economic influence and arm-twisting. Hence, the media industry can only achieve the aspects mentioned above if they reduce the symmetries between private agents, and decrease the natural asymmetry of information between whom they are supposed to serve and those who govern. If the media achieve all these aspects, then the media industry will be in a better position of being accountable to all entities such as the business community as well as the governments by simply monitoring the dynamics as well as laying the ground for media consumers to make more informed decisions. 3 The role of mass media in identifying, promoting and shaping global issues Mass media has an extraordinary significance in the history of mankind. Just like the contemporary machines have undisputed significance in the industrial revolution regarding the multiplication of the human power alongside other kinds of energies, it is the same way the communications discriminations from the media revolution fraternity is capable of multiplying human messages to unfathomed degrees (Biagi, 2015). The existence of mass media makes a critical difference in the communicant levels even among the masses that are both literate and illiterate (Wilkins, & Christians, 2009), and people who are not able to access the electronic media. With the emergence of new technology developments, many countries are now developing in terms of political and business development. (Murphy, 2013) adjoins that Countries across the globe are also endeavouring to communicate effectively and in a faster manner due to the modernisation of communication infrastructures such as telecommunications and the internet. Various researchers agree that the media has a critical role to play regarding the shaping of global issues. Seetha, Karmasin, & Melischek (2013) assert that the media are set foreign policy agendas of western states. For example, the researchers point out at the Somali and Kurdish refugee crisis, terming them as the “CNN effect”. The researchers also claim that the media played a positive role in promoting and facilitating humanitarian actions by highlighting the abuses and suffering they undergo more so in democracies through the images flashing on the television screens despite the fact that they actually did not dictate policies. The post-cold war policy also depicted that the media somehow further the ethical approach to international affairs and advance ethical values (Murphy, 2013). In that regard, the media acts as the advocate for the globally vulnerable by assisting the emergence of a global civil society (Seetha, Karmasin, & Melischek, 2013). As much as the mass media provides both information and entertainment (Bradley, 2003), it also impacts on the political, social and cultural issues on the global scale. The media actively mirrors and influences the society. The propagation of social networks and media outlets has been as a result of complicating the study of mass media’s socio-cultural and political issues by various researchers (Biagi, 2015; Seetha, Karmasin, & Melischek, 2013; Bradley, 2003). The researchers have also found it difficult to study the specific effects of mass media on a global perspective due to recent augmentation of information sources. Regarding both domestic and foreign policies, the role of mass media in policy formation has for long been a subject of discussion for scholars who have taken their time to investigate and determine its significant role in mass communication in relating public opinion to government policies (Doveling, Scheve & Konijn, 2011). In most instances, the link between possible public opinion and media coverage has resulted in decisions such as the international intervention in important matters such war and terrorism coverage in war-torn nations and other humanitarian disasters such as terrorism and civil wars happening in countries such as Somalia and Syria (Koch-Baumgarten & Voltmer, 2010). However, the world is restricted by what the media can relay to the population, and also choose to tell the masses. Besides, there is also another tricky aspect of the economic prosperity of the media in terms of gaining business profits. The survival of the media depends on the state regulations of the media entities. Their survival also depends on the consumers that they serve as well as the organisations and individuals who pay them to advertise their products and services. It is, therefore, a very tough situation for the media industry to balance the interest of all these players as they struggle to serve them locally and the also in the global aspect. In addition to this phenomenon, the media industry has also struggled to perform their duties despite the persistent political interference across world governments. One of the main struggles for the media has been the fight for free speech (Voltmer, 2010). Numerous debates on media freedoms have been conducted across the world where press freedom interference has been discussed. The impression that the “marketplace” is based on the liberal belief that lone agencies are permitted makes the final decisions on the political causes have been challenged in these debates. It has also been argued that the media provide the same “marketplace of ideas” where the dissenting voices struggle to be recognised without the victimisation of their governments. It is also public common sense that the people have assigned the media a passive role of acting as a forum where individuals and the entire public at large are assigned the platform of expressing their views. On the contrary, the validity of the marketplace of ideas has also been at some point been questioned. Even though the major argument has been the comprehension of the media democracy, experts have also expressed reservations with the fact that confrontations of competing views are really the best method of illuminating ‘the truth’ as it might possibly create some uncertainty and the exasperation of divergent views. Worse still, it might also prove to be the best prevailing argument but rather of those that are capable of articulating their views in a more effective way. Another concern directed to the “marketplace of ideas” notion has been the question as to whether and to what extent the media industry as an institution can actively promote a certain point of views by actively participating in public debates (Voltmer, 2010). The other concern has also been the quality of quality of democratic decision-making which is always correlated with the information quality that is relayed by the media. This aspect is also linked to the roles of the media and comprise of information and forum provision to the public. Although the provision of the forum and information by the media are not mutually exclusive, they are also not necessarily identical. The kind of information that fosters the understanding and rational decision-making on the side of the citizens is not what serves the public needs of political actors, and vice versa. The media chooses how it sets and frames the agenda. The media sets the agenda by highlighting humanitarian crisis. It also determines the significance of issues and events in the minds of the people using persistent and extensive coverage (Vipond, 2011; Sidahmed, Soderlund & Briggs, 2010). Hence, the media determines what they think is critical in the enormous range of both domestic and international events. The media can also frame information by suggesting and deciding which events are of importance. These actions are determined by deciding what kind of events or issues should be presented and reported and are of significance in the way the people interpret them. Bradley (2003) acknowledges that the public opinion arises from the framed information, from the chosen emphasised issues, events instead of direct contact with the realities of foreign affairs. Mass media also has a role in informing citizens about the actions of politicians and governments, their track records, and the actions of political leaders across the world (Negrine, 2005). Biagi (2015) claims that the media has for a long time shown the public that politicians are opportunists who only strive to serve their personal interests at the expense of the problems experienced by the larger public – a situation that has for a long time depicted politics as a principle-agent problem rather than a solution. In this case, the agents are the politically elected bureaucrats and officials who determine policy outcomes while the principals are the ordinary citizens who finance government business by paying taxes (Vipond, 2011). The media is also capable of disciplining rogue politicians by exposing their hidden actions. This happens when the media exposes politicians who give bribes and making their actions public. Such actions usually depend on the efficacy of a particular media establishment regarding discovering and widely broadcasting the issues in a more transparent manner. The media has also played significant roles in situations of environmental calamities and natural disasters by warning a wider public of impending floods and droughts. The public will then count on their respective governments to take action so as to control or even prevent such calamities for endangering the lives of the people likely to be affected especially in developing countries (Voltmer, 2006). The same media is also capable of changing the dynamics on political and social democracies, and other outstanding issues prior to political elections in any given country due to their powerful influence on the public. This might also depend on the motives of the people who own those media companies. Depending on how they report their news to the public, the media is capable of publishing and reporting stories that might promote ethnic tensions that might lead to the victimization of specific ethnic groupings (Johnson, 2011). Therefore, the quality of news transmitted to the public by the mass media is determined by various factors (Sidahmed, Soderlund & Briggs, 2010). One of these factors is the traditions and methods used by investigative journalists. A situation that depends on the training of the journalists and the kind of treatment they are accorded by their editors. Other factors comprise of the legal environments under which the news media operates. A good example is the United States where the media has an easy time of printing stories without fearing libel suits because influential people are do not have absolute access to libel laws (Islam, 2002). A fact is an exact opposite in the United Kingdom where it is difficult for media agencies to publish or transmit speculative news stories due to the nature of libel laws. Islam (2002) further suggests that governments can only be kept in check and accountable by effective media. Other than identifying and shaping global issues across the world, other roles of mass media also include the production of two products which includes advertising and content production. These two products, however, carry diverse characteristics if the media seems to be independent (Zapesotskii, 2011). The media happens to sell both content and information to its consumers across the world. Thus, their two major sources of revenue are their audience and their media content which they sell by attracting their audiences that can consume their advertisements. The production of media content, in general, is associated with large economies of scale. These include satellite television broadcasters and newspapers that are part of the mass media umbrella (Bradley, 2003). And because a larger population depends so much on the media to get information, it is the duty of the media to select what kind of information to communicate to the public and also make sure that the disseminated information is credible (Taylor & Harris, 2008). The media has also been in the frontline in contributing to the roles of corporate governance by questioning the reputation of those people who hold public office. These actions make it possible for corporate managers and directors, shareholders and even future employees to become concerned with their public image since the pressure from the media forces them to behave according to certain societal norms (Johnson, 2011). The attention of the media also impacts on the reputation of the standard channels that most economic models emphasize. Politicians can also be forced to introduce corporate law reforms and policies that enforce corporate laws because they perceive that if they don’t act, then their future political aspirations will be questioned. This fact ascertains that the shaping of the accumulation and creation of reputation of public figures is triggered by the works of the mass media (Zapesotskii, 2011). It is, therefore, evident that directors and managers formed of various public and private organisations and other world bodies bow to media pressure because they care about their public image (Islam, 2002). The media has also been vocal on the environmental issues across the globe by making the private sector respond to the environmental issues. This action has been perfected over the years by world environmental bodies and groups such as the National Resources Council and the Greenpeace, and the Wildlife Federation in the United States who have championed for the media to communicate and publicise about various companies polluting the environment and even interfering with the wildlife existence such as poaching activities (Islam, 2002). Alternatively, besides the media acting as a political democracy “watchdog” and also promoting education across the world, quite a number of scholars have also claimed that with the advent of sophisticated technology, the introduction of some questionable programmes and suggestive advertising and easy access to the internet in the 21st century, the media has also brought with itself a myriad of disadvantages (Johnson, 2011). Such complaints are that some television advertisement promotes nudity and sexually suggestive content. The internet has also made it easy for minors to access pornographic materials without the knowledge of their parents because gadgets such as laptops and smartphones are easily accessible by juveniles. The youth tends to imitate what they watch on television sets and the movies. As much as some of these contents may be targeting adults, the youth and young children somehow get access to this content either by accident or even intentionally (Zapesotskii, 2011). This is because the media always try to air content that they believe will be able to attract a larger audience and which will eventually translate to more sales and even more profits for their establishment. With the internet being the most notorious part of mass media, it contributes to a larger percentage of the mass media channel that promotes inappropriate sexual content by glorifying music and movie celebrities who behave, sing, and talk everything about their sexual prowess, crime, and other unacceptable means of making quick money (Johnson, 2011). All these media contents tend to influence the minds of their viewers and even controls their lifestyle because they think that that is what is right. In the process of doing this, they miss the point and finally make mass media less significant because important information such as economic, political, sociological and economic development issues are neglected in the name of airing news are perceived to be ‘interesting’ for the eye of a majority and controversial at the same time. 4 Conclusions Irrespective of all these issues associated with the way the media conduct its business, mass media has been commended for closing the global communication gap and even creating a global village which has eventually made the world smaller and improved the way of conducting business easier than before. The media is, however, more concerned about the commercialisation part of it than information dissemination. And this is the reason for a long time; the industry is not bothered about the ethical and moral part of doing their business. If only the media could be responsible, honest and sincere in doing their business, and become independent and free from government and political interference, then the world would be a better place to live in. As much as it is evident that this report could not have possibly highlighted the entire roles of mass media in identifying, promoting and shaping global issues, a good number of these aspects have been covered by the author. More research should be conducted in the future by the author of this report so as to come up with more exhaustive findings. 5 References Islam, R. (eds). (2002).The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development. Washing, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ World Bank. Seethaler, J., Karmasin, M., & Melischek, G. (2013). Selling War: The Role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts from World War I to the “War on Terror’. United Kingdom: Intellect, The University of Chicago Press. Negrine, R. (2005). Politics and the Mass Media in Britain. London: Tailor & Francis. Doveling, K., Scheve, C., & Konijn, E. A. (eds). (2011). The Routledge Handbook of Emotions and Mass Media. London: Tailor & Francis. Taylor, P. A., & Harris, J. L. (2008). Critical Theories of Mass Media: Then and Now. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Biagi, S. (2015). Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media, (12th Edn). UK: Cengage Learning. Wilkins, L., & Christians, C. G. (eds). (2009). The Handbook of Mass Media Ethics. London: Routledge. Vipond, M. (2011).The Mass Media in Canada: Fourth Edition. Canada: James Lorimer & Company Ltd. Publishers. Koch-Baumgarten, S., & Voltmer, K. (eds). (2010). Public Policy and the Mass Media: The Interplay of Mass Communication and political decision making. London: Routledge. Voltmer, K. (2006). Mass Media and Political Communication in New Democracies. NY: Routledge. Sidahmed, A. S., Soderlund, W. C., & Briggs, D. E. (2010). The Responsibility to Protect in Darfur: The Role of Mass Media. UK: Lexington Books. Bradley, P. (2003). Mass Media and the Shaping of American Feminism, 1963-1975. USA: University Press of Mississippi. Zapesotskii, A.S. (2011). The Influence of the Mass Media on Young People as a Problem of Russian Pedagogy. Russian Education and Society, 53(7), pp. 3–24. DOI 10.2753/RES1060-9393530701 Johnson, D. E. (2011).The mass media’s dual role: ‘watchdog’ and guardian of their own interests. Journal of Public Affairs, 14(3), pp. 369-378. Murphy, R. (2013). Media roles in influencing the public understanding of educational assessment issues. Oxford Review of Education, 39(10), pp. 139-150. Read More