What is the media?
Communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated. Media includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet.
What are the functions of the media?
8 functions of the media:
1. Inform
2. Surveillance
3. Service the economic system
4. Hold society together
5. Entertain
6. Act as a community forum
7. Set the agenda
8. Service the political system
1. Inform
2. Surveillance
3. Service the economic system
4. Hold society together
5. Entertain
6. Act as a community forum
7. Set the agenda
8. Service the political system
- For media to work efficiently there must be no checks and balances placed upon it
- Despite harsh realties being presented through media outlets it is necessary for progress
- If people do not want to hear evil, see evil, or even speak evil then there is no place for media in our world today
- Sometimes what is heard is not what we want to hear
In today's world our media is a "mirror" of the modern society. It has become one way of trading and marketing of products and prejudices. The media claims to be governed by righteousness and equality, but greed and self-aggrandizement.
Present day media goes against all original intentions set for it. The media today is corrupt and run by the minority. It is driven by self interest and greed. However, there can be several reasons for information to be concealed. Protecting a person's privacy, avoiding graphic photos and information, concealing secret information, advancing political agendas and hiding political bias. The problem with today's media is the fact the "outspoken and inspiring decrees of individuals" are usually not what they seem.
The present day media does not always conceal information under a negative context. It is a very broad statement to claim that injustices, marginalized voices, and different ideologies are what are being hidden behind the "concealed doors." The media is quite free, but the information presented is usually bias. This is in order to gain views and to appeal to a select target group which differs in each country and with each media source.
The job of the media is to present information to the masses. How they do so and what information they choose is entirely up to them. With all the different outlets of media (t.v., photos, and newspaper etc.) there are many different way to present information to the public. Due to this fact information that ends up being concealed is usually for specific purposes. It is a false statement to claim that only through outspoken and inspiring decrees of individuals will "we" progress. Not everything must be announced and shown, but there should be specific reasons as to why something is being censored. The present day media is the most free it has ever been with so many different media outlets that news is going to get out one way or another.
In relation to the above quote, revealing certain information is somewhat unnecessary and does nothing for the public. A perfect example of this is the incident related to the UK Prime Minister David Cameron. In 2005 David Cameron was reported to have taken drugs at school. It was not until 2007 that he admitted to it, but he defended himself by saying, "I don't spend the early years of my life thinking: 'I better not do anything because one day I might be a politician.'" This is true and events that occur in someone's past should remain there as they are not a realistic reflection of what the person is like now. This information was not a threat to national security and had no place being put in the public lime light.