Effects of News Media Sample Essay.
Effects of News Media
University of Phoenix
Effects of News Media
News media is useful in disseminating major happenings to the public. Customarily, the majority of the public believe the information broadcasted to them is factual. Thus, news media are instrumental in shaping the public’s opinions. Therefore, social responsibility of the news media, their role in shaping political opinions, and the effects of electronic media and their convergence in transforming journalism have been herein discussed.
Social Responsibility of Information Media
It is a matter of fact that that information media have a social responsibility to its stakeholders. Essentially, people depend on news media for information about the day-to-day happenings. This includes but not limited to politics, natural disasters, crimes, and innovation. Generally, the clientele of these information media believes that the news presented to them are as accurate as possible. Usually, the media represent opinions as facts. Prakash and Anand (2016) pinpoint that the today media craves for more ratings as well as making more money at the expense of disseminating factual news to its clients. Typically, the public has total trust in information media and if the media source falsified news to them, it is a high chance that the public will embrace the news as factual news. The ramification of this can be catastrophic as far as the information media stakeholders are concerned. Principally, the public could be upset if they finally came to the realization that the information media presented to them the false news. Consequently, their faith in the media will dwindle leading to reduced clientele base for the information media. Therefore, it is imperative that media houses be responsible in terms of news reporting. They need to report news devoid of opinions. This will then allow the public to make up their mind based on what they hear. Equally, information media need to lay emphasis on public opinion formation. They should then be able to shed more light on important issues both presently and in future.
The Role of News and Information Media in Shaping Political Opinions
Politics requires the politicians to be in constant contact with the electorates. To do this, they share messages over news and information media frequently in a bid to influence a wide clientele. Imperatively, information media have key roles to play as far as shaping political opinions is concerned. To begin, according to Barthel (2015), the news or information media may broadcast news that is untrue to sway the public’s thought on politics. These media houses may be heavily paid by shrewd politicians to influence people’s thoughts to their advantage. It is prudent to note that most people have a strong faith in information media. They usually believe in everything that these media say without hesitation. The politicians, in collaboration with the information media, can take this to their advantage and sway people’s political thought. Nowadays, more people prefer live feeds or updates to periodicals. Live updates have little turnaround time and operate within a specified deadline. Usually, journalists are more concerned with meeting the deadline than to report factual information. Essentially, the public believes in instant updates as political events unfold. Once the update has been given to them irrespective of its accuracy, they tend to stick to them as true news. Sadly, it is hard to correct live updates if the news reported was false. The consequence of this is the influence on the public’s political thought. Additionally, news and information media can influence politics by only broadcasting political activities of a given politician while blacklisting those of other opponents. This makes the public to perceive that there is only one strong candidate in the race for a political office.
How Electronic Media and their Convergence have Transformed News Consumption and Journalism
Since the takeover by electronic media, news consumption and journalism has greatly changed. Initially, print media was prevalent. Chiefly, there was quick turnaround time for daily news while periodicals had a longer turnaround time. It is paramount to understand that turnaround time enabled the journalists to edit the news so as to ensure that the news to be presented to the public was factual, devoid of errors. Most importantly, turnaround time was particularly useful for periodicals. The journalists had ample time to edit and correct the large amount of information that the periodicals contain. However, electronic media relies on live updates and immediate deadlines. They do not, therefore, allow for proper editing of news to eliminate errors. Despite this, live updates allow the public to get in touch with major happenings all the time (Tugba, 2017).
Conclusion
Generally, news media influence the way the public perceives things. They can, therefore, sway people’s thoughts for better or for worst. It is thus prudent for news media to act responsibly when they disseminate news to the public.
References
Barthel, M. L. (2015). The People’s News: Media, Politics, and the Demands of Capitalism. Political Science Quarterly, (2), 367.
Prakash, G., & Anand, E. (2016). Indian News Media and Natural Calamities: Case of Chennai Floods. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Approach & Studies, 3(2), 166-177.
Tugba, A. (2017). N analysis of the differences in quality of news in printed and electronic media and the concept of reality. Ulakbilge: SosyalBilimlerDergisi, Vol 5, Iss 9, Pp 43-65 (2017), (9), 43.