Mass Media
Can the media reflect the society like a mirror?
In modern day society, news is everywhere. We check the latest news anytime and anywhere, and with thousands of sources available there is always an article for our likings. We choose what we want to read and the media fulfills this need. This means that the media clearly tries to adapt to society. Therefore reflects the media society like a mirror, however some form of distortion is inevitable.
Everyone in the world has different beliefs and ideas. Therefore a newspaper or a television program simply can not reflect the whole of a society. Because of the limited space, only a part of a society is reflected, which makes the source incomplete. Above that, news sources are trying to make a profit, and therefore seeking for as many as readers/buyers as possible. The media therefore focuses on what the buyer wants to read. Take for instance the ‘Telegraaf’ published on the twelfth of june 2012. The newspaper’s front page discusses whether Huntelaar or Van Persie needs to be striker in the game against Germany on the thirteenth of june. On page 25, the bailout of Spain is reported on. This bailout means a lot for the Euro and the future of this currency, but is seen as far less important than the national football team. This shows that stories are selected for publishing because of large human interested, not because of importance.
Even if a source wants to reflect the society as good as possible, the producers of the content have their own views and beliefs because of their childhood. Because this difference in backgrounds, they (unintentionally) slightly alter a story. This means that events are reported on differently by news sources. This distortion is inevitable because everyone has a unique background, so everyone has unique beliefs on a particular event. However, because there are so many different news sources, many views are represented in the media. One source can’t represent the whole of the society,
In modern day society, news is everywhere. We check the latest news anytime and anywhere, and with thousands of sources available there is always an article for our likings. We choose what we want to read and the media fulfills this need. This means that the media clearly tries to adapt to society. Therefore reflects the media society like a mirror, however some form of distortion is inevitable.
Everyone in the world has different beliefs and ideas. Therefore a newspaper or a television program simply can not reflect the whole of a society. Because of the limited space, only a part of a society is reflected, which makes the source incomplete. Above that, news sources are trying to make a profit, and therefore seeking for as many as readers/buyers as possible. The media therefore focuses on what the buyer wants to read. Take for instance the ‘Telegraaf’ published on the twelfth of june 2012. The newspaper’s front page discusses whether Huntelaar or Van Persie needs to be striker in the game against Germany on the thirteenth of june. On page 25, the bailout of Spain is reported on. This bailout means a lot for the Euro and the future of this currency, but is seen as far less important than the national football team. This shows that stories are selected for publishing because of large human interested, not because of importance.
Even if a source wants to reflect the society as good as possible, the producers of the content have their own views and beliefs because of their childhood. Because this difference in backgrounds, they (unintentionally) slightly alter a story. This means that events are reported on differently by news sources. This distortion is inevitable because everyone has a unique background, so everyone has unique beliefs on a particular event. However, because there are so many different news sources, many views are represented in the media. One source can’t represent the whole of the society,