The Influence Of Media On American Culture
Jordan_ Journal 1
MCOM 3390
In the U.S., the media is a powerful organization that shapes public opinion. Chapter eight discusses the values and principles that are expected of the media. The public values these standards however there are issues that arise when attempting to meet these standards. Chapter eight outlines ten subjects or areas and their importance: media freedom, media equality, media diversity, truth and information, social order and solidarity, cultural order, the meaning of accountability, alternative models of accountability, lines and relations of accountability, and frames of accountability. There is no set of criteria for serving the public interest (Mcquail 192). Indeed, one function of the media is to serve public interest, but they also report information that the public thinks is irrelevant or uninteresting. Serving public interest is profitable (selling newspapers, magazine subscriptions) but providing useful information builds reliability. All media organizations have some standards or rules formed within the …show more content…
organization, federally regulated or both, but they also have some freedom of expression. Traditional news is usually regarded as more reliable and factual than other news sources like tabloid news media such as TMZ , which typically serves in public interest, mainly reporting entertainment and satire news. Frequently TMZ’s immediacy to report sensationalized news stories result in a disregard for fact- checking. An appropriate example would be when comedian and activist Dick Gregory died on August 19, 2017. Originally they reported he died at the age of 94 when in fact he was 84. Although this is a simple and innocent mistake, TMZ is not a traditional news source so mostly the public overlooked it or did not care.
“Freedom is a condition, not a criterion” (Mcquail 192).
As a U.S. citizen, I have an idea of what freedom is to me, but I recognize freedom is not the same in other places of the world. Some countries enact stricter regulations on news organizations. Conversely, other countries have more freedom than the U.S. Because of this, the concept of freedom is complex and holds different meaning depending the context. Within certain boundaries, in the U.S. journalists can reveal the actions of the government or public officials if deemed absolutely crucial. This is the case in the famous in the “Watergate Scandal.” Two journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were assigned to uncover and report about the break-in at the Watergate building. Furthermore, in some totalitarian countries exposing the actions of the government can result in imprisonment, but Americans enjoy freedom of expression and often take it for
granted.goo
MCOM 3390
In the U.S., the media is a powerful organization that shapes public opinion. Chapter eight discusses the values and principles that are expected of the media. The public values these standards however there are issues that arise when attempting to meet these standards. Chapter eight outlines ten subjects or areas and their importance: media freedom, media equality, media diversity, truth and information, social order and solidarity, cultural order, the meaning of accountability, alternative models of accountability, lines and relations of accountability, and frames of accountability. There is no set of criteria for serving the public interest (Mcquail 192). Indeed, one function of the media is to serve public interest, but they also report information that the public thinks is irrelevant or uninteresting. Serving public interest is profitable (selling newspapers, magazine subscriptions) but providing useful information builds reliability. All media organizations have some standards or rules formed within the …show more content…
organization, federally regulated or both, but they also have some freedom of expression. Traditional news is usually regarded as more reliable and factual than other news sources like tabloid news media such as TMZ , which typically serves in public interest, mainly reporting entertainment and satire news. Frequently TMZ’s immediacy to report sensationalized news stories result in a disregard for fact- checking. An appropriate example would be when comedian and activist Dick Gregory died on August 19, 2017. Originally they reported he died at the age of 94 when in fact he was 84. Although this is a simple and innocent mistake, TMZ is not a traditional news source so mostly the public overlooked it or did not care.
“Freedom is a condition, not a criterion” (Mcquail 192).
As a U.S. citizen, I have an idea of what freedom is to me, but I recognize freedom is not the same in other places of the world. Some countries enact stricter regulations on news organizations. Conversely, other countries have more freedom than the U.S. Because of this, the concept of freedom is complex and holds different meaning depending the context. Within certain boundaries, in the U.S. journalists can reveal the actions of the government or public officials if deemed absolutely crucial. This is the case in the famous in the “Watergate Scandal.” Two journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were assigned to uncover and report about the break-in at the Watergate building. Furthermore, in some totalitarian countries exposing the actions of the government can result in imprisonment, but Americans enjoy freedom of expression and often take it for
granted.goo