Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
MEDIA
Includes traditional and new; print, social, mass, government
The…
MEDIA
Includes traditional and new; print, social, mass, government
The source of news and views; accessible to all. It informs, educates and entertains; influences and shapes public opinion
- Can neither manipulate nor educate; they amplify the aims placed on them
- Media's manipulative character is a result of Man's aggressive and unrelenting pursuit of power and ability to influence
- It is up to the public to seek truth by being discerning to sieve out truth from falsehood
- We all need the truth to function
- The attitude to approach media today is not one of whole-hearted trust, but one of caution
- Becoming an enterprise rather than institution
Reliabilty
Vested economic interests of media organisations
- Profit-driven, and this bottom line determines the information and knowledge disseminated
- More views/reads = more revenue; orgs hence will achieve this objective even if it means their reliability and accuracy is compromised
- Journalism "techniques" used that compromise reliability are:
Scandal-mongering
- Often embellish the news to seem more attractive to readers;
- Seen in gossip tabloids of newspaper (pander to conr love for gossip)
- Celebrity gossip industry (championed by TMZ and Radar Online) rakes in >$3bn a year
Fear-mongering
- ??
- Clearly, capitalising on human emotion is valuable and hence carried out by media
Makes more economic sense in the LR to be accurate
- Sustainability depends on readership and viewership
- Is an important reminder for journalists to have excellent standards
- to give accurate portrayal of the world
- Bc conrs have access to vast variety of news outlets
- Those media outlets that repeatedly compromise on reporting accurately eventually loses readership
- Readership is critical for ad revenue; since ad investments are tied to the expected readership
- Makes economic sense to retain and maximise their core conrs by showing that they can perform their core competencies
- e.g. Economist has rich history of >150 yrs, despite having left-leaning political stance
- Was found to be most trusted source of news in US by Pew research centre 2014
- News agency's success and sus. is tied to the accuracy of info provided
- Arguably, if the media corporation's priority is profit, accuracy is the only way to achieve
Ease of publishing lowers Quality of information (unchecked, biased)
- Now, everyone is a journalist
- New media: low BTE, anyone with Internet access can present their opinions as fact
- No longer require formal education in journalism
- Undiscerning and less scrupulous conrs may imbibe such info. wholesale without considering validity
- Lack of accountability associated with new media contributes to ease of spreading unreliable info.
- When anyone can post anything any time without restraint, the perpetuation of false and subjective information is inevitable
- Keemstar pedophilia accusation
Influential mass media is a tool for stakeholders
- Media not truly a neutral party; funded by rich stakeholders
- The info. it presents and knowledge it imparts often reflect the hidden intentions and agendas of the stakeholders
- e.g. Rupert Murdoch, founder of Fox News, often pressure reporters to report only one side of news stories to push his political opinions
- e.g. Tokenism (practice of making only a perfunctory/symbolic effort to be inclusive to minorities); intended to create the impression of social inclusiveness and diversity
Governments
- use mass media for propaganda purposes
- 2016: China's propaganda chiefs were rapped by govt inspectors who say they have failed to take effective action in promoting ideology through controlling media and Internet
- Explicit and unabashed use of media in propaganda efforts
Mass Media is powerful in keeping politicians in check
- as 4th estate, mass media has responsibility to monitor the conduct of politicians
- characteristics like high accessibility, instantaneous dissemination, it can act as watchdog of govt
- 2009 Iranian election protests sparked due to heavy manipulation of votes by govt; new media brought attention
- if govt knows it is under watchful eye of mass media, politicians kept on their toes and deterred from engaging in unethical behaviour that reduce credibility
Reputable media organisations are credible sources of knowledge
- Reputable media companies aim to maintain good reputation and retain trust of conrs; hence strive to provide objective, reliable info
- safeguards put in place to maintain quality of information
- e.g. fact-checkers to ensure accuracy of info.
New media has most up-to-date and accurate info
- publishing on traditional media take time
- new media provides most current info. and can supersede outdated info. that other sources possess
Multiple sources of info. in media makes it easier to Cross-check
- conrs no longer reliant on single sources of info like print media
- can easily check validity and accuracy of info. using various media platforms
Vested economic interests of media organisations (2)
- Another "e.g."
- Take advantage of an increasingly polarised world and volatile political climate
- Capitalise on contentious issues to gain viewership; despite the fact that the articles they publish are fundamentally flawed
- Rise of alt-right movement; alt-right media have established themselves
- Post alternative facts that attempt to legitimise false info. to gain support and viewership of alt-right supporters
- Creates an echo-chamber effect that does not diversify the readers' narratives in breadth and depth but instead strengthens and reinforces skewed beliefs
- Breitbart, Fox News extensively and subjectively report on alt-right and w. disregard for facts
- e.g. readily publish fictitious events like Bowling Green Massacre
Implications
Advertising harming the environment
- print advertising: sourcing and production of paper, petroleum-based ink, solvents, plastics, adhesives
- fossil fuels burnt in manufacturing and distribution of newspapers and mags
- a single ad page run in a popular conr mag. can represent ~ 7 tonnes of CO2 emissions with all the above taken into consideration + landfill disposal and incineration of post-conr and unsold media
- USA: ~10000 tonnes of non-biodegradable PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is directly attributed to outdoor billboards every yr)
Image
- Quintessential criticism abt advertising: bombard audience with ads portraying unrealistic, impeccable, unattainable images
- These ads associate the pdt with the desirable qlys of the celebrities
- But most advertisements are tweaked through photoshop and animation
- Consume more and more, chasing an image that can never be attained
- Line the pockets of firms at the expense of health
- e.g. depression, anorexia and bulimia in both girls and boys of DCs rising
Tokenism: Advertising preying on our fears and prejudices
- firms have taken to publicly combating narrow beauty definition; but these attempts are tokenistic at best
- pay lip service to tolerance and inclusion; Dove's campaign for Real Beauty taken off virally in recent years (to start global convo. abt the need for wider definition of beauty)
- Dove's Real Beauty Sketches video 2013
- Not made as much progress as we'd like to think; many think Dove is hypocritical because it is still founded under Unilevel, which also handles Axe, Slim-Fast and more
- patronising; a way for company to pander to women by pushing their narrative of redefining beauty but still practising under the evil it preaches against
- question the intention of such firms, to pander to an audience that is more aware of these beauty standards to improve sales?
Conflating Health and Beauty
- Our concept of physical health is almost wholly constructed from media's visual depictions
- Media and advertising fall back on stereo. beauty ideals to garner attention
- e.g. models PS-ed with flawless skin to advertise vit. E products
Perpetuation of unreliable medical findings
- media tends to over-generalise or sensationalise medical claims
- e.g. supposed "cures" for cancer; holistic medicine, budwig protocol; none of which supported by Amer. Cancer Society
- Effectiveness supported mostly by anecdotes
- Superfoods; marketing term to describe foods w/ supposed health benefits
- Many dietiticans say the term is just a marketing device
- Exploit the emotions of cancer patients to market
Promoting Consumerism
- -ve culture of consumerism; firms driven by profits
- encourage ppl to buy things they don't need
- consumption patterns: people encouraged to consume ever-increasing
- rise of a throwaway and shallow culture
- e.g. ads for electronic gadgets that introduce new pdts tht are not significantly superior to precedents
- Bottomless consumerism depletes the world's resources, and depletes inner resources
- Ads encourage buying by capitalising on human emotion; guilt, fear of inferiority
- Fear/Guilt marketing: skin fairness creams, shampoo ads, food ads (health consciousness)
- Also on human's innate desire for belonging; (near top of Maslow's hi. of needs)
- To an exclusive community for buying a pdt; apple users
- Labels; all tie in to mould our mentality: "we can seek our identity and fulfillment through what we buy. we express individuality by choice of pdts"
- this culture always attempts to instill a longing for more G&S, more money rather than longing for more authentic connection with people
-" possessions stay with us and never change; lovers grow cold, spouses grow old, children grow up and away"
- shift away from values of community, towards competition, materialism and disconnection
Favouring one gender over the other
- Media often shows bias and prejudice in the way they promulgate info.
- Debilitated many healthy notions we should emphasise on in a pluralistic world
- when media favours a side over the other, diff groups are coloured in different light
- 2016 Olympics (Rio de Janeiro), Associated Press (international newspaper) reported Phelp's loss in 100m butterfly as the headlines
- Over Katie Ledecky's achievement in Olympics history, set a World record in 800m free style
- Reported below and in smaller font
- Epitomises excellence of individual woman, females can be the best in upper echelons of male-dominated sport
- Although, yes, failure of Phelps, lauded as world's best is a major upset to many, but media has painted achievement of women athletes as inferior to men
- Clear that media does favour one over the other sometimes, leading to promulgation of notion that one gender > other
But can also serve to educate
- Can educate about false ideologies in the world
- Sexism and racism displayed in many news today
- Further reminds that inherent diff exist among diff groups of people
- and that we should respect the multitude of cultures and traditions in pluralistic world
- Katie Ledecky incident caused a major debate as to whether women should be equally represented
- Comforting that many stated their viewpts towards the issue, despite controversial nature
- Inimical (harmful) to assume that if one form of media is presenting this prejudice, others will as well
- Newspaper presents a certain bias, social media debate about it in a diff manner
- In the end, there is a platform for all to present opinions through diff forms of media, everyone learns in the process
- Media can educate; but must be manifested in another facet of media where ppl communicate, collaborate and exchange ideas
Functions
2. Political transparency: the 4th estate
- Guardian of public interest
- salient feature is its prowess in spreading info. to masses + large audience group
- large readership + wide scale of dissemination empowers media agencies to act as watch dogs in political and social realm
- e.g. investigative journalism, a special form of mass media, publishes wrongdoings in society
- e.g. 2005: Susan Long (of SG Press Holdings) exposed the numerous malpractices (misuse of donated funds) by chief exec. officer T.T. Durai at the National Kidney Foundation + 600k pay of Durai's
- e.g. 70s: Watergate scandal and Pres. Nixon's coverup brought to light by Washington Post
- all these were met with sig. public backlash that led to resignation and legal actions
- mass media utilises power to disseminate info that invoke readers to unite and fight misdeeds
- knowing they are always under the watchful eye of media maintains the transparency in the govt.
-
3. Citizen Participation, Exchange of views, Democracy
- Convenient and easy ways to engage general public; 2-way interaction made possible through new media
- As opposed to passive "feeding" of info. by govt. and large corp. like in traditional media (even feedback forums go through editing)
- Dynamic exchange of ideas in new media platforms; online forums and fb
- Citizens can participate in discussions on political issues with more people and different views than before
- e.g. Presidential campaigns, 5 mil. supporters garnered in FB and MySpace
- New media allows ordinary citizens to participate in pol. process, through feedback/engaging the govt. (link to democracy)
- e.g. SG feedback agency, REACH, made its foray into FB to reach out and connect w/ youth
- Younger, internet generation begin expressing political concerns online
- Citizens more interested in and engaged in social issues
- Allow social changes, strengthens community
- Ref. to "Singapore" for democracy
1. Information Dissemination
- delivers a diversity of messages and opinions
- to the public
- who uses this information to make intelligent decisions
- everyone has an innate need to understand env. around us, especially when in a new situation
- mass media opens the floodgates to instant access to infinite updated facts, accessible to many more than ever before
- increasing no. of sources allow comparison and acquisition of correct info
- can obtain info that is ‘out of reach, out of sight'
- survival in a vuca world
- multiple sources also present contentious issues from diverse perspectives
- allows one to form a holistic opinion of a nuanced issue
- can empower us with information
- knowledge is power!
and ideas that can be turned into our own assets for further uses
Breakdown of Functions
Beyond Agenda-setting
- Agenda-setting influence goes beyond focusing public attn; media also influences the next step in the comm. process
- i.e. the understanding and perspective on the topics; images held by public of political candidates and other pub. figures are prominent e.g.s
- please find an e.g.
- these opinions become self-fulfilling prophecies as ppl adjust their behaviour to fit their beliefs
- media has ability to set agenda + direct the public according to the media's needs
State-Owned Media
- Considering agenda-setting and directing ability; govt. can make use of media to mask facts and pull wool over eyes of the public
- Chi Central TV (CCTV) is China's largest media company (state-run) + all 2600++ radio stations are state-owned
- Media is heavily regulated to restrict reports pertaining to TianAnMen incident
- so pervasive and entrenched in media that people hired by Communist Party of China were colloquially termed 50c Party, to flood media with pro-government sentiments in early days of Internet's roll-out to wider public
New media's uncontrolled dissemination of info.
- internet prides itself on being democratic; allows content creators to bypass bureaucracy of large corporations; good for individ. journalists
- however, also means that hardly require formal edu.
- everyone is a journalist; there is low BTE and anyone with Internet can present opinions as facts
- new media hence catalyses the free circulation of propaganda, inflammatory opinions, half-truths thru viral distribution
- undiscerning and less scrupulous conrs may imbibe "facts" wholesale without considering validity
- being bombarded with info. from all POVs also makes it hard to fact-check
- Lack of accountability associated with new media contributes to ease of spreading unreliable info.
- Anyone can post anything any time without restraint, the perpetuation of false and subjective information is inevitable
- e.g. Lil India Riots; post that one SAF man killed by the mass; shared hundreds of times; hard to trace back to the source
- this has real consequences; from 2015, unprecedented rate of ISIS recruitment through social media; >100s from US and SG bangladeshis
Mass Media is a neutral tool whose influences depend on the way it is manipulated
- these negative influences are being negated by setting of more stringent regulations; FBI Computer Crime Squad actively detects and filters propaganda
- must be recognised that the voices of the individual, unreliable sources are largely drowned out by large, reliable media agencies and are a minority
4. Agenda Setting for discussion
- Readers acquire both factual info. and how much importance to attach to a topic
- Based on emphasis placed on it in the news; lead stories, headlines and length of time devoted; all signal to the rdr the salience of the topic in qn
- These repeated cues effectively communicate ^
- What we perceive as pressing social issues are based on nuances that indicate the severity of these issues
- By capitalising on these journalism tactics, media can set a nation's agenda & focus public attention on key public issues
- e.g. showing influence: study in Norway; voters asked to name most impt issues of the day; responses reflected the pattern of news coverage in prev month
Traditional vs New
- Past vs present, Less vs More
Entry of more and more media players in industry (bad for media corporations)
- Saturation of media platforms
- Stiff competition compels corporations to focus on entertainment value at the expense of real news;
- For the sake of increased ldrship in the comp. mkt
- Competition at an unhealthy level; players must resort to sensationalism and shock value (brutal violence, sex revelry to attract readers
- Seeing the rise of clickbait titles; given the rise 24h news cycle (which poses ferocious competition), press is more concerned w/ maintaining rdrship than providing factual titles
- Some journalists go to unorthodox means to gather scandalous information
- e.g. salient in the tabloid press; the News International phone hacking scandal by Rupert Murdoch in 2005 and 2011 revealed hacking of celebrities, politicians, victims of terrorist attacks
- unscrupulous means of obtaining stories whose only motif is to provoke public excitement undermines:
- standard of news
- erodes public's trust of journalists whose professional duty is to disseminate info as an unbiased third party
- "too many cooks spoil the broth"
Quantity =/= Quality, too many diff to govern
- Many booming online report and news webs lack reliability and professionalism
- Too many to be governed; hence rogue journalists can publish irresponsibly
- Increasing no. of bloggers are self-proclaimed as journalists
- Impossible to manage/police these media content published freely on the WWW, hence there is a lack of accountability
- Harmful and undesirable content can weave their way into public arena w/o detection by authorities until damage is done
- Social ills can flow freely between virtual world and reality; exposure of young minds to dangerous propaganda e.g. self radicalisation
Consequences
- Proliferation of unhealthy notions; Lil India Riots 2013 posts that one SAF man killed
More avenues for alternative voices
- With more media players, there are more avenues to express alt. voices that would be crowded out by dominant views if there were less
- inclusion of new media for electoral campaigning resulted in spike of amt of information available on candidates in GE 2015 SG
- Many opposition candidates will not be able to get as much coverage as they did if there were fewer media players as the major ones would be flooded w/ news on ruling party
Empowers individuals too much - harmful consequences
- Citizen journalism on the rise; basis of which is spreading info. by general public online
- Every individual has a power to present their opinions as facts
- Due to difficulty in regulation (governing by authorities)
- False info. coalesce and amplify; can lead to serious conseq
- e.g. Boston Mar Bombing; Sunil Tripathi wrongfully accused (missing for 1 mth, turns out he committed suicide)
- Catalysed by crowdsourcing for info. on Reddit (someone started a thread to consolidate info regarding the incident)
- Identified as "standout suspect" on social media, none of which came from opinions by FBI
- FBI eventually released names of real culprits
Professionalism (print vs techno)
- Most valuable feature of traditional media is professionalism and credibility; works of high qly
- Media has duty to not only provide factual info. but also deep understanding and meaningful analysis
- To make informed and wise decisions
- Professional newspapers have team of formally-educated journalists, go through rounds of proof-reading
- Journalists: yrs of training to get name on byline; even more experience to get byline on front pg
- TV, radio superior in efficiency, speed and interactivity
- Sacrifices detailed language-based info. to cater to short attn spans; newspprs go into deeper detail and sophisticated
- Bc of all these processes; the rigour of the medium gives readers more in-depth thoughts and perspectives before making decision
- Internet: all kinds of fake info. and incorrect ideas disseminated instantly
- e.g. Mr Brown presents one-sided views on political issues, often attacking govt w sarcasm and satire
- One who formulates views thru it will view political system with a very unfair slant
- MDA survey (2011), only 5% believed that the information online is true while 65% think it is largely untrue
- This shows that the public do not really trust the online reporting.
Past vs Present
- Hence our trust in major news sites is founded, as they have been the main contributors to our info diet for decades
- Our trust in their objtivity and accuracy is not only in ability, but a nod to the system that nurtures them
- A system that is honorable and established; these layers of editing sets our lingering doubts to rest
- Furthermore they are held responsible with their reputation at stake
Immediate access to near-perfect info
- Learn current issues globally, almost guaranteed w/ near perfect info
- Immediate access due to evolution of new media, fueled by speed of Internet
- Info no longer comes from a single source; sourced from multiple providers which makes it easier to fact check, e.g. through citizen journalism, 1st person accs
- Highly accessible nature of Internet proliferated new forms of media; e.g. citizen journalism websites that pledge to report the raw; citizen journalists on Aleppo soil that reported conflicts in Aleppo
- Gives 1st person accs; raw unfiltered info that gives users knowledge that extend beyond their country
- Not coloured/shadowed by corporation or govt-controlled media
- Media is not one-dimensional; has multiplicity of ways to overcome imperfections of current media forms that are not informing audience on the entire truth
- So many media platforms for reliable info., yet these unconventional forms may be overshadowed by large media corporations that commercialised media to their advantage
- Up to the people to decide which platforms to use; and if those chosen are reliable, are great sources of info
Censorship
- Removing content considered indecent or injurious to public morals
Maintain social order and stability (ST)
- Curtails sensitive materials in press
- high accessibility of media, Internet opens up platform for lay man to voice out opinion
- Bereft of the benevolent (well-meaning) hand of censorship, press runs the risk of veering into politically sensitive territory
- Delicate social balance of cty can ostensibly (not necessarily) be thrown into disarray
- By seditious (anti-govt/state) and inflammatory opinions distributed by press
- Media is organ of wide reach and easy accessibility; hence press possesses an influence more than commensurate with its size
- Easily turn simmering tensions into large scale violence, conflict
- Has responsibility not to distribute info that may stir high emotions and ppt violence
- Recognising such destructive potential of press, ctys censor seditious, libelous (defame) opinions
- FOS impt, but has interest of larger comm. in mind; "my right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins"
In the LR, stability is only achieved by social reforms
- Censorship prevents free expression; suppressing of views can lead to extremist views being circulated underground
- w/o discussion and countervailing views
- w/o ever delving into contentious topics, discussion can never be opened
- FOS should not be infringed on the grounds that airing of certain opinions hurt the feelings of others
- One way or another, airing of one's opinions will lead to hurt feelings
- FOS breeds creative, critical thinking and opinionated society
- brings about social reforms, is an outlet for airing of countervailing views in society
- in the LR FOS fosters social cohesion. in SR, censorship falsely emanates an illusion of acceptance
- actually, being forced to accept what they were told creates latent dissatisfaction
- e.g. MLK JR: champion of equal rights in America was allowed to freely fight for the rights of minority in America and this was pivotal in bringing about the paradigm shift away from white supremacy to that of equal rights for all
- promotes mere tolerance over understanding
Protection of Vulnerable groups
- Children at beginning of learning stage
- No fixed morals, susceptible to negative influence
- Child's mind is blank slate, likely to express influences or stimuli they receive
- Though many claim they do not follow movies
- Subtle influence may not be revealed until later in life, and manifest in ways unbeknownst to them
- Bobo doll expt by Albert Bandura showed correlation betwn violence in media and actions; those exposed to violent scenes more likely to hit bobo doll
- Steeped in a media culture brimming with violence, sexual revelry and defamation of family as an institute, impressionable adolescents constantly bombarded with -ve footage and commentary
- Establishment of fixed mindsets, potentially lethal
- e.g. Columbine HS massacre inspired by the Matrix
- Age-restrictions so that excessive sex and violence do not reach the young
Rumours
- Helps sieve out rumours that can have detrimental effects to the welfare of audience
- Especially impt when S media allows fast transmission and wide coverage, info. spread at unimaginable speed
- When people are still inadequate in discerning true from false
- Censorship removes misleading rumours that might otherwise be carelessly imbibed by audience
- W/o fact-checking
- e.g. after fukushima daiichi nuclear disaster, misinformed belief circulated on S media that iodised salt can defend against radioactivity; set off a chinese panic-buy of it in Beijing, prices jumped 5/10-fold
- worse still, completely misinformed; need 3kg of salt to have same effect as potassium iodide pills
- taking too much iodine is also detrimental to health
- in situation where the public is in a state of consternation; renders them inadequate to discern truth from falsehood, should censor rumours bc dire consequences
RELIABILITY
Nature of ownership in Press: Painted by Stakeholder Agenda
- Stakeholder interest: as illustrated in class-dominant theory, media controlled by corporations and its content dictated by them; only reflects view of elite minority that owns it
- Large corp. in charge of disseminating info. get to choose what kind and how much info to distri.
- The info. we consume is inherently biased as vested personal int. will influence the content; either:
A parochial perspective
(narrow scope)
- many reputable, prof. news agencies have duty to publish facts
- one of many roles and functions to fulfil, which they do
- mainstream press comprises professional journalists, editors who adhere to strict codes of conduct
- failing to fulfil professional duty will warrant calling out by public and the courts
- e.g. BBC, The Guardian, follow strict protocol; cannot publish radical extremist propa, or their private opinions
- Strict rules and reg.s, supported by vigilant public means that we can trust press to be impartial and factual
- even if media don't post facts, individuals take it upon themselves to fact-check
- made easier as multiple sources of info now; conrs no longer reliant on single sources of info like print
...By virtue of the owners of the press themselves
- Conscious bias: often report on alt-right and blatant ignore facts
- Subconscious: e.g. NY Times often accused of harbouring liberal bias and left-leaning; as they are written by democratic journalists
Or due to influences by advertisers
- For-profit enterprise, geared for $$-making; reliance on advertising dollars and sponsorship $
- Conflicts of interests in diff parties; ad companies won't want negative reports on them on these media outlets
- Stipulated as such in ad. contracts; not to publish -ve reports in the same pg, may even extend to whole paper
- Portrayal of the company may be overtly +ve w. the problematic sides not being shown
- Buzzfeed, subject to scrutiny due to heralding (a sign tht smth) of native ad.s
- Taken down articles that conflict w brands they are contractual w.
- Editors criticising pdts by Microsoft, Pepsi, Axe body spray taken down aft company's business side complained abt the content, as they have been involved in advertising
- Ads compromise editorial content, degrades qly
Unrealistic portrayal of daily life
- the PRESS (note!! press! professional!) sensationalise stories of celebrities/promote ads that enforce unreachable ideal of body
- distort individual's perception of how one should act/look
- Bloggers, instead are more trustworthy bc share their daily life
- more genuine and personal connection to audience as "one of them"
In fact, the bloggers are worse
- Sensationalised stories belong in entertainment section or gossip rags
- Compartmentalisation under these areas suggest to readers that they should not be taken seriously
- it is the reader's responsibility to understand that it should not be shaping their world view
- furthermore, unrealistic advertising is not under jurisdiction (official duty) of the press
- Ads are a source of revenue, not actual news content
- Blogs may be more harmful; not everyone is rich or good-looking as them
- By using blogging as an avenue to seem more "relatable" to the public, they proliferate the notion that it is achievable to attain such a glorified lifestyle
- Even more unrealistic; furthermore target audience (teens) are more impressionable