Power of Media

[FAHEEM BELHARVI]

Power of Media

By Faheem Belharvi

Power of media has attained an imperative role to play in social, political and economic development of nations in 21st century. It promotes political maturity and removes social and economic disparities. Media has power of shaping opinions and curtailing ideological differences among the various communities by using its unbiased approach and helps in strengthening national integration. Living in globalized world without independent and active media is impossible because information technology has shackled the distances and brought the nations beyond the borders’ restrictions.

However, numerous roles of media always remained questionable because of its positivity and negativity in perception management. Sometimes it promotes peace and at times becomes the cause of conflict due to biased approach of some journalist or group of media. Here, we can take the examples of super powers those are using media tool for exploitation of weaknesses of opponent countries. During World War II media had been used a tool of propaganda which played a glaring role in grouping of blocks and spreading rumors. In this regard divorce between Russia and German has happened because of military journalism which resulted into bringing UK, U.S and Soviet Union on same track and ultimately it paved the path of victory of allied nations.

Currently, world renowned media groups are being controlled by global powers. These media groups are promoting specific agenda of their investors. Specifically Muslim Ummah emerged as major sufferer of today’s biased western media and same happened against Pakistan. International media is yelling against peaceful Pakistani nuclear programme but ignoring Indian and Israeli arms races.

In 2008 on occurrence of Bombay tragedy, Pakistani media played a very positive and constructive role, in avoidance of war between two nuclear states of South Asia. On the other hand Indian media never spared Pakistan in molesting her global terrorist activities. Indian media always ignored its domestic concerns, like Maoists, Sikhs, kasmiris and Christian rights but remained active against bordering countries Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Presently, we must incorporate liberalism in fascination of mass communication while ignoring obsessive and narrowness approach. It will assist in creating harmony between all segments of the society and promote positivity. Prevailing hatred in various sects can be removed while negating differences though media in Pakistan.

Noam Chomsky in his famous article - Top 10 Media Manipulation Strategies has rightly said, “Maintaining public attention diverted away from the real social problems, captivated by matters of no real importance. Keep the public busy, busy, busy, no time to think, back to farm and other animals”.

Truly, speaking some media pundits are using this industry as a business entity while proliferating the themes of their own choices instead showing true pictures and touching real issues of the society. The journalists need to be trained and educated in this era of information since clear awareness is the only approach which shapes the opinion that ultimately becomes the cause of selection of right choices in every field of the life.

In Pakistan case media is passing through the evaluation phase. It is being taken as one of the main pillar of the state. The media played a very vital role in strengthening democratic process while arranging healthy discussions regarding political and other issues on electronic and print media. It educates the public about the utility and importance of the casting of the right of vote, which will definitely be reflected in the coming elections of 2013.

In short, the immense power and unlimited potential of the media can be proved improved upon further if media mangers should keep the country interest on forefront and discourage the yellow journalism.

[usmankhadimkamboh]

Power of mass media and it’s effects on audiences and importance of ethical considerations in content

In modern society, the mass media is an essential power. This is referred to by sociologists as a controlled society in which the media represents and produces the culture. Communities and individuals are continually bombarded by messages from a variety of outlets, including, to name a few, advertisements, magazines and TV. Not only goods, but moods, emotions, and a sense of what is and is not relevant are encouraged through these messages.
Mass media is becoming more and more pervasive and significant in terms Of our social perceptions and interactions with our surroundings. Thus, it is not surprising that people devote many hours during their daily schedule to media consumption. Users get influenced by the content of mass media. Sometimes competition persuades media houses to publish or broadcast unethical content for personal gain or to specific agenda.
Mass media refers to a wide set of media technologies that, through mass communication, reach a broad audience. In terms of behavior, media content have a significant influence on their viewers and cause relevant social reactions. Media practitioners can quickly lose sight of the ethical ramifications of their work in the dynamic and constantly evolving field of mass media marketing, overwhelmed by deadlines, bottom-line imperatives, and business interests. Because network television is an audiovisual medium that is piped free into most of our households, it is one of our population’s most significant ways of portraying cultural images. It is necessary for media content providers to cope with ethics concerns, considering the pervasive impact that mainstream media such as television have on cultural expectations and attitudes. Similarly audience is equally responsible for the use of unethical content provided by media. Consumers are the one who choose that what they want to watch, read or listen, so it is also their responsibility that they access ethical content and say no to the immoral content.
In this century, the advent of any media technology has immediately given rise to substantial concern and widespread public discourse over who is using it, how much, and under what circumstances.
As mass media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet are designed to provide not only information and news about political affairs, improvement of science and technology and climate change around the world, but also all sorts of entertainment such as sports, videos and music produced for humans by celebrities, artists and musicians to be entertained. It is really important to understand whether the media is prominent in the daily lives and actions of people because it influences to a great degree the important facets of the lives, feelings and behaviors of people that are the most important components of society.
The class dominant theory claims that the media represents the opinion of a minority elite, which governs it, and projects it. This elite includes those entities who own and manage the companies that create media. Advocates of this view are increasingly concerned with major corporate mergers of media companies, which inhibit competition and position large corporations, specifically news media, at the top of the media. Their fear is that when ownership is limited, a few individuals then have the power to manipulate what people will see or hear.
Since people appear to believe in media, the news media is a strong protector of political conduct, which they think can warn them about government corruption and have proper suggestions. Due to its capacity for attracting broad markets, all mainstream media is politically significant.
Mass media educates clients about how to behave, since they are based on what the media presents as acceptable reactions to interactions and actions. Over the years, this long-term process is created when the internet affects the impressionable age demographics, as they are increasingly subjected to separate mass media communications. Mass media approaches these distinct age classes of consumers, and although the consequences of mass media are short-term, the subtle impression is long-term.
Mass media constructs the opinion. As humans, we’re always being affected. Since we are social beings, it is normal to be formed by society and its objectification, while at the same time, based on our subjective reality, we still shape society through our individual actors. Realities that are subjective and empirical are often related. With the right to pick and influence the presentation of texts, words, symbols, the media has broad access to mainstream markets, to the public domain. The media has the power to decide the key issues of the day, to demonstrate what is “important” to the public. The power of public opinion, however, is better because the media is persuasive in attracting public interest on real events, concerns, and individuals and in deciding the relevance of public relations for individuals. Individuals prefer to add or remove from their knowledge what the press uses or removes from their material.
Since people appear to support the public, the mass media is a strong protector of correct political conduct, which they think can warn them about government corruption and have proper suggestions. Due to its capacity for attracting broad markets, all mainstream media is politically significant. However, depending on its characteristics, ease of access, and the size of the audience reached, the influence of each media source varies. Mass media, particularly television broadcasts, may appear more realistic and give a message more credibility than other media forms, influencing the audience more in turn.
The indirect direction of the media’s impact on viewers has been generally acknowledged since the all-powerful theory of mass media was disproved by empirical evidence. An indirect influence means that, through one or more interfering (mediating) variables, an independent variable (e.g. media use) influencing the dependent variables (e.g. media use results) is used. In order to help understand how and when media effects arise, the conceptualization of indirect media effects urges attention to be paid to certain intervening variables. In addition, in scientific studies, the analysis of indirect effects will lead to a less skewed estimate of effect sizes.

Media impacts may also be increased or diminished by human variations and diversity in social background, in accordance with the argument that media influence is the product of a variety of variables.
Media has political power too, as media tells the people that to whom they should vote. Media makes political opinion about a political party or politicians. People tend to support that politician that they saw on media and media praised him/her. People with a low degree of political knowledge are easily swayed by political campaigns and new incoming information will cloud their political judgement.
Mass media also influences our buying habits. It tells the audience that what to buy and what not to with the help of advertisements. Advertisements work as magic bullets and they stuck in our minds, when we go for shopping and we see a product which we have already scene in an advertisement, we prefer to buy that.
Media has tendency to change our behaviors. Movies and games which show violence in their graphics and visuals they persuade its audience to be violent. In 2012, a movie ‘The Dark Knight’ sparked tremendous violence. The incident took place at a movie theatre, where 12 people were killed and 70 injured in just a matter of minutes. That was the most deaths at the moment of a shooting in the history of America, a dark streak that wasn’t broken until 2016. The assault ended on July 20, when James Holmes, a gunman, broke into a screening of The Dark Knight Rises and opened fire on the crowd. As a result, many believed that Holmes was influenced by The Dark Knight, the film’s precursor. After all, Holmes allegedly said, “I am the Joker.” when cops took him into custody. Things got much crazier when police learned that his apartment was booby-trapped with explosives, this is a movie ripped right from the Joker playbook.
Over the years, the mass media has had a significant influence on our society, its history, and the public exposed to the media. Mass media is a type of socialization, influencing each member society in the long term. While mass media approaches the user at short-term intervals, as the customer shifts from one impressionable age group to another, the overall effect on them has been established. When its position in society is assessed, the long- or short-term consequences of mass media are distinct. Owing to differing levels of representation and formats, mass media affects persons differently.
The idea that media principles is more prominent and practiced by journalists globally was one of the many benefits of journalism being primarily about print. Television presented the viewers with the moving images of real people and then digital media, which came about with the advent of personal computers, allowed each and every citizen to become a ‘journalist and made everyone able to interact with masses. And then new era of competition started. This competition forced some people to cross the lines.
Media started to present unethical content with the rise of competition. Media platforms started to create sensation and then yellow journalism came which effected the worth of media badly.
Creators in all types of media know that sex, called, insinuated, or freely shown, is a surefire way to catch the interest of a viewer. ‘Sex sells’ is an advertisement cliché; almost inexhaustible is the number of items that advertisers have linked to sexual images or innuendo, from cosmetics and vehicles to holiday packages and alcohol. Sexualized commercial material is most commonly served in the form of the female body, in part or in whole, next to a product that may have nothing to do with nudity, portrayed in offensive or suggestive poses. By linking these two items, though, advertisers are marketing desire on their own. This is purely unethical and immoral, as it represent the thinking and mind set of a society (both creator’s and consumer’s). It is responsibility of media and it’s consumers that they create and access ethical content.
The media is responsible for delivering truthful, balanced, factual and impartial content to public while staying away from conflicts of interest and taking into account the privacy of society. However, there is an implicit duty to behave sincerely and ethically with the power of the pen in a business that revolves around exposing the shortcomings of others. As a result, news media have the ability to affect what society thinks and can provide impartial reporting that encourages society to use its own judgment to understand what is being said and done. So it is also media’s responsibility to publish or broadcast unbiased truth to its audience. Consumers should also make themselves aware about the happenings and they should have a critical eye to determine that what is true and what is not.
Sensationalism should never enter a credible report in order to prevent rumor and conjecture. The user has a right to knowledge that is accurate and factual. For this, the journalism profession does not exist. With this remarkable reinvention of media ethics, journalists who embark on the often thankless job of creating standards should forget the critics and press on. Audience should also have their own judgement about the content which they get from mass media.
Mass media acts as a force against political opponents in every nation and acts as a voice that takes the nation to where the greater powers intended, where the Hypodermic Needle Principle and Agenda Setting Theory relates; the inculcation of ideologies and values, often deceptive in people’s minds to serve the benefit of future powers .

The influence and ease in the use of the news media, behind closed doors, has somehow been a deceptive weapon for political powers. In a democratic world, while media freedom seems unavoidable, there are unwritten rules that regulate the press, whether in secrecy or in the open. Here, audience is responsible for the usage of media content. They should use only reliable sources of information and they must share only truth on their social media and personal publications.

If a media house is ethical or dishonest, it can be decided by the smallest of considerations. All-important ethics that should not be ignored are double checking information, providing first-hand sources, checking pronunciation, punctuation and spelling and validating content. In order to get their news out first, journalists can also be hasty, which can lead to integrity being ignored. Being first and wrong, though, is not perfect. Your version will be waiting for those who know your job and believe you. The user is so saturated with unethical content generated by the internet, as noted above, that they crave a decent piece of objective work.

Consumers of media get effected by the content which media publish or broadcast, if media is ethical then its users act ethically but if media present unethical content (no matter it is for entertainment, news, political awareness or advertisement), users somehow themselves indulge into unethical acts. This becomes the part of their personality. Here users are equally responsible, educational institutions are responsible to make their students able to differentiate between true and false information.

The ability of mass media to influence the minds of the masses is one that is beyond the shadow of a doubt and not only serves as a means of communication between society and rulers as its often underestimated powers go far beyond that; it serves to the greater benefit of political powers in many parts of the world that are in a sense the real owners of the media industries. While it is essentially true that financial gains are arguably still the top priority for media organizations but political powers, and some of their governed entities (whether in secrecy or publicly) have real control over the industry as it is the ideal tool to fulfill selected agendas in order to shape (sometimes disappointing) certain trends, cultures and beliefs in society to fulfill purpose.