Power Dynamics in the Age of Information

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Introduction: In today’s modern society, the spread of information constitutes the greatest freedom that individuals possess. The nature of information is one of power. Those who acquire and retain information tend to be the individuals who are most powerful. The past 60 years in human history have been marked with various technological advances in the field of information distribution; all of which shifted the balance of power. This Age of Information has allowed for the rapid transmit of knowledge throughout the world, leveling the distribution of power across nations and societies. A popular example of the modern information distribution is through news stories. News articles deliver the latest and most interesting stories from around the …show more content…

These outlets politically aligned more with pro-environment and anti-corruption groups. In essence, the news sources conveyed the details of Chernobyl in a politically liberal manner. Prior to the disaster, politically charged rhetoric had been spewing from leftist sources such as the The New York Times. The anti-Soviet attitudes of the time were reflected in the rhetoric. Milt Freudenheim, an American reporter characterizes the Soviet government as being, “scorn[ful] of rock music and the rest of bourgeois art imported from the decadent West… [those] uncultured citizens” (1). These negative attitudes towards the Soviets were reflected in the presentation of Chernobyl to the American public. When official news broke of the Chernobyl disaster, leftist news outlets were quick to speculate. Although the official nature of the experiments conducted at the nuclear power plant had not yet been disclosed, New York Times reporter Serge Schememann speculates that the accident was “a serious one” and that “environmental damage [would] be disastrous” (2). Schememann’s article, “Soviet Announces Nuclear Accident at Electric Plant”, was released three days after the initial explosion; a time when Americans were first hearing of the disaster. The nature of Schememann’s reporting was biased in that he allowed his individual opinions to mix with the statement of facts.

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