They believe that the media is used as a method of ideological control and that it is used to transmit capitalist ideas to us. It has come to the point where we ourselves do not know any different, brainwashing by the media has led to us to not know any different. They also see the media as a creator of false class consciousness, distracting us form important issues in life so that we don't realise our exploitation at the hands of capitalism. In Marx's Dominant Ideology Thesis he writes that the dominant class use the... ... middle of paper ... ... it is not just the main owner that has influence. There have also been examples of newspaper editors not doing what they have been asked to do by owners of their papers.
The Media and the Uneducated Masses In the United States or any country with favorable or democratic government, freedom of the media is essential. However, many analysts believe that freedom granted to the media gives it power that may be used abusively, power to influence the public. These critics are against a sort of, "Lesse-fairre" attitude of the government towards the media. At the other end of the table however, some feel that freedom given to the media may go unchecked, for it is the people that influence the media and control that power. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between... James Hallow attempts to approach this issue in his work "Why Americans Hate the Media".
The focus on ownership of the mass media is a threat to democracy, as a small, influential group of media owners can control access to ideas and information that are published. The ideas and movements of the least powerful groups are the most likely to be excluded. However some people disagree with this saying that the media can actually promote democracy because anyone can put his or her views across, by making a website or a newspaper, spreading leaflets, putting up posters, and other means of communicating ideas. Also the widespread variety of privately owned media means a variety of opinions are considered and public debates happen. By criticizing the actions of governments, the mass media can play a significant role in keeping the government in touch with public opinion.
Unfortunately, sometimes this freedom is used by journalists with political tendencies, so Government should have the power to investigate secret arrangements between the opposite political parties and some corrupt journalists. Another common case of censorship is the one shown by the Government, which in past times used to censor some television programmes. There are a lot of examples of programmes which were prohibited by governmental organizations. This was the clearest exemplification of censorship in past times.
Lobby Groups In this comparison between David B. Truman and V.O. Key, Jr.’s views on lobby groups they have different interpretations on role and interaction of these groups in government. In a democratic system there is bound to be resentment and desire for change because it is impossible to satisfy everybody. Truman and Key describe how those individuals try to be recognized while forming groups for “strength in numbers”. In the comparison of interest and pressure groups it is apparent that although they created resentment in the inner layers of government, they were necessary to the development and progress of the political system.
Americans focus on what the media frequently shows us rather than the little heard of issues of greater importance. A large nu... ... middle of paper ... ...what they are running for. However, the media has many bad influences on politics ranging from, ads that promote uninformed voting, all the way to only informing the public about what they believe to be important. I do believe that the media does exercise too much power in America. They should not be allowed to present biased news to the public and should let the people make up their own minds on what they want to believe.
We don’t realize the influence of media because we have relied on it so much that it became almost second nature. Not everyone is influenced the way others are, but some of the information received naturally changes our perception of things. We’ve become so reliant on mass media that it controls a majority of our lives. It is our duty to make sure to not allow media to control our society by limiting what we portray to the public as acceptable. As a society individuals should be able to distinguish the separation of fictional behavior to reality.
How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same. “Power is the ability to define reality and to have other people respond to your definition as if it were their own (Nobles).” People fail to see responsible journalism as a crisis because it is so convenient to have news media make up your mind for you.
Authoritative figures in society obtain a substantial amount of influence over ordinary individuals in which they utilize their power to fabricate falsifications of real life. An exemplification of this is how our contemporary government utilizes propaganda to implement a false or fabricated seed into an individual’s mind in order to distort factual occurrences of the world. Specifically, author Orwell notes that both the Inner and Outer parties form “the brain of the state” (Orwell, 208). Truly, this conveys how these manipulative parties construct the thinking patterns of the individuals in their society. This enables one to not even process an ethical thought or emotion, rather accepting what they are told to speak and think of.
Men will be diverse in their opinions as well as their social and economic classes, and just by the mere presence of dividing classes will factions arise. By means of factions, legislative measures are often decided by an overbearing majority, with little or no regard for others who do not share their interests. Protecting against factions will protect those in the minority, and ensure that the public good is served. Madison is adamant about the dangers of a pure democracy, and the negatives a democracy poses when faced by the dangers of factions. A pure democracy could not function effectively at controlling the effects of factions, as a common sentiment will be felt by the majority of the whole in more cases that not.