Media and Its Effects on Society

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Media and its Effects on Society
Media plays a crucial role in our life nowadays. It serves as a bridge that connects people to the world, leading to a global exchange of information and knowledge. Media also offers platform for people to voice their thoughts on political and social issues, providing room for different perspectives. Unquestionably, media affects our life in nearly every ways. With a turn of a magazine page, a tune on a radio, or a flip of a TV channel, media somewhat plays a part in our life. Different media coverage can influence the audience interpretation as well as affect the information dissemination. Effective media coverage can lead to positive public viewpoint while poor media coverage can result in disinterest among people. Thus, media is a potential means in shaping our understanding on particular issue. It is capable of fanning certain topics for mass audience to assume and discuss. For instance, the vaccine controversy, an on-going debate whether or not vaccines cause autism, has not come to any conclusion, partly due to the media influence. The media attempts to provide equal coverage for both sides of the argument—the pro and the con vaccines—providing room for a few extremists to spread their pseudoscientific-based claims, resulting in public unease. Despite an overwhelming evidence rejecting the association between vaccines and autism, a number of parents still fear that childhood vaccines can result in autism. The vaccine controversy exposes a potential power of the media. Specifically, by choosing what to broadcast and how to broadcast it, the media manipulates public attitude toward certain debates.
The concern on vaccine safety was present in the public since late 18th century. When vaccination...

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