The Media -- Friend or Foe?

[PrincessKsMom]

I have been on a number of threads lately which mention the media being the root of all evil (my words, not theirs). I think this is really becoming a crutch for some people/issues. Why is "The Media" seen as the end of civilization as we know it? I just have a hard time with the idea that everything can be blamed on one entity. Why doesn't anyone ever mention the good that comes from being well informed?

Curious to see how others feel about "The Media". Please enlighten me.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Foe.

They used to be the one who would tell the stories and bring in the news. Now, because everyone has access to every thing world-wide, they now have to stoop to low levels to get attention. It is no longer who, what, where, when, why, and how, but rather which celebritard fell down drunk the hardest. That, frankly, is not news.

It used to be that back in the 1940's and 50's, things like dealing with the British Royalty and celebrities held a certain amount of propriety. Some things were simply considered not newsworthy and were not reported. Nowadays, they hunt and peck for the dirt to be the one pointing out everyone's tiniest failing.

 

[NY Disney fan]

My NY aunt (born and bred) has been living in Europe for the past year and she says the media is soo different than in the US. She believes the US censors things to the point where we are not getting the full story. In Europe they don't censor anything. They give you the "warts and all" story.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Free press means they're free to have an agenda, and none of them even try to hide it anymore. Many are skeptical of traditional news sources now. Entertainment news is a whole different monster.

 

[Magix]

The changes in the media continue to happen, because we continue to eat it up. Demand something better and it will come. We can't expect them to serve us something substantial, when we're all too happy to keep gorging on sweets.

The media is not our foe, it's a reflection of who we've become.

 

[bicker]

I have been on a number of threads lately which mention the media being the root of all evil (my words, not theirs). I think this is really becoming a crutch for some people/issues.

I think throwing blame at big and/or powerful institutions (in general), itself, is the crutch, without much regard for where the blame is directed: the media; the government; one's school, teachers, employer, and/or boss; the company one buys products or services from -- heck, we even see people blaming the moderators for getting infraction points.

Blaming others helps defend one's self from confronting how what one does helps cause what happens. It also helps people rationalize feelings of entitlement, so folks can more readily justify their expectations that the world must be as they want it to be. That helps people avoid having to deal with the world as it is.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The media is a user. Things are taken out of context to support the story they want to run to sell their show or rag mag.

It is entertainment instead of informative.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have been on a number of threads lately which mention the media being the root of all evil (my words, not theirs). I think this is really becoming a crutch for some people/issues. Why is "The Media" seen as the end of civilization as we know it? I just have a hard time with the idea that everything can be blamed on one entity. Why doesn't anyone ever mention the good that comes from being well informed?

Curious to see how others feel about "The Media". Please enlighten me.

Because we are not well-informed. We are informed about the issues the way those in the mainstream media want us to be informed about the issues. We hear the "facts" they want us to hear. We do not hear the facts they don't want us to hear.

There are media outlets which present a more balanced view, or present all the facts (and I am not talking about FOX since I consider them part of the mainstream media) but most people do not have the wherewithal or the interest to seek out those media outlets which will present both sides of an issue fairly and factually, without opinionating or editorializing to push their agenda.

 

[disney junky]

Because we are not well-informed. We are informed about the issues the way those in the mainstream media want us to be informed about the issues. We hear the "facts" they want us to hear. We do not hear the facts they don't want us to hear.

There are media outlets which present a more balanced view, or present all the facts (and I am not talking about FOX since I consider them part of the mainstream media) but most people do not have the wherewithal or the interest to seek out those media outlets which will present both sides of an issue fairly and factually, without opinionating or editorializing to push their agenda.

I agree. I also think political correctness has played a role in what we hear and how we hear it, and I think the media decides what is news.

 

[Robinrs]

The media is neither friend or foe. It's also not there for information, it's there for revenue.

If people will see it as a business instead of the mighty end all, they'd understand why it does what it does.

--- Member of the Horrendous MEDIA world for 30 years...

 

[Muushka]

The media is neither friend or foe. It's also not there for information, it's there for revenue.

If people will see it as a business instead of the mighty end all, they'd understand why it does what it does.

--- Member of the Horrendous MEDIA world for 30 years...

Great point.

It also explains why certain newspapers and TV news stations are going out of business or dropping in ratings. People won't buy or watch either if they don't think that that particular news source is doing their jobs.

But I wonder, if these businesses are not doing well and others are, why don't they do something to make themselves more marketable?
Like good investigative reporting?

 

[bicker]

You're assuming that people will actually pay more and more consistently for "good investigative reporting". Evidence is that the opposite is true: That the mass-market is taken in by sensationalism and could not care less about how accurate or in-depth the news is.

 

[DanzP]

i personally think its stupid the amount of attention celebs get
who REALLY cares about what they are doing, im sure they want to live without all the attention!

 

[Robinrs]

You're assuming that people will actually pay more and more consistently for "good investigative reporting". Evidence is that the opposite is true: That the mass-market is taken in by sensationalism and could not care less about how accurate or in-depth the news is.

Amen.

War rooms at broadcast entities are not full of people aiming to get it right, they're full of people who want to drag the people IN, watch us, we'll BLOW YOUR MIND!

Investigative reporting takes time and money. They want to get those ratings NOW. It will happen but in the meantime if you want IR, you'll have to go to cable, not network or local. They need the right now aspect or they'll lose their households.

 

[bicker]

However, at least they are celebrities... I'm dismayed by how much people pay attention to "news" coverage of random other people. Anything the media can sensationalize, they do, and people just lap it up, paying more attention to these practically immaterial anecdotes than they do to things that really impact them, like what the government is doing, what other countries are doing, what the economic indicators are showing, etc. I cannot remember the last time I turned on CNN and they were actually providing news -- instead, they're either re-hashing the same missing person report (instead of reporting on the incidence of missing persons, and what our authorities are doing or not doing to address the whole problem, as opposed to just this one anecdote), or the same child abuse case (instead of reporting on trends in abuse, and trends in detection and action being taken to fight abuse, as opposed to just this one anecdote), and so on.

In a way, I think it goes back to the whole gladiators thing in Rome... Bread and circuses, instead of focusing on what is really important.

 

[DanzP]

However, at least they are celebrities... I'm dismayed by how much people pay attention to "news" coverage of random other people. Anything the media can sensationalize, they do, and people just lap it up, paying more attention to these practically immaterial anecdotes than they do to things that really impact them, like what the government is doing, what other countries are doing, what the economic indicators are showing, etc. I cannot remember the last time I turned on CNN and they were actually providing news -- instead, they're either re-hashing the same missing person report (instead of reporting on the incidence of missing persons, and what our authorities are doing or not doing to address the whole problem, as opposed to just this one anecdote), or the same child abuse case (instead of reporting on trends in abuse, and trends in detection and action being taken to fight abuse, as opposed to just this one anecdote), and so on.

In a way, I think it goes back to the whole gladiators thing in Rome... Bread and circuses, instead of focusing on what is really important.

couldnt agree more