The Media Has Lost Its Credibility. Is This a Fair Comment?
Summary:
An answer to the question of: The media has lost its credibility. Is this a fair comment?
The media today is a reflection of how society has evolved. Just as man is humble, he is deceitful. In other words, there is uncertainty in the air when one discusses the media's credibility. Society lives by preferences and what one chooses to believe in cannot be eliminated once it is tattooed in one's mind. Yet, what one does not want to acknowledge can be a hindrance to one's development. Undoubtedly, the media crafts society's mindset towards issues and that can either make or break us. Therefore, when such an important factor of our lives is in question, we must carefully observe the intricate web of ambiguity surrounding the media.
Firstly, society has to realize the overwhelming dependence it has on the media. We are surrounded by opinions, views and mindsets and we have to question reliability when choosing a particular source of information. It is well known that certain sources are biased towards what they publish or convey to the public. Therefore, we must learn to take things with a pinch of salt. Sources such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are often thought to be reliable. However, the recent controversy involving the suicide of a man due to BBC's accidental leak on the war in Iraq leaves us to wonder if the mass media really has lost all credibility.
The media is constantly expanding. In comparison to what it was ten years ago, the media has progressed, thanks to the flourish in scientific and technological developments. Newspapers, magazines, television programmes, radio channels and now the World Wide Web are all effective mediums of spreading the word. The wide coverage provided by the media has attracted the advertising industry. What with the constant thirst for knowledge and hunger for power, society's interest in information has escalated over the years. Realizing the potential society has to offer, the advertising industry has taken over most of the media by storm. Just as we are fed with opinions, we are now dictated to think a certain way. "Just do it", Nike demands. "Impossible is nothing", Adidas retorts. "Because I'm worth it", L'oreal flirts. Slogans scream at society, pulling us into this whirlpool of ideologies. The media has definitely lost some credibility here, for it does not only provide certain untruths, it also challenges us to follow the crowd.
The media often creates an impression on society. We know that controversies tend to benefit the advertising industries rather than backfire on them. Years back, the label "FCUK" caused conservative Singapore to feel that the brand name was inappropriate, even though it is not vulgar. This is proof the media is extremely powerful and in this case, dangerous. When society reacts strongly towards a media, there is a tendency to create more controversy, as this brings in the profits. Thus, exaggeration of events occurs. The Michael Jackson "baby over balcony" issue was so hyped up, it became a worldwide discussion. Tabloids screaming the craziest statements often get the best sales. It is obvious that when the media try to benefit from the pain induced in others, credibility is lost.
Different societies around the world get different versions of the true happenings. As long as the event can hurt us, it is either overlooked, exaggerated or more often than not, twisted. It is human nature for us to believe what benefits us. If it shows us as the correct party, it has to be correct. This mindset has caused prejudice and discrimination to prosper. We have allowed the media to plant the seeds of half-truths into our beliefs and as our morality is threatened, the seeds grow into trees of misled mindsets. "Newsweek" is an extremely biased magazine towards America. Similarly, CNN displays the same attitude. The war against Iraq had no strong foundation of reasons as to why President Bush had to start it. Unanswered questions were ignored as the news focused on Saddam's "evil" ways. Due to our little exposure of the situation in Iraq, we are disadvantaged as American news drown us. It is hard to fight the oncoming waves and try to go against the current. When the media take sides and refuse to see both sides of the story, credibility is at stake.
Knowledge is power. Yet, the correct choices are more powerful. If society chooses to indulge in believing the media's every word, society is also one without credibility. The survival of the fittest has caused the race for knowledge to be harsher. A conservative country such as Singapore often shelters its people from the realities of situations. What Singaporean society receives are distortions of proper truths. Every country thrives on propaganda just so chaos will not break out. Yet, if we constantly live an uncertain life, how will it benefit us? Ignorance is bliss, just as naivety is destruction. It all boils down to what we want as individuals. If we are willing to conform to our beliefs just to be part of the crowd, we have to realize the consequences we have to face. If we choose to be insular, we need to know the pros and cons to that. Ultimately, it is balance we have to look out for.
The media's credibility is hard to judge, for society has a part to play. It is a cause and effect partnership that the media and society shares. Society has indirectly encouraged a media's attitude towards issues. Our money invested on a certain label is often due to the positive reaction we gave towards the gimmicks the label has. Thus, it is unfair to state that media has lost credibility when it is also we who allow these influences to penetrate us. We must learn not to remove what has been embedded in us that are good and not to instill new ideas and beliefs that will ultimately destroy us. However, it is true that the media's moral values have disintegrated over the years. Hence, when the media is a mirror image of society, we must all strive to remove biasness and reinforce credibility.
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