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Five influences of media ownership
Cultural diversity in media
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Media Ownership
Ownership of the media by a small handful of companies has created several problems for democracy since it’s existence. Because the media has been such a major source of information for us Americans we must learn to be skeptical of these large corporations and their motives. Commercialism and the lack of diversity of the media are two such problems that have been created due to these large corporations.
The main source of money for any media outlet, whether it is CNN or the local newspaper, is from advertisers, not the audiences like you would expect. “In a survey of 118 news directors around the country, more than half, 53 percent, reported that advertisers pressure them to kill negative stories or run positive ones.” News directors have also reported that outside TV consultants have been brought in to stations to critique their newscasts and improve ratings by often issuing blanket edicts about what should and should not be covered in doer to attract the most advertising dollars. (Just, 1) This fact now being known makes us aware that the media is often swayed from criticism of the products or mistakes of the corporations that give them this money. Important defects or corporate issues that we need to know about have possibly gone unannounced due to the fear of losing sponsors and profit.
The only way to guarantee diversity of opinion in the media is to have diverse ownership over it. The airwaves are a limited resource with a few channels still remaining. The Federal Communications Act says that the airwaves belong to the public, which has somehow has gone ignored over the years. Having been exposed to a less diverse range of ideas over the past few decades has left us assuming that what we see and hear in the media is all that there is out there. This is obviously no way to maintain an active marketplace of diverse ideas and opinions. This is defiantly no way to keep a true democracy. (Bagdikian, 2-3)
As you can see the corporate ownership of the media has become a problem to our existing democracy. Not only has the media become extremely commercialized it has also taken away the diversity that we need to make an honest judgment about something of importance to us.
Since the advent of television networks, Americans have relied on local and national newscasts to inform them of the world’s happenings. In the 1950’s there were no other mass informational outlets besides the network news and newspapers. Today we have the internet, which allows independent research, but the majority of Americans still depend on network and cable newscasts for their local, political, and foreign news. With the responsibility and power of informing an entire country, are television newscasts as reliable as most Americans assume them to be? Most Americans don’t consider where their news is coming from or who is producing it. Network and cable news are owned and operated by people and thus are not as objective and unbiased as we would like to think. In light of the war in Iraq and the most recent presidential election, critics of television network administration are voicing their concern for today’s presentation of the news. Increasingly more Americans are demanding a rehabilitation of newscasts, starting with ownership.
Netflix and Hulu both have a large library of movies and Tv shows. The biggest differences from the two services is that Hulu offers newer tv shows that follow live tv from the major networks like The CW, CBS, FOX and many others. Netflix and Hulu share a lot of the same tv shows but Hulu gets new episodes
“The old argument that the networks and other ‘media elites’ have a liberal bias is so blatantly true that it’s hardly worth discussing anymore…No we don’t sit around in dark corners and plan strategies on how we’re going to slant the news. We don’t have to. It comes naturally to most reporters.” (Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News) This example is tremendously important in the author’s discussion because it proves that news stories do manipulate people through bias. Popular news networks are viewed by thousands of people every single day, thus making it have a huge impact on the public since they believe what they see. When news reporters present their news segments, it is natural for them to give their insights due to human nature being instinctively biased. “The news media is [sic] only objective if they report something you agree with… Then they’re objective. Otherwise they’re biased if you don’t agree, you know.” (CNN’s American Morning) In this quote, the readers are presented to current panelists agreeing that news consumers have a very hard time separating their own view of the news from the perspective of the news reporters because they are presenting their own opinions throughout their segments. This problem exists once again because of the bias that is contained in media
When an individual take on the behaviors, attitudes, and styles of their peers because of the pressure of fitting in, this is peer conformity, also known as peer pressure. In most cultures the amount of time we spend with our peers tends to increase, as well as the effect they provide for support. Peer influence can start as soon as the third grade for some an...
...bjectives and realize growth. Knowledge Management Knowledge management plays a key role in ensuring that the different functions and activities of a company are synchronized. In Google’s case, the purchase of Motorola (which has turned out not to have been the best business decision) probably could have been avoided if the knowledge within the company was managed and used better. Knowledge enables a company to create, recognize and distribute opportunities. When every employee of a company contributes his or her part of knowledge into the knowledge pool, it is very beneficial as it contributes to the overall success of the company. Proper application of the available knowledge in a company can offer several competitive benefits to both the company and the employees. Application of accurate knowledge at the correct situation helps a company to make good decisions.
Today, Americans are evenly divided over whether the media is bad for democracy or if it promotes democracy. Therefore, statistically, media is not good or bad is in the middle based on the public view, but do researchers prove that media is in the middle? Therefore, I take my stand to prove that media is bad for democracy using research and data provided by various sources. According to the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, democracy is an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights. We then ask ourselves how often do the media promote us to have equal rights or if they allow us to make our own decisions.
...wn life, peer pressure plays an enormous role in everyday society. People do unimaginable things when pressure is put on them by people that they admire. We comply and conform when brainwashed, influenced, and pressured. It creates huge and destructive problems and moral struggles as seen with Orwell, the victims of Jonestown, and the thousands of teens that fall prey to peer pressure everyday. The only way to combat peer pressure is for others to start being accountable for their own actions and for integrity to become a higher priority in day-to-day life. If society can begin to teach our youth this then we will be one step closer to eliminating the problem; however, complete elimination of peer pressure can only come when adolescents and adults alike stop being the problem, and start becoming the solution by resisting the urge to pressure and be pressured.
One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M...
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which we choose our leaders. There was once a time when the government used the media as a medium to influence voters, committees, communities etc. Recently, it has been the presidents of major media outlets that have not only exercised power over the public but also made their presences felt in government and in the halls of congress. When the word democracy is thrown about it usually has to do with the rights or original intentions for a group or organization. The first group intended to be influenced by the media was the informed voter. Political parties along with the government used a variety of media resources to persuade the voter or in effect receive a vote for their cause. Returning to the thought of ?democracy? the question is, what was the original intention of the media with relation to the theme of democracy and the informed voter? To analyze this thought thoroughly one must first grasp an understanding of the basic definition of democracy.
Of all the movements in European art, Romanticism has by far the most difficult origins to pinpoint due to the broadness of its beginnings, artistic expressions, and time frame. Inspired by “nature, an awareness of the past, a religious spirit, and an artistic ideal” (Barron’s 6), Romanticism is one of the most significant influences on European culture. By looking at modern paintings, we can see the influence Romanticism has had throughout the generations. With Romanticism, artists have been able to take painting to different levels. The paintings are so profound that they allow the viewer to learn, develop, and acknowledge new aspects of life. The beginning of the Romantic era marked the birth of creative activities and aesthetic behaviors. Romanticism allows an artist to be creative, original, and authentic. Romantics view the world as more prejudiced and less balanced than others, including Neo-Classicists. What sets Romanticism apart from Neo-Classicism is the standards for Romantic artists were based on their own responsiveness while Neo-Classical artists aimed on portraying the orthodox values.
When we choose a channel on the television, when we choose a newspaper, there are hundreds of options. Sometimes it is hard to choose one thing because there are too many options. However, is each station belongs to each media company? No, in case of United States, the companies called “Big six”; Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, News Corporation, Time Warner, CBS Corporation, Viacom owns most of mass media including broadcast, cable tv, newspaper, and various online entities. “The fact of one organization owning more than one type of public communications business.” This is a definition of Cross-Media Ownership from Cambridge Dictionary Online and this is what exactly media industry looks like in the United States.
Peer pressure is the influence that a social group of friends has on an individual’s behavior; specifically students in high school. Teenagers
What is peer pressure? Peer pressure is the influence of a social group on an individual. It is one thing that all teens have in common. You can't escape it. It is everywhere. No matter how popular you are or how together you feel, sooner or later you will have to face peer pressure. Teenagers feel social pressure to conform to the group of peers with whom they socialize. This can influence how you dress, what kind of music you listen to, and what types of behavior you engage in, including risky behaviors such as using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol, and engaging in sex. The intensity and kind of influence of peer pressure differs from situation to situation.
Peer pressure comes in all forms and it is best to distinguish what peer pressure is positive and which is negative. In negative peer pressure you are sometimes in an unfortunate case of being put with a group of people that think similar. Your peer group...
Peer Pressure is influence from members of one's peer group to do a certain action, make a choice, or change their opinion. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell is pressured by the people of Lower Burma through the killing of the Indian man and through British imperialism. My own friends were peer pressured which transpired into negative consequences. Finally almost all of the Teen Court cases I personally have dealt with have involved peer pressure. People believe that they must conform to society in order to find their niche, but it is only needed to be original and yourself to fit in society.