Sociological Perspective On Media

It has become common for the modern day society to rely on different sources for their news. Because of the internet and technological advances over the years, our access to the news has greatly increased. However, along with this comes the familiar issue of media distortion. In the beginning of the year, I decided to study the power of media in depth—specifically media bias and its influence on public opinion on current events. I chose the media as my subject not only because it affects all aspects of our lives, but also because many people can identify themselves with it, like me. Throughout my research, I analyzed diverse but relevant articles in order to improve my understanding of the effects of media.

In recent discussions about the role

Referred to as “mediated culture,” sociologists argue that mass media “reflects and creates culture” (Wesch). Individuals are often presented with messages from multiples of sources, such as daily newspapers, magazines, and television. These messages do not only advertise material things, but also emotion, perspective, and a sense of what is valuable and what is not. There are three main sociological perspectives on

A new term in the media-rich world, “user-generated content,” or UGC, is a form of content such as blogs, Wikipedias, discussion forums and/or podcasts, all of which are made available via social media websites. UGC raises important issues on credibility and prestige of traditional journalism. The rapid usage of this allows public input into deciding what issues to report and how to report it, which “undermines the ability of journalists to make autonomous news judgment.” (Mullin). Basically, UGC gives anyone the power to be a citizen journalist much more usual than the past. As “gatekeepers” of the news, this means that UGC complicates the job of journalists by making it difficult to verify its content. An authentic and reliable journalist encompasses the professional norms of credibility, authority, and accuracy. However, with the rampant use of UGC in the digital media environment, these three important values are jeopardized when diverse voices are enabled to be heard, challenging what journalists say or write. This counteracts the three theories discussed in the sociological approach of media influence, as UGC is often argued as “free speech” (Singer) for the public, greatly expanding the circle of media producers, as opposed to the elite. While the threat to authority remains a big concern, many believe that challenges to factual