Though the "news" media tend to misuse their power, should they be held to blame for the misperceptions that people have about events in the world? I mean, no one is obligated to believe everything they see in the news, so why should people believe everything they see in the news? Hence, if an individual chooses to believe everything they see in the news, then the media can't really be held responsible for that. Or can they?
posted by:
|
Michigan
|
-
Re: Who's responsible?
Sat, October 23, 2004 - 11:44 PMThis is probably the best argument for the need to have a plurality of voices. Journalists do hold a public trust, and they have an obligation to be as truthful and accurate as possible. Objectivity and thorough reporting is part of the journalistic ethic, and if news-gathering organizations fail to meet this public need, consumers should exercise their rights to boycott said organizations.
I boycott FOX News and other propagandists because I do not believe in supporting their efforts to deceive their audiences and manipulate public opinion. -
-
Re: Who's responsible?
Tue, October 26, 2004 - 9:41 AMBut I still don't understand why so many people can't just decide for themselves to be skeptical about what they see in the "news." It's not like they've been brainwashed. Or have they? And as another person so accurately told me, it's a complex issue. -
-
Re: Who's responsible?
Wed, October 27, 2004 - 8:28 AMThe boycott is a means of applying commercial pressure on certain organizations to be more objective.
The "brainwashing" you mentioned is, indeed, a problem. Sociologists are quite aware of the ways people succumb to group-think and a herd mentality. These, and other sociological phenomena that cause individuals to behave irrationally, may be exploited by people who have less then the best of intentions. All citizens must be on guard for any use of the news media designed to manipulate their audiences.
-
Re: Who's responsible?
Thu, October 28, 2004 - 6:10 PMIf one company, General Electric, owns NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and another owns Fox "News" and the third owns CNN., and most people get news from those sources then how can they decide for themselves. There are no alternatives to get info, without expending alot of time and energy.
These corporations frame the stories, decide what items get reported, how they get reported, and I am sure you have noticed that they all cover the same events in the same way. Funny about that huh?
That over 50% of Americans still think that there were WMD in Iraq, is not because they heard from a multitude of sources, and decided, but rather they heeard the same thing from the only few sources and were influenced accordingly.
-
-
