Weekly Informing

Mass media has the ability to present issues to the public. They are generally as research point to the primary and major form of all information citizens of the United States turn to get their news, entertainment, and advice. Media presents issues, and ideally raises questions that the public should be asking. AS the mass media companies also tend to be conglomerates affiliated with business however; there seem to be very serious issues on the questions asked by the major media companies and their interests in the news.

Today mass media conglomerates choose the weekly agenda, in what generally seems to be based in their favor. NBC never really seems to discuss issues at GE and GE owned companies, and thankfully sometimes other media companies will talk about those issues.

Mass media is unfortunately today a for profit business driven by sales, advertising, and popularity. It shows what will sell, discusses these items and overall tries to make as much revenue from companies advertising and marketers as possible to increase revenues for their stockholders. They choose what to talk about in the beginning of the week and generally get the public interested in the topic for that week’s entirety.

First Amendment

The first amendment in the United States is one of our most valued rights. Today it is more important then ever to have the ability to have our freedom of expression and opinion more than ever. This applies to both individuals and corporations. Today our press is supposed to have the right present themselves and the issues at hand in the world truthfully, fairly, and unbiased. But how often does this happen?

Although I understand the belief that the US needs to protect itself from external threats that may pose a factor, I question our freedoms everyday as they have been pressed into our heads from an early age. Are the freedoms that we believe in really there? Are we really fighting for the beliefs that our founding fathers had for the betterment of our society and the world. I like to think so.

The press has a duty to its citizens to present and bring the truth to the public eye so that they can decide. In America we can protest our issues, and hope the media covers them and presents a fair unbiased opinion. The media can present our issues and their own we have the freedom to write whatever we want and speak whatever we want, and thankfully this seems to hold true today.

Chpt 15-17 blog posts.

How does mass media reflect a political system globally?

The media basically expresses everything that we know about politics and what is going on in the real world, therefore it provides us with all of the information we know about politics and political issues.  What the media tells us is what shapes our opinions on the political system.  If the media shows us one politic is bad and one politic is good we will most likely believe it, and we wouldn’t even know if all the facts are true or not.  Because this is the only way we really receive information about politics and the government, people depend on media to gain information about politics and other issues around the world. Without different forms of mass media, our nation would never receive information on governmental issues.

What is the significance of the First amendment with speech and press?

The First amendment of the Constitution of the U.S. guarantees the right of free expression; and includes freedom of assembly and freedom of the press and freedom of religion and freedom of speech.  The significance of this is that the media can say whatever they want about anything.  With this being said, I am sure a lot of mass media companies filter what they say, or have specific regulations on how they address a topic, because the way they act is going to affect their ratings and number of viewers or subscribers.  Although they do also want to be a reliable source and gain the attention of people so they will have to find a balance between how they address something and the truth of what they are saying.

How does media shape the public’s agenda of issues?

Media shapes the public’s agenda of issues because they present the people with facts, issues, and anything else going on presently.  The media decides which topics are important and which aren’t.  The media doesn’t necessarily tell people what to do or think, but it puts ideas in people’s heads, and then they react.

-Caty Draicchio

Mass media reflecting a political system globally

Mass media reflects a political system on many levels throughout the world. John Vivian writes, “At one extreme are nations in a libertarian tradition, which accords high levels of autonomy and independence to the mass media. At the other extreme are authoritarian nations with top-down leadership in control, sometimes overtly and onerously, sometimes less so” (Vivian, The Media of Mass Communication).

For example, during recent protest in Egypt, the government tried to eliminate mass communication outlets from broadcasting messages around the world of events that were occurring. The government tried to stop citizens and news outlets from voice their opinion. The United States, much different than Egypt, promotes a society in which advocates freedom of speech through media outlets. Allowing citizens and business to voice their opinion and broadcast messages makes for an honest and free flowing democracy.

Mass media ultimately reflects that of a political system in nations around the world. Although nations operate and conduct media affairs in very different ways, mass media within countries clearly reflects the operations and ideas of the political system within that country.

Public's agenda

Mass media shapes the was our agendas work in that depending on how big and important the story is we go out of our way to try and find out more about it. We try to focus on the more important issues that are going on out there rather than the stupid little things that no one cares about. We focus more time on news that is worth listening to like what’s going on in Libya with Gadhafi. The big issue now is that a NATO missile killed his family instead of him. That is a big issue right now and many people are focusing their attention to that. Another big issue is the presidential campaigns that are going on. The public listens to that news because they want to know who’s going to be up in coming in the presidential election. When little known news comes on that we don’t care about the public shuts off the TV or changes the channel because its not interesting. We tend to be drawn in by the bigger issues that may effect us or may effect everyone as a whole.

Media shaping the public’s agenda of issues

The mass media plays a major role in shaping the general public’s agenda of issues. The stories that the mass media decide to report on directly correlate with which news stories/issues the general public receives. The issues that they focus on and do in-depth research on are the ones that the mass audience will also focus on and be concerned with. The media tends to scan the domestic and international fronts to find the stories/issues that they feel will most interest us and be of the most benefit to us. If a particular news station devotes most of its research and news coverage to political news/issues and sets its agenda as such, then its audience will be more informed about politics. The mass audience can pick and choose which news station/show fulfills their needs the most and will tend to stay with that choice. When most of the media is focused on one particular issue in the news then that news issue must be something very important and will capture the attention of the mass audience quickly. In this respect the mass media is setting the tone of what we feel is important in the world today. Mass media fulfills an important role in keeping the mass audiences informed so we can make educated decisions about our lives.

Significance of the First Amendment

The first amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right of freedom of expression from government interference. This important constitutional right extends to the media as freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech and press, amongst others. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press” (Vivian). The first amendments significance with speech and press allows the media the privilege as well as the obligation to inform the mass audiences of issues that may concern them about the government. These issues are usually sensitive in nature which makes them all the more important to communicate to the masses. Free speech and free press has been the backbone of our democracy and will continue to be if the government does not tamper with it. The government however through the years has set some boundaries and limitations on what can be reported on by the media and press to us which they feel is in the best interest of the general public. However, critics of this feel that it is counterproductive in terms of keeping the citizens of the U.S. informed and able to form their own decisions on the issues.