Title: Merits and demerits of censorship and state your reasons why you think it is un/necessary

Censorship. What is censorship? According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, censorship is the action or policy of removing parts which are considered offensive, politically unacceptable or a threat to the security from mediums like books etc. In the mass media, there are lots of things being censored. It may be for a good cause but there are, too, some disadvantages.
A good point about censorship is that it restricts the showing of disturbing and offensive things. In films, revealing or gory scenes may be cut off or the covering up of images if they are too explicit. Vulgarities could be overwritten too. This prevents children from getting bad influence and not be traumatize when things which are too disgusting are shown to them right in their face. Things like nudity and gory images should be made known to them gradually. Here, censorship plays a major role by not letting them see and know it so directly. It should only be made known to them when they are mature enough to accept the fact. It is at when they know how to differentiate what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. It is thus necessary as a form of precaution and protection to the little innocent ones, removing things which could pose a threat to their security and peace of mind and not let them be disturbed due to the media’s cause.
Another plus point about censorship is that it covers up negative remarks on people, things or events. It is not really right for the media to show these negative remarks as it might cause political or social instability even though there is such a thing called “Freedom of Expression”. People sometimes use this irresponsibly, that’s why the media has to step in. By not showing these negative remarks, it is beneficial as it does not rouse the public’s emotion to be negative about it, thus, preventing undesired effects foe example, strike. Media actually uses the power of censorship to control the people. They keep the bad and show the good, hence protecting the welfare of the people. If negative remarks on different race, religion, politics and many other sensitive issues were shown, conflicts may arise within the society. Members of the public may develop bias opinions due to media’s influence and the well-being of the people will be at stake. Hence censorship actually indirectly ensures the society’s security by showing only the desirable, covering the undesirable. But this act actually is also the demerits of it.
For the media, by wanting to show the good, they might in the end hide the truth through their censorship. A very good example is the Iraq war. Are the US-British troops really there to hunt down the nuclear weapons as well as to liberate the Iraqis like what the media had said or are they there just for the oil? In this case the media is indeed irresponsible. They were telling us that the troops were going for a heroic battle when partially it is because of the oil supply in Iraq. If censorship goes to the extent of telling us the good instead of the truth, then there really is no need for censorship. It is the latest news update that we want from the media. If the truth is being covered up, then it defeats the purpose of a media. The censorship will thus be unnecessary as it only brings down the popularity of the whole media itself. Producers will thus make a lost. However this does not apply to all but only to a specific few profit-motivated producers in the media.
To conclude, I feel that a responsible media is one that uses the power of censorship appropriately. That is the covering of the bad, showing of the good but not to the extent of hiding the truth.

What have you learnt here about the media in the way they present what is perceived over what is real?

Topic: What have you learnt here about the media in the way they present what is perceived over what is real?

After reading the article “Spilling blood with oil in Iraq”, I come to realise and learn that the media does not always present the truth to the public. They show the perceived, not the real, which I think is a totally irresponsible and wrong thing to do. Media plays a major role in our daily life, be it through the newspapers, radio or television broadcast. We come across them daily, getting information of all sorts through these mediums. Hence, if we were to “come in contact” with it frequently, we will definitely be influenced regardless if it is in a positive or negative aspect. It will be better if we can benefit from it by knowing the correct and real information. However, this is not always the case. The media sometime give information that is not totally true. Information that they think not deem for the public is not shown. This is where I feel that they are irresponsible. The public has the right to know and the media should serve that purpose, not hide the truth. How can we call this keeping us informed when they are conveying us wrong information? That is why I have learnt that we cannot totally trust the media. They can choose what to show and what not to show, thus, disallowing us to see the bigger picture. As a result of this, the public’s perception becomes wrong. The media, in this sense, should be held responsible.
However not all reports are like that. It is only a few of them, where the topics are sensitive and major, that are in this way. If we were to be in their shoes, it actually shows a point and I have learnt about why they are doing this. Reports sometimes are exaggerated just to attract readers. This is for business purposes. The exaggerated news which are not real, are juicy and gossipy reports. It attracts readers. Thus from here, the producers will earn more for selling extra. Besides this, the media has the power to change the mindset of the people. They can portray the good as the bad and vice versa. Take the above mentioned article for example. The mass media was trying their best to show to the world that the war in Iraq is a heroic battle of liberating the Iraqis and the US-British troops are doing the right thing. Instead, reports have shown the troops’ attitude in this war which proves their motive to be otherwise. So actually, the media is trying to glorify them, influencing the public to have this same view. This shows the power of mass media.
To conclude, I suggest that we should really read widely to get a clearer picture of what is going on before setting our opinions. It keeps us from being too heavily influenced by the mass media.