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.
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.
1 comment:
you've a good grasp on the topic, Marvel. Perhaps examining also the issue of subjective media perception as discussed in class would support your arguments further.
grade: B
mdm l
(& less procrastination in term 3, pls!)
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