Media Essay写作范文-媒体在民主社会中的权力

www.12y.org 留学生活网 专业留学生essay写作品牌Media Essay写作范文-媒体在民主社会中的权力Does the media have too much power in modern democratic societies?In modern day, there have grown to be many sources of power but one that can be found in nearly every state in this world is the power of media. In the last century, humankind has witnessed a revolution in societys means of communication and the birth of electronic media has changed the game of politics, in more ways than one.“The way people act is conditioned by what they think and feel, and that what is thought and felt is affected by the picture of the world conveyed by the mass media,” (Street, 2017) Manuel Castells (2009) shared his working hypothesis, stating that the most fundamental form of power lies in the ability to shape a human mind and although this power may not be translated directly, we have yet seen anything influence thought the way media does.Although one might question, is the power of media coming to a decline?It is said that with the establishment of democracy comes the decline of the media. As of today, media distrust is at its all time high, credibility has been reaped and reputation tarnishing. The global audience is no longer as impressionable as they might have been in the past.This essay will argue that the media does carry a lot of power within modern democratic societies but not to the point it is harmful to the public, as of current day, people are more aware and well educated, not quick to believe what is said by the media and are more cautious into not allowing themselves into being manipulated.The media is often regarded as the fourth branch in the government and that without it, the government or any political party would not be able to act effectively. It was built with the original purpose to inform the public on current events and global affairs and ultimately, the media has the power of information. Retrospectively they get to decide what we see, what we hear and what we know and often times the information released to the public may be distorted or manipulated.The most evident time to witness when and how power is exercised over a democracy is during the elections, the medias busiest season. During elections, the government and political parties would use multiple media sources to introduce their candidates and persuade potential voters, who happen to be the most principal group the media seeks to influence. Democratic elections are impossible to conduct without the media, to have a fair election is furthermore than just having the freedom to vote but also about guaranteeing the peoples fundamental freedom of information, the crucial process where voters receive adequate information about the parties, policies, candidates and engage in public debate in order to make well-informed choices.“This large-scale individualized collective action is often coordinated through digital media technologies, sometimes with political organizations playing an enabling role, and sometimes with crowds using layers of social media to coordinate action,” (Bennett, 2012) once upon a time the traditional role of the media during the elections was that of a watchdog, to protect the public against the deceitful, corrupt and incompetent but today, their role is conflicted with meeting the new demands of having to act as the middle man who brings candidates and voters together.The media is no longer only asked to keep an eye out for wrongdoings, today they are expected to guide the voters decisions by screening the potential nominees for presidency and deciding which campaigns are worthy of attention (Graber, 2011).But the question arises, why does the government care so much about what the people think if theyre in control anyways? It is simply because a democracy is by definition, a government by, for and of the people. Within a democracy, people are the main political force, examining their power through their ability to vote officials in and out of offices, policies and engage in debates about relevant issues. So in having the power to influence the thought of the people would actually mean the media has the power to affect or even decide the results of an election.The media tells people whats important, the more significant the information the more media coverage is placed and namely in a news story there are many angles that can be found within the story, which angle the media chooses to frame the story in is important. It then decides how the story is told, how it is painted and how significant the story will be to the public.The media possesses the ability to provoke people or interest groups into mobilizing just by highlighting a specific issue. It could direct potential voters to turn against an electoral candidate just by releasing sensitive information that defames the candidate.McCombs and Shaw (1972) recognised that the mass media carried a significant influence over what voters considered