Media; A Medium of Political Control

Media should be the unbiased transmission of information to a mass population. A few decades ago, newspapers and radio broadcasts were relied on to keep up with current affairs. Nowadays, information spreads instantaneously, and has become a common commodity because of the internet. Despite the growth in the number of news sources, people tend to stick to ones that align with their own views and are hesitant in scrutinising that which falls into their comfort-zone. Thus, quantity trumps quality. Few realise the power media holds over one on a day to day basis, and those who do may be powerless to its effects.

With the massive influence media holds, it’s possible to sway an audience into any ideological direction with the subtlety of carefully selected words. And so begins the chain of spoon-fed ideologies and the shaping of people into a “uni-mould” fit. With this homogeneity of thought and behaviour, the burden of controversial, or rather individual, thought becomes one too heavy to bear for many. An extreme example of this was the 1984 “Reagan Landslide”, which was only popular by a 2:3 ratio. Through the distraction and marginalisation of the public, sentiments were divided and contrary to individual opinion, the administration went through (Chomsky, 1991).

A glimpse at the first page of most newspapers show heavily fleshed-out titles, inducing an implied narrative in favour of the news outlet’s position on the political spectrum. Not everyone reads the full story though; for most, the headline is the furthest they get. Thus, the gravity of unbiased reporting is clear. What this means on a large scale is that inadvertently, what was once used as a medium meant to provide the masses with the truth, is now being twisted to create carefully construed narratives. The subjectivity of a reporter’s language enables this. The rippled effects this has on a society as a whole is that a large group of people can now be painted the same shade of fear. Fear? Because sensationalism in media is fuelled by fear. In Europe particularly, many headlines serve to antagonise the public against the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Very much against the notion of acceptance and toleration. Europe, which was the heart of the enlightenment, a movement sparked by similar waves of intolerance over three centuries ago.

I question the purpose of headlines that hone in on social constructs such as race as the sole proprietor of crime without providing intelligent discussion. It’s true; elements such as race, religion, and geographic location can very much affect the occurrence and conditions of crime, yet without an analytic approach, its easy for the layman to (mis)interpret – it may as well be the very intent of an author to paint such a picture – the bigger picture and cherry-pick details that unravel strides of effort into toleration and acceptance.

So the challenge is to fight against the irony. The irony being that we are slowly being united through our analogous divisions. Strip an article bare of its convoluted sentences ad colourful descriptions. Focus on the facts. Question the relevance of unnecessary descriptors. News is created by people after all, and is prone to human error. It’s a secondary source manufactured by a person whose job it is to create a commotion. It’s hard not to be carried away on that wave, but for the sake of a united future, it’s necessary to stand your ground.  

References

Chomsky, N. (1991). Media Control; The Sspectacular Achievements of Propoganda. Seven Stories Press.