“Authorized Knowers: News Sources, Their Selection And Their Impact On The News”

13 Pages 3277 Words

In today’s society, it is almost impossible to not know what is going on around the country without getting information from some form of media. Whether it is television, radio, or newspapers, the images and words that the media gives us form the basis of how we understand events occurring throughout the world. Without question, bias occurs in the media although it is viewed as the unbalanced or exaggerated reporting of events or ideals, which may reflect the beliefs of those in the media and not the population as a whole. Media has become too independent and too powerful for the public good. “The press is protected, not for its own sake but to enable a free political system to operate. In the end, the concern is not for the reporter or the editor but for the citizen-critic of government.” Every media outlet has an angle or bias, even if they are reluctant to admit it.
There are many aspects and pressures to writing the news. Pressures are put on reporters for them to decide what goes in the news and what gets left out. There is no let-up in pressure from the usual sources: media owners and advertisers. Corporate media owners see using their media outlets to promote their other businesses and the perspectives they favor and want to be shown to the public, as a standard business practice. Advertisers are freer than ever to demand a positive context for their ads, which are media’s main sources of revenue. It was reported by 53 percent of local news directors that "reported advertisers try to tell them what to air and not to air and they say the problem is growing." Publicly financed newspapers, magazines, television, radio, theater, and film would be a legitimate part of the national social landscape.
Corporate advertisers are central to mainstream media; this is a large part that makes the whole media system run smoothly. Of course, programs without sponsors will not run and print media that they solely rely on...