Question: Nowdays, the media do not report the news, they make the news. Discuss with reference to recent events.

Answer:

I strongly agree with this statement. The corporate structure and commercial nature of the media, together with the overwhelming power that higher positions and the government authority has on the media, have greatly altered the reporting of news, affecting the quality of the news presented by journalists, leading to many questioning questioning the credibility of the news reports by the various sources of media nowadays.

The higher powers, as well as the government authorities also exert a certain influence on the news reported by journalists nowadays. The pressure exerted by higher authorities governing the media has caused journalists to exist in a state of dielemma, where they are forced to choose between their jobs and their responsibility of providing readers with unbiased and truthful accounts of critical news. The selfish human nature present in journalists will result in them choosing to protect their own interests, allowing the positions of power and authority to shape the angle and direction of their coverage. One example where the higher authorities influence the news coverage of journalists is the suppressed war news regarding Iraq in U.S.A. The negative aspects of the war, such as the casualties involved, costs incurred, as well as the sufferings of the people are intentionally omitted, whereas a certain media features the great improvements in Iraq, post-Saddam: People have electricity, schools, the right to vote, and a number of things they didn't have before. This clearly shows manipulation of the news to eradicate the negative impressions that the public might have of the war, and to massage public opinions of the war.

Also, due to the commercialisation of media, the aim of media is now centred mainly on the making of profits, where there is a lack of emphasis nowadays on providing unbiased news reports for readers. Journalists, may sometimes weave stories to spice up the content of their news reports to make them more interesting, and appealing for readers, to increase the number of readers. What is most ridiculous is the fact that there are even reports nowadays which are entirely made up of lies. One recent event which i am referring to, is the case where the famous actor, Tom Cruise, is sueing a certain media for the newspaper reports they have published about him, where he claims that the reports regarding his private life are entirely made up by the press. Another example, is the incident, where the media is accused of intentionally concealing information regarding the many food poisoning incidents that have occured on the Quantas airlines.

It is the responsiblity of the media to present news in a truthful and unbiased manner. Readers trust that the media will behave responsibly when reporting news and it;d really be very unethical if journalists to allow profits as well as government authorities to shape the direction of their coverage, and to go against the trust of fellow readers.