Another academic rant...

One interesting aspect of the media that one must keep in mind is that of control. Modern day media, and historical for that matter, exercise immense control over the general population that views what they release. This control, which is not obvious, comes into our homes everyday. Newspapers and televisions are perhaps the most utilized form of media to establish control simply because they are so widely accepted and viewed. To explain where these thoughts are coming from I’ll give two examples.

Television programs are immensely important in shaping what is known as a “set agenda”. This agenda is essentially the collaboration of big business, media, and government. Which I have referred to in many of my posts so far. This alliance of elites is actually more like an upside-down tree, as a symbolic reference, in its form than that of a real alliance.
This just means that those who have the most power actually span across multiple areas of the elite class. Politicians who own large businesses are a great example. This union of the elites creates a dilemma, how do we maintain power? The solution for this problem comes through the media. The media sets agendas for the public, in the end choosing what is seen as important and relevant in the general public’s eye. The news is the best example for this. News media coverage is decided upon with values that are in the interest of the elite. In his movie “Manufacturing Consent” Prof. Noam Chomsky gives an example of just this. While genocide was being committed in East Timor the news barely reported on it, instead favoring North American interests in their coverage. Surprising? I think not. Secondly, general issues are created within communities and societies as a whole.
Take gun violence in Canada for example. Gun violence is decreasing every year, reporting of gun violence in the media has increased and public opinions about gun violence have gotten worse and worse in accordance with the media’s view of gun violence. This perfectly shows the true power of the media and how effective it is at setting the public agenda.

The print media mainly large newspapers such as the New York Times, also plays an interesting role in shaping public opinion. Although print media does follow the same trend of setting and creating public interest, it also has an interesting role in creating history. Large print companies such as the mentioned New York Times have in their storage a collection of historical articles and these are viewed strictly as fact. Which brings us back to topics discussed in the classroom. These articles however have always been in the shape of what the dominant ruling class wanted for its public. This essentially means that even in our history, our dominant ideals are being set for us.

This argument can obviously be taken much further and deeper as government/economic control is most certainly a vast topic. I just thought I would indulge a different side of myself in accordance to the issues I’ve been discussing in past posts. However, through these two examples given I believe that it is enough to stir up feelings of fear or even a simple curiosity. This will suffice as it will undoubtedly lead to a further questioning of the future media you consume, and thus a better understanding of its power.