According to (Dictionary.com 2011), the phrase media is defined to generally be any means that of interaction for example , the television, radio, newspaper and so forth. that reach tremendously large quantities of people at any specified time. Public belief then again is defined as being the collective thoughts and opinions or perspective of numerous folk on some dilemma or trouble, and so on. in particular for a tutorial to action or final choice.
From as early since the 18th century, the media or even the press because it was referred to with the previous was viewed as the ‘Fourth Estate’. To be a issue of simple fact the phrase was coined by Edmund Burke a British Politician with the late 1700s. Burke posited that together with the (3) a few branches or (estates) of presidency (Government, Judiciary & Legislature), the press was the “fourth estate”; the latter he said was the most important of them all professional-writings.com/ since only the press had the power to really unction the population on certain issues and also force the government’s hand for any real change to come about. Since more contemporary times, the push has still maintained this somewhat symbiotic relationship with all the populous.
It is true that public viewpoint is shaped to some extent by the information given by the media, (Roberts 1971) posited that “the distribution of information among the members of a society makes possible general public point of view, which cannot help but influence the course of government…”. Roberts further highlights that each belonging to the various forms of political power is characterized for the basis on the amount of information it distributes; in authoritarian states, for example, control is usually exercised through instituting censorship. That is through control within the media authoritarian leaders attempt to mold the minds of their buyers by giving them access to only information which supports the benefits of prevailing policies-policies which may have been determined with little regard for the people today.
In a democratic state on the flip side, it is vastly different and in this type of state, the regular people have a right and responsibility to influence the policies by which they are governed, so said by (Roberts, 1971). In a society for example ours, this assumption gives the media a major role in governance. This is particularly true as only the media in most cases is the only sect able to rally full community participation in a wide range of vital and complex issues; issues that include voting, human rights, environment issues, education, and issues about the economy are just a few to mention. This essay serves to highlight the ways in which the media interacts with various populations, and how they manipulate each other. I will also seek to explain the ways in which community point of view and the media influence each other and their relationship altogether.
The information provided thus far, indicates that the role within the media from the contemporary democratic society is to act as a passage for the disseminating of information between policy makers and the general public. This is true because the media is expected to ensure that citizens are well informed to make responsible decisions, as well as serves being a watchdog on elected officials to make sure they live up to their duties. In essence the media serves as being a tool for citizens both to debate with each other and to express concerns to those in authority.
In an ideal world, the media plays a amazingly active and powerful role in making policy. The reason why the media is and has become so powerful is because it has the ability to frame issues of domestic and foreign politics in countries everywhere, which has earned them the title of the ‘fourth estate’. Further consultation when using the literature (Boaz, 2005), illustrates that the representation of issues with the media exerts an independent effect around the public’s impression. One concern in which this relationship is often seen is war. The question then arises how do the media influence a population’s feeling? Well, this is done through the (process of framing and agenda setting); but the media are also vulnerable to manipulations by some sects of a population being a tool of propaganda.
Framing and agenda setting are primary devices by which the media shape general public belief and the public agenda. It refers to the way specific events and issues are organized and made sense of by those in charge of your media. Identifying media frames is amazingly important in understanding how public opinion is shaped, since the way information is structured affects the way folks process it, and ultimately it affects the meaning women and men derive from that information. So take for example, how were Americans persuaded to support the invasion of Iraq in 2003 when citizens elsewhere were not? The reality is that the public’s judgment on foreign policy and other issues whether they are national security or not is directly related to the media’s ability in producing naturalizing violence and creating the perception of natural and global insecurity. Therefore, the type of media information to which different countries’ citizens have access to is directly linked to community support for say, a war in Iraq.
Where do you turn to for information or news about current events? A question asked by (Turow 2009). It is amazing, because it make you think, can we really trust some of these well-known news sources to provide us with credible information. One illustration that lots of individuals can associate with is while in the context in the war in Iraq. Quite evidently the media did play a surprisingly important role in this regard. (Turow, 2009) highlights the simple fact that mainstream media did support the government’s 2003 selection to go to war, this was through the constant circulation of pro-war arguments. In other words the ‘power of your press’ was overwhelmingly evident at that time. In any case, the media influences the impression of its audiences that will in turn influence a government’s position over the issue.