Praises of the Notorious

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Through media we connect and engage ourselves to the world and its issues. Media is the mediator between the government and the public, deciding what current issues to expose. It is also the tool to keep the public assiduously involved in politics and the society. The way media conveys its messages is important and influential, with all these functions comes along the power to warp one’s perception of truth, our perspectives towards many matters is influenced or even given by the media. Countless teenagers are losing weight excessively for the unhealthy message of ‘slim equivalent to beauty’ image conveyed by the media. This is one of the most prominent examples of how media shapes and alters one’s outlook and standards. The consequence, or should we say casualties of this propaganda was teenagers and even adults blindly seeking the ‘perfect body’ as presented in media and bringing about health and mental problems unto themselves in ranging severity. This is a worldwide phenomenon, brought about solely by the media, as a testimony of its power.

The current situation is not one that a lot of people notice, let alone caring about. Media is one of the most potent tool to promote, implement and magnify ideas and messages. Celebrities utilize it to inflate their fame, the government exploits it to inform and promote to the public about its policies, presidential candidates across the world rely on it as the major way to acquire votes. Despite its power being realized, the authority of our societies have no regulations or guidelines for the media. The articles written by Holley and McKay are just the tip of the iceberg among other articles that misreport their material, but there was not a consequence or punishment for their intentional or unintentional mistake. This lack of supervision encouraged the media of its malpractice of misreporting in order to gain audience.

Media exists for its market, and throughout my reasoning above it is clearly shown that the media can distort content that is being reported in order to attract and enlarge its audience. Yet we as recipients of media messages only see misreporting material as media as usual, but is it? Is this foul custom accepted as a norm? If so, who is responsible? Is it us, whom the media exists for?

Work Cited:

- KKK’s official newspaper supports Donald Trump for president. The Washington Post, 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/01/the-kkks-official-newspaper-has-endorsed-donald-trump-for-president/. Accessed 20 Nov 2016.

- KKK paper the 'Crusader' endorses Donald Trump for president. The Mic., Policy.Mic, 2016, https://mic.com/articles/158302/kkk-paper-the-crusader-endorses-donald-trump-for-president#.zfgbALVOj. Accessed 20 Nov 2016.

- How does the media influence people? Reference, 2016, https://www.reference.com/technology/media-influence-people-9e21f9a0fb16d63f#. Accessed 20 Nov 2016.

- Functions of the Media. Sparknotes, 2016, http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/american-government/the-media/section2.rhtml. Accessed 20 Nov 2016.