Power of Media in American Values Contemporary Research Paper

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Power of Media in American Values

Contemporary

Discuss the power of the media in shaping contemporary American values.

The online oxford dictionary defines media as "the main means of mass communication (television, radio, and newspapers) regarded collectively" (oxforddictionaries.com). This implies that the public globally are highly dependent on media to get information regarding what surrounds them, so is the American public (Edwards, 2001;9). In any case, the most efficient way of transmitting information to a large population almost instantly is the media. Media has been present since the beginning of man, all that has been changing and improving is the means of disseminating the information to the masses with the result being significant. For instance, the arrival of television in the early 1950's revolutionized the media industry and its efficiency to providing information to Americans has been undoubtedly superb. Just like any other technological advancements, the changes in media have had both negative and positive effects on the masses.

Public opinion on what they receive on media can be shaped and formed due to the following two aspects: the media can rightfully choose what to report to the public and what to ignore; and the nature of media may be subjective with regard to covering events rather than objective, which should not be the case (McCombs and Renolds, 2002).

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These two aspects may create a form of biasness which may greatly influence the attitudes and perceptions of the American public. Such influence plays a major role in shaping the values that are upheld by the general public. It is commonly knowledge that the people in America subscribe to varied values to a great extent, however, the media tends to choose which values to display to the masses and in essence advocating for and promoting such values. This is not always wrong but when not properly thought out the impact may be negative on the society.

One such case is the advocacy on gay rights that is spread all over the media each day. Despite the fact that the government is not against gay rights and the media is promoting the same, a larger section of the American community still hold the opinion that it is sinful and wrong to be gay. Even among those who believe so, media puts pressure on them to understand and accept people living the gay lifestyle. Once this group of individuals have been accepted and supported within the society the process of influencing the society begins. Most people who had viewed gay as sinful eventually start tolerating it and may end up being gay themselves. This is especially common when….....

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