Modern Media and Pr

Great another topic that’s right up my alley. I am going to approach by answering each proposal separately from the view of mass media alone. I understand the new developments in new media but I think we need to understand the perils of mass media so we don’t make the same mistakes.

“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” From the book 1984, George Orwell

What do you think?

Is the media creating something?

Obviously the media creates material from second or third hand information that is published physically or digitally for us (the public) to voluntarily and subconsciously consume. But what else do they create?? The mass media (advertising, TV, movies, the web and radio) create and reinforce all types of social control methods, for example;

• Public service announcements

• Disaster alerts and warnings

• Information (news & current affairs)

• Entertainment (Movies, Games etc)

• Social Media (Facebook, Myspace etc)

These elements of the media are generally regarded as positive creations. We all want to be informed about local and international news and current affairs. We all enjoy TV, movies and Youtube or connecting with our friends through social media. Now we need to look at the negative media creations, what they are and how they affect us.

• Opinions/Trends

• Stereotypes (image perception, gender roles)

• Xenophobia (this used to be aimed at Communists but has now changed to Muslims)

• Propaganda (Information supplied to the media through government outlets or from the mass media itself, eg WMD’s)

• Fear (War on Terror)

• Distrust (everyone has an agenda)

All of these negative media intentions can be found in most of our positive media creations through subtle - (in children’s programs the bad guy tends to have a foreign accent) or not so subtle references (stereotypical gender roles in all programming TV and Movies adult and children’s).

To...