Does the media influence the public? Sure...Can we ascertain that influence is the sole purpose of their reporting? If that be true, is the agenda they are promoting all they are peddling, and do they put forward their own agendas to that end? Are they the voice, are they pulpits for a few who seek only to sway the public opinion to their own benefit? I think not.
Yes, those in a position to inform can and will inevitably influence others with their views. However, we are called to be responsible for what we proport. We can't just blame the media. There is virtually NO CONTENT without some position, the best we can do is attempt to be fair and balanced. Those who engage in public events, do so for the benefit of those they serve, or they don't last very long?
Those who engage are far from pupits. We are not pupits, we are adults, and it is our responsibility and everyone's responsibility to form our own consensus', to get a wider perspective on the events at hand, and it is incumbent upon us to accept, reject or clarify our position on any issue.
I accept that one's personal views are hard to withhold if one is to enter the public discussions of our day. Actually, without some view, position or stance, there is no REAL content. Those who read it through will develop their own consensus or not. Hence democracy in action.
It's a sorry state of affairs if those who watch the news accept all they hear as their own view. Rather we are well served if we get our news from a variety of places. World news, national news, history and community inclusion can flourish.
If you see yourself content as one who doesn't follow the news, and you are largely uninformed, and you are content with that, ask yourself: Are you a pupit. Can anyone convince you of anything just by their delivery? If that's OK with you, fine. If you are satisfied with what you are hearing... if you are satisfied with your news sources and that makes you feel informed and involved, great! One more question: But how could it???
As a profession, Journalism is the task of BALANCED AND PROFESSIONAL reporting; THE JOB IS: disseminating and delivering concepts and ideas, news, and positions. It is also the attempt to evoke the reader, listener or spectator to join the discussion.
When we disseminate, consider and discuss the events we develop our national persona further. We, as a society, espouse general positions on items, based on what serves the most people. We can't make everyone happy but we can make everyone heard. Our social contract is advanced when the most people are involved and the most people are served. That is the social contract....
Those who live in a world where they do not follow events nationally or internationally are, in this writer's position, euthanised by their own hand. If you are so estranged from the world and think you can live in a world without politics, your dissent is upon yourself.
It is true that Media can greatly discourage, promote and or espouse certain core values, however all involved are called to disseminate, consider and construct their personal view. For instance, a political party is after all put into power by the platform of views; the views serve the most people, the rule of the majority is embattled to protect, defend and promote the core values of each political approach and it's views that it espouses.
The "Truth, The Facts and The Law" and understanding our world are paramount, to most, at least I hope so.Optimally and perhaps even Altruistically this is (the media's) their true mission. Those who report are required to state the facts, preferably and unbiased as possible.
In other words, People who report on news, are at best trying their best to follow and inform. They are doing so because they are including themselves in our rhetoric, society and discourse. It remains that we as a nation we are constantly revising and extending in our remarks. In short, our positions as a nation are in flux..
