Manipulation Rather Than Information in the Media PDF

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Manipulation Rather Than Information in the Media...

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Lopez 1 Manipulation Rather Than Information in the Media Manipulation in the media causes everything that people read, hear and watch to change their minds. Many years ago only certain media owners were not trustworthy but today it seems as if not being reliable is the rule rather than the exception. Today, it is inevitable for information to be either exaggerated or simplified, but either way distorted (Holiday).Regardless of the different types of ways the media has changed, one thing that should have remained the same is the credibility it once had. People assume that while watching the news they will only receive neutral information, but unfortunately this is not always true. Even though the reporter might appear honest and respectable they say what media owners tell them to say, and sometimes express their own beliefs (Kriewaldt). Media manipulation occurs in various ways, for example when the news is based on what readers prefer to know rather on what really is important. Since readers do not pay for the news, writers many times do not feel the duty or the need to provide them with accurate information. They do not feel any loyalty toward the readers and do not face any consequences since they are not held responsible for presenting inaccurate information (Holiday).The media not only is powerful in its editorial line but in manipulating information as well. They might cover certain issues rather than others as well as some views but not all of them. Manipulation in the media is mainly due to the income this generates since most of the income, if not all, that television and radio stations receive is due to advertising with the purpose to expose products to the public (Beder). It is also due because most of the time speaking the truth is not effective for politicians. This is why they resort to misleading information in order to manipulate the audience with information that favors them." The transparency of this manipulation is obvious for if what they say is true, we have clear proof of the incompetence of our politicians and bureaucrats as managers."(Venugopal) Both commercial advertisers and

Lopez 2 politicians benefit from the manipulation of information, however society is harmed and mislead. "[People] wonder whether governments take a cure from commercial advertisers or is it the other way around, but both emerge as unbeatable competitors in the game of manipulation of information."(Venugopal) The media should serve its main purpose which is to inform, but should not influence or manipulate the public. People's freedom as customers is threatened by media manipulation, and everyone should have the liberty to decide for themselves. People's choices should not be based on the media's distortion of information, but rather on their own personal preferences. Advertisements are almost everywhere, and it is inevitable to notice them every day. Many people do not easily accept that advertisements have the ability to manipulate them, because they prefer to believe that they are responsible for their own decisions. (Dachis) However the reality is that advertisements do affect their choices even when they are not conscious of it. Forbes contributor Ryan Holiday admits that "[his] job was to use the media to make people do or think things they otherwise would not," and that "people like [him] are there behind the curtain, pulling the puppet strings." This reveals that the media has control over what choices people make instead of permitting them to choose what they want without any influence. In order to make the right choices it is important to know the truth. It is important for people to realize what information has been changed or hidden, in order to make the correct decisions. (Venugopal) If people are repeatedly consumed by the media's lies they will be constantly disappointed and therefore will lead unhappy lives. Once they are convinced and manipulated by what the media wants them to believe they will lose complete control of their own choices and ideas. Manipulative advertisements often make people believe they can afford things they really cannot. People tend to reference to the lifestyles they observe on television whether they do it

Lopez 3 intentionally or not. The lifestyles that people reference to are only obtainable for a small percentage of Americans. Furthermore, people may feel sad when they cannot afford such lifestyles. Most advertisements are targeted to the rich because they will actually afford the product. Even though rich people are not the majority, they are the ones who do not mind spending large amounts of money in order to obtain whatever they desire. Despite that advertisements are targeted to the wealthy people, they are visible to everyone, even those who cannot afford the purchases. Everyone wants the lifestyle of the rich since that is what they are being exposed to in most commercials. As a result of people purchasing items they cannot afford, they have borrowed a lot, causing a great debt. This debt increases even more since there are high interest rates, and yet the spending continues because of the constant advertisements (Dachis). These constant messages by the media, with the purpose of spending to increase, negatively affect many households. When media manipulates information the public is being misinformed and therefore mislead. True and honest information is vital to live in an educated society. Everyone, including wealthy business people has their own opinions and they are free to express themselves. However, there is no protection toward the public because these business owners, who own media companies basically, pay their reporters to share their opinions with the public (Kriewaldt). When the public is misinformed they form incorrect ideas in their minds and this only leads to wrong decision making. People can vote for a political candidate they typically would not vote for simply because the media favors the candidate and leaves other candidates in an unfavorable position (Kriewaldt). Undecided voters seek for little things to make them take a side, making it of extreme importance that they are very careful about what they decide to believe. Several weeks ago The Tufts Daily published a photo in which Mitt Romney suppose

Lopez 4 ably mocked gay high school classmates. The problem with this editorial was that the photograph was fake, and was taken out of a spread by Vanity Fair which was produced in its humor section. The independent student newspaper of Tufts University did not fact-check adequately and published Mitt Romney's photo. Apparently the rest of the world did not fact-check either since they believed the photo that had been presented to them as well. Even a couple of bloggers were tricked by this manipulation. (Media Manipulation) This proves that "citizens are daily exposed to misleading advertising, political spin-doctoring, selective media information and the outright corporate lies." (Venugopal) In his book "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News", Goldberg argues that "the majority of journalists in big newsrooms slant leftward in their personal politics especially on issues such as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, and gun control; and so in their professional role tend to assume those positions are reasonable and morally correct".(qt. in Beder) Not only do the government and companies who sell products present misleading information to the public, but also scientists. They have the ability to wrongly interpret the few information available to the public (Venugopal).It is extremely important to listen to honest opinions, since there are so many sources of information that are not always reliable. (Truth Propaganda) Most tactics used by the media violate all ethical standards, and it is morally incorrect to lie. The media uses tactics to make people have all kinds of responses including emotional responses, and trick them into buying their products. There is a difference between emotional choices and logical choices. When people choose something based on how it looks rather than by how functional it is they are making an emotional choice. (Dachis) Advertising agencies know that the public sees in advertisements what is in their convenience. This helps them advertise their product as something more impressive than what it really is. They may not consider this

Lopez 5 lying because the public is who sees the product in a way that is different to what it really is (Venugopal). This does not mean that what they are doing is morally correct, or minimizes the problem. Advertising agencies also know very well that consumers find facts boring so they opt to create a surreal land. Not only does advertising create a fantasy land but it also affects people's real lives and threatens to destroy their sanity (Venugopal). People are surrounded with abundant sources of information, and thus make it very important that these sources are independent as well as honest. Unfortunately those who own the media use the information to serve their own interest and to their convenience (Truth Propaganda). When the media lies in order to either gain a vote for a political candidate, or to make people purchase a product they lose credibility. An editorial is simply an opinion, but it may also express the opinion of an entire paper. When a mistake is made it loses credibility from what could have been a great paper (Media Manipulation). In an age where information is power, people need to be assured they receive the correct information and that the media is not being manipulated by strong interests. This impacts people's daily living and shapes their way of life (Venugopal) Writers, marketers and press agents all benefit from media manipulation. Before the media was known as a reliable source of true information, but now everyone is involved in breaking down the barriers that once made the media reliable and trustworthy (Holiday). The instant spread of the fake photo in which Mitt Romney is said to be mocking gay high school students demonstrates the times people live in as well as their character. Currently honesty tends to seem like an oxymoron. The situation of Mitt Romney's photo reveals society as a whole. If what people see or hear supports how they feel about somebody they are going to spread it even further regardless if it is real or fake, since it will serve as evidence and reinforces their beliefs. Even though The Tufts Daily later eliminated their editorial, it ethically still remains in the

Lopez 6 wrong. Once they published the fake photo, they violated the rule that both “right or wrong once published, it’s a fair game,” and now the editors are trying to fix their mistake (Media Manipulation). In their defense journalists such as the editors of The Tufts Daily, claim that their opinions as well as the pressure from media owners have no influence on their work because they have ethics and are objective (Beder). However, it is evident that even though the media present information as being objective, the liberal bias is somehow always included. The media often selects information in stories that support their own reasoning and do not look into those stories which do not (Media Manipulation). The media is not only biased when dealing with advertisements, but also with traditional institutions especially those who are religion based (Ruschmann, 55) Whether they do it with the purpose to only express their opinions or to change people's minds, the media should not be allowed to manipulate the public in any possible way. "It's important that we're not too trusting of each other as journalists and as new sources. Whether it is an effort to get things out before anybody else or whether it comes from personal bias, there is always going to be misinformation floating around. It's the danger of taking a side as a journalist too." (Media Manipulation) Since the federal rules have only allowed ownership to few corporations, only a few are who actually control the corporations and what they express."The concentration of media ownership into the hands of a few people is of concern to people at both ends of the political spectrum."(Beder)The effect of media concentration according to reformers has been "censorship of the news thorough as that practiced by authoritarian regimes. If there is no government regulation only so much can be done in order to fight censorship in which media corporations conceal stories that deal with unacceptable corporate citizenship, or when tobacco industries hide

Lopez 7 the effects and health risks involved with smoking (Ruschmann, 83). Society must be able to depend on the media instead of being worried that they will fall into the media’s tricks. When the media is completely trusted, free of manipulation, and informative it will be only then that people can become informed and free to decide for themselves.

Lopez 8 Works Cited Beder, Sharon. "Moulding and Manipulating the News." IOW. IOW, February 02, 2004. Web. 3 Oct. 2013 Dachis, Adam. “How Advertising Manipulates Your Spending Habits.” lifehacker . lifehacker, July 25 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. . Holiday, Ryan. “What is Media Manipulation?—A Definition and Explanation” Forbes. Forbes. July 16 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

Kriewaldt, Roland. “How The Media Sways Public Opinion.” Reality Checkers , September 09 2012. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . “Media Manipulation Fake Romney photo’’ The Spectrum. The Spectrum. November 5 2012. 2012. Web. 8 Nov.2012. . Venugopal, Soumya. “Advertising: Information or Manipulation.” Youth Ki Awaaz. N.p., May,19 2010. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. < http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/05/advertisinginformation-or-manipulation/>....