The media has been part of our society for a long time and it is no surprise that arguments start springing up on whether the media puts their private interests forward before objectivity. For many scholars, such as Javier Mateos-Pérez (lecturer at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid), media firms are used as political reinforcers by using a biased political engagement.
It is largely spoken about the fact that Rupert Murdoch controls the media he owns, using it to spread his beliefs and ideas through the publishing of news stories on these platforms. However, that’s just an overgeneralisation; the subject is obviously more complicated than that. The modern structure of media firms does not always allow a direct influence from the owners of a firm, instead, viewers are influenced by the journalists themselves, employed and supervised by the editors. While the editors work with Murdoch and share many of his ideologies, it doesn’t mean Murdoch has a direct influence on the firms he owns. However, while the subject of ownership and control has a wide range of arguments, the sociology in the political influence which media wields on consumers, is rarely spoken about. Information interaction and interpretation will vary depending on people's information needs (Michael, 2012). While there is an influence, it is also important to consider that if those who bought the newspaper, known to be politically inclined towards a Tory government - for instance - already share similar beliefs to the man owning such newspaper. Different objectives will determine which media people consult and what information we believe to be important.
Baring that in mind, it is also important to consider the fact that if we chose what information we deem important, we risk influencing our political views by finding information that agrees with a belief we have on a topic. This belief could be led by the cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy: the mistake of thinking that one thing occurring at the same time as another have anything to do with each other. This is a very common logic fallacy and can be very problematic. For instance: High Mexican immigration in America does not mean all - nor most – people convicted for rape cases in America are Mexican. In 2013, the Daily Mail published an article arguing the dangers of immigration (contradicting a report by the government). In the article, they essentially said: ‘There is high immigration, services are poor. Therefore, immigrant’s greediness causes poor services’. It is true that this fallacy can be used to politically incline the population (as the Daily Mail arguably did). However, as argued before, those more susceptible to beliefs like that will usually look for (or accept easily) that information.
It is important to mention that while those who read, watch or listen a media firm known to have a set ideological tendency tend to have a similar set of beliefs, it doesn’t undermine the influence the media can exercise on the public (As what happened in the 2004 Spanish elections where the conservatives gained a considerable advantage to the socialists thanks to the media (Berrocal and Fernández, 2004) contributing to a simplification of a political message. However, things like the cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy strengthen the idea that the media serves as a political reinforcer.
Amat, P., 2014. Orthodontics, authors’ opinions and scientific facts: Cum hoc ergo propter hoc?. Journal of Dentofacial Anomalies and Orthodontics. [Online] 17(4). Available from: doi: 10.1051/odfen/2014026 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2016]
MATEOS-PÉREZ, J. (2009) La información como espectáculo en el nacimiento de la televisión privada española (1990-1994) [e-book] Madrid: Centro Universitario Villanueva. Available at: http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/ESMP0909110315A/11681 [Accessed 28 Feb. 2017].
Michael, J. (2012) Human-Information Interaction and Technical Communication: Concepts and Frameworks [e-book] East Carolina: IGI Global. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v9WrklJArJcC&source=gbs_slider_cls_metadata_2_mylibrary&redir_esc=y [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017].
U.S. Department of Justice (2000) An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault Sex Offenses anti Offenders. [online] Washinton DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Available at: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/soo.pdf [Accessed 1 Mar. 2017].
It is largely spoken about the fact that Rupert Murdoch controls the media he owns, using it to spread his beliefs and ideas through the publishing of news stories on these platforms. However, that’s just an overgeneralisation; the subject is obviously more complicated than that. The modern structure of media firms does not always allow a direct influence from the owners of a firm, instead, viewers are influenced by the journalists themselves, employed and supervised by the editors. While the editors work with Murdoch and share many of his ideologies, it doesn’t mean Murdoch has a direct influence on the firms he owns. However, while the subject of ownership and control has a wide range of arguments, the sociology in the political influence which media wields on consumers, is rarely spoken about. Information interaction and interpretation will vary depending on people's information needs (Michael, 2012). While there is an influence, it is also important to consider that if those who bought the newspaper, known to be politically inclined towards a Tory government - for instance - already share similar beliefs to the man owning such newspaper. Different objectives will determine which media people consult and what information we believe to be important.
Baring that in mind, it is also important to consider the fact that if we chose what information we deem important, we risk influencing our political views by finding information that agrees with a belief we have on a topic. This belief could be led by the cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy: the mistake of thinking that one thing occurring at the same time as another have anything to do with each other. This is a very common logic fallacy and can be very problematic. For instance: High Mexican immigration in America does not mean all - nor most – people convicted for rape cases in America are Mexican. In 2013, the Daily Mail published an article arguing the dangers of immigration (contradicting a report by the government). In the article, they essentially said: ‘There is high immigration, services are poor. Therefore, immigrant’s greediness causes poor services’. It is true that this fallacy can be used to politically incline the population (as the Daily Mail arguably did). However, as argued before, those more susceptible to beliefs like that will usually look for (or accept easily) that information.
It is important to mention that while those who read, watch or listen a media firm known to have a set ideological tendency tend to have a similar set of beliefs, it doesn’t undermine the influence the media can exercise on the public (As what happened in the 2004 Spanish elections where the conservatives gained a considerable advantage to the socialists thanks to the media (Berrocal and Fernández, 2004) contributing to a simplification of a political message. However, things like the cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy strengthen the idea that the media serves as a political reinforcer.
Amat, P., 2014. Orthodontics, authors’ opinions and scientific facts: Cum hoc ergo propter hoc?. Journal of Dentofacial Anomalies and Orthodontics. [Online] 17(4). Available from: doi: 10.1051/odfen/2014026 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2016]
MATEOS-PÉREZ, J. (2009) La información como espectáculo en el nacimiento de la televisión privada española (1990-1994) [e-book] Madrid: Centro Universitario Villanueva. Available at: http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/ESMP0909110315A/11681 [Accessed 28 Feb. 2017].
Michael, J. (2012) Human-Information Interaction and Technical Communication: Concepts and Frameworks [e-book] East Carolina: IGI Global. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v9WrklJArJcC&source=gbs_slider_cls_metadata_2_mylibrary&redir_esc=y [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017].
U.S. Department of Justice (2000) An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault Sex Offenses anti Offenders. [online] Washinton DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Available at: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/soo.pdf [Accessed 1 Mar. 2017].
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