Introduction
The mass media is considered to be the Fourth Estate by the majority of people. By means of television and the Internet, world news is transmitted globally. However, modern media agencies are often accused of impartiality and even propaganda. I believe that several basic principles of journalism are widely violated. The main goal of this paper is to prove that the modern media is biased because it lacks transparency, independence, and objectivity.
Discussion
Media transparency is an ability to see inner processes of this system. This concept helps to describe the way media is perceived by its audience. It is one of the most powerful instruments that can influence a political or social environment. The way that different situations are interpreted by the government and general public is affected by media. Its participation might be the major factor that has an impact on the government’s decisions. I think that many mass media sources lose their credibility because they lack transparency. The information presented by such news providers is biased. Also, insufficient transparency allows many governments to interfere with the inner processes in media systems (Niederer 1). The way the information is demonstrated is now distorted to affect perceptions of audiences. Therefore, the credibility of many media agencies is diminished due to the lack of transparency.
Another important aspect is independence. To report impartially, news organizations should be absolutely independent. It is one of the most prominent principles of journalism (Harcup 89). The lack of independence affects the ability to describe existing problems in a proper manner. The main problem is that negative news involves organizations that make up audiences of media networks. The information presented by news agencies should be accurate, comprehensive, and true. Also, they have to present all views equally. However, powerful companies try to interfere with this process. Many journalists are fired because they refuse to obey their unfair requirements. Therefore, the concept of independence should be discussed on various levels.
Objectivity is another fundamental aspect of journalism. Objectivity implies the ability of reporters to cover controversial topic without letting their emotions and preconceptions influence reports (Harcup 89). One of the distinguishing characteristics of an objective story is a neutral language. Journalists should avoid assessing people’s personal characteristics. Even ordinary adjectives could show the reporter’s feelings towards the object of discussion. Fairness is the main component of objectivity. Nowadays, many professional journalists do not cover all sides of multisided problems (Niederer 175). Although objectivity should manifest itself in reports, this characteristic has to determine the journalist’s conduct as well. The purpose of any news media is to reveal real facts. However, its biased nature seriously hinders the search for the truth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the mass media reaches a wide audience and influences people’s perceptions. Nowadays, it is a multinational industry that includes television, radio, the Internet, and press. As the general public depends on this complex system, it should provide them with fair information. However, there are many prejudices and much impartiality in professional media these days.
Works Cited
Harcup, Tony. Journalism: Principles and Practice. 3rd ed., Sage Publications, 2015.
Niederer, Christina. Visual Exploration of Media Transparency for Data Journalists: Problem Characterization and Abstraction. 2016, Web.