Introduction
It is possible to shape people’s opinions on sensitive issues using the media. My teammates and I set to prove this hypothesis by conducting several simple interviews. The interviews targeted fourteen randomly selected individuals. All the interviews sought to unravel how the media affects the interviewees’ decision-making abilities. Two questions were used for the interview. The first question was whether any interviewee had ever received any information concerning harm reduction initiatives from the media. The media that was referenced in this case included radio, television, the internet, and newspapers among others. If an interviewee answered yes to this first question, he/she was supposed to give examples. The second question required individuals to express their opinions about harm reduction services. The interviewees were supposed to reveal whether they do or do not support the aforementioned services. The results that were acquired from the interviews were classified into three categories including types of media, media bias, and harm reduction services.
Types of Media
The interviewees revealed that their most common sources of information concerning harm reduction services included but were not limited to online publications, print media, television, and radio. When it came to harm reduction services, the interviewees claimed that the newspaper was the most prominent type of media in this regard. Some of the interviewees alleged that newspaper articles constantly highlighted detrimental social trends. Consequently, the readers’ outlook of their society was mostly negative. The results of the interview also revealed that some types of media are closely connected to bias than others. For instance, most interviewees associated newspapers with an alleviated level of harm reduction services.
Media Bias
The interviewees revealed that they have encountered media-based bias on several occasions. According to one interviewee, information on harm reduction has been distorted by media reporting. This sentiment is echoed by other interviewees who claim that newspaper articles are responsible for misreporting news on harm reduction. Another factor that was found to affect harm reduction is the unreliable nature of news that is relayed over the internet. Information that is transmitted over the internet is subject to edits from non-professionals. Consequently, people who do not have the necessary skills of handling information end up influencing harm reduction. Most of the individuals who were interviewed cited print media as being a great contributor to bias. Several interviewees considered newspapers to be the most unreliable sources of information.
Media Support towards HR Services
The results of this research indicated that the interviewees were in full support of harm reduction. The interviewees’ support of harm reduction service was backed up by some reasons. One reason for the support of harm reduction service is that the media assists the masses by explaining facts to them. Without the input of the media, the information that is relayed to the public would be in raw form. The public is of the view that without harm reduction service, news media would be unpalatable. The public also holds harm reduction services in high regard because it credits the media for creating social awareness. Some of the individuals who were interviewed claimed that the media highlights social matters such as drug abuse and eventually helps society to understand them. Harm reduction is also hailed for assisting in the implementation of HR services. It is also apparent that harm reduction assists in inter-community engagements.