Society and the Media: A Continuous Loop

Meladi Brewer
mb663616@ohio.edu

Society controls the media, and media controls society. It is a vicious circle created and repeated throughout the years. 
Historically, humans have a driving need to know the world outside of themselves and find comfort, security, and confidence. According to The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, “news satisfies a basic human impulse,” thus producing the need for messengers in any societal group around the world who could gather accurate information. The concept of media has not changed over the years, but the way it is perceived and viewed has. 

pulled from google images

The growing age of technology and the internet have brought forth a new wave of multimedia journalism as news stations are beginning to embrace the platform and post online. Aversion towards change, the stray from traditional media has caused backlash and distrust. However, society is moving towards a strong digital age of development, and the media shifts with society. 
Media bases stories off the interests of people, economics, and political statuses. Over 50 years, news has transformed into entertainment by providing fun, upbeat products in order to develop stories to a diverse audience. 

News brought forth in an entertaining way pleases the majority but also develops a distrust in credibility. Distrust in the media influences reconstructive measures to better communicate with viewers. 

The media influences society by giving educated information about the world. If one is not too careful, media stereotyping affects the perceptions of minority groups within society causing conflicts. Stereotyping within the media can be unintentional; however, the media need to be diverse in the production of content to avoid negative outcomes. 

Humans have a driven need to be understood, heard, and accepted. A sense of belonging. This force affects the way the media portrays content to a group of individuals with unique perspectives. The same content can be interpreted in various conclusions, and these interpretations affect how the media proceeds. 

Between the economical, political, and social functions within a society, the needs and wants of the people affect the content provided by the media, and the media impact the thoughts and feelings within society. The cycle has continued in a loop for decades all over the world. 

Media effects the way society acts through life. Media teaches children about morals, values, and edicts as a majority of the population learns through visuals. It is important to maintain an unstereotypical balance within the frameworks and ensure limited negativity within the perceptions of the people. Democratically, citizens are free to think and say what they please. However, repeated media perceptions affect standards and the way society functions. 

Children are susceptible to a strong media influence due to their increased broadcast exposure. An article by Pediatrics Child Health explains how media can have both negative and positive impacts on children who watch a lot of television. Monitoring should be pursued as core values, and mannerisms can develop from the media influences.

Children shows have moved from controversial comedy with Porky the Pig’s stutter to educational shows like Sid the Science Kid to teach youngsters educational material importance to installing core values from a young age in an attempt to shape bright, well behaved future minds that will soon be the driving force of mainstream society. This provides an example of how the media can control society, but also how the media was controlled as well.

Thinking patterns and perspectives within society have changed over time, thus making adaptation a key component within the media.