The Media and Its Responsibilities

The Media and Its Responsibilities SOC 120 June 6, 2011 The Media and Its Responsibilities The media is known for getting the most recent news out to the people of the general public. Sometimes the information the media delivers is questioned by the people. They wonder why the news media would announce certain information for the whole world to know. In this research paper you will learn what kind of information the media delivers, how this information can affect people, and how they can prevent certain events from happening by policing what sort of information they release and distribute for the world to know.News is everywhere. The first distribution of news was through newspapers. They date back to centuries and centuries ago. Newspapers distributed in the United States go back to as early as 1690 (Barber, 2011). There has been much advancement in our technology on how the news has been delivered over the years. You can get information through newspapers, magazines, television, ra dio, and internet. You can even sign up on websites to get emails and text message alerts sent to your cellular device when there is breaking news.Anyone can find what they are looking for by the click of a button. Watching the news can be very informative by keeping you updated on what is going on around the world or in your local area. The yahoo. com homepage has new current events listed daily. While you are in your car driving, you can listen while being updated with the news. Radio stations also update you on what is going on throughout the day. The first amendment of the United States Constitution expresses Freedom of Press.It states, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances† (U. S. Constitution, 1787). Freedom of Press gives the news me dia the right to publish any information without suffering any consequences. The news media does have certain responsibilities that they need to fulfill in order to keep the public satisfied.The responsibilities of the media are to report stories that affect the public. The media feels that the people of the society have the right to be informed about what is going on, in the world, at the present time. How far is too far when it comes to certain information that is being broadcasted for everyone to hear and know about? There is news broadcasting stations put in place to keep the public informed on current daily events. News stations try to compete with one another on who is first to report a news breaking story.They glamorize the fact that they were the first on the scene or that the story that they are reporting on is an exclusive. The news media delivers important information but sometimes it can be too informative. There are sometimes too many unnecessary facts given that are ir relevant. The information that the media delivers is sometimes information that the whole world should not necessarily know about. For example, it was learned that California’s former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child from a different woman, while he was married to his legitimate wife.The media showed pictures of the woman whom Arnold had the affair with. This sort of issue can present a problem for the child whom is involved. If the child has friends that know what his mother looks like, they now know that he is the child of Arnold Schwarzenegger. If the family was trying to keep the child’s name a secret because they did not want him to be targeted by the news, the media ruined that chance by releasing a photo of the child’s mother. This sort of thing could lead to teasing by other children at school and many other things.The child can also be subjected to the harassment of the paparazzi. It seems that the news media is more concerned with repor ting the actual story than how it affects the victims involved. The information that the media delivers can affect the victims of the story in many different ways. I do not think that the media realizes that by what they are saying can destroy people’s lives. Have you ever watched the news and thought to yourself, â€Å"Wow! That person seems extremely ignorant for being a victim of such a scam? By releasing certain information about a person the story is about or showing faces or photos, the person can go on and suffer from humiliation, depression, and even bullying. Even the family of the persons involved in a story can be affected. I recently came across a story through the news about a local United States Marine that was involved in a ridiculous scam. There is a yard sale website that people post items for sale on. It is somewhat like Craigslist but mainly for the military base. This Marine was selling his guitar, on this yard sale website, to a woman and she ended up sc amming him.They both agreed on a place to meet and when they got there she conned him into going to the bank and depositing a check that was endorsed by her, into his bank account. The check ended up being an insufficient funds check and he was left with no money for the guitar that he had just sold to her. The Marine ended up reporting her to the police and there is an investigation that is taking place. In this case, the Marine is mainly at fault for agreeing to have a stranger’s check deposited into his bank account. The Marine was interviewed on television and he was ridiculed by fellow marines for being exposed in such a fraudulent scenario.The news media could have suggested that his face be shadowed so he would not be a target of humiliation. The Craigslist killer case is an example of how a life can be ruined by news delivered through the media. The Craigslist killer was engaged to be married and his fiancee found out through the news on the television about the crime s that he was accused of committing. In this case, it is not only shocking but as well as embarrassing for the fiancee because she had no idea that her soon-to-be-husband was committing these crimes behind her back.Family and friends knew that she was engaged to the suspect committing the murders and after the news makes it public that her fiance was indeed the Craigslist killer, she would suffer from humiliation and embarrassment. Since she was the fiancee of the Craigslist killer, her name will forever be linked to this case on the internet. Certain events can be prevented by monitoring what is being broadcasted rather than jumping into a report so suddenly. I think that the news media has to be careful on what they are reporting because they have a duty to the public to be discriminative on certain subjects.Names are the most common thing that is not withheld from the media. The media usually only withholds names if the person is a minor. Another example of certain information th at needs to be withheld from the public is the whereabouts of important government officials. The media is always reporting on where the President of the United States will be making an appearance. If someone wanted to potentially harm the President, they would just have to listen to the news to know his exact whereabouts and know when he would be in a particular place.The President does indeed have very heavy security but so did presidents of the past that were assassinated. The news media does influence politics significantly (Entman, 1990). The entire world does not need to know where the leader of our country is going to be at. In The Media and Political Violence, Virginia Held states that she believes that the media should contribute to decreasing political violence through better coverage of arguments for and against political dissidents’ views (Held, 1997). Celebrities are also a huge target of the media.Some have even been known to become famous just through having pi ctures taken of them. What and how celebrities are involved in always seem to make headline news. If they lose too much weight or gain too much weight they will be on a magazine cover. If they have too much alcohol to drink at a bar one night, you can bet that they will be the talk of the news the very next day. People are paid to take pictures of celebrities so they can be in magazines. Some celebrities even face humiliation about the pictures that are sometimes taken of them.Princess Diana’s death is an example of how far the media will go just to get a picture. Her death was partially due to the result of the news media wanting to photograph her while she was being escorted in a vehicle. It was said that the media trailed behind her vehicle, driving at very high speeds. Out of four people in the vehicle, there was only one person that survived. Princess Diana’s driver was speeding while the media continued to follow them in pursuit. According to the Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility, the classical theory of utilitarianism believes that there is an obvious solution that is fair. It argues that, given a set of choices, the act we should choose is that which produces the best results for the greatest number affected by that choice† (Mosser, 2010). The media should not be so quick to report on a story without considering how what they are reporting on, might affect the people whom are involved. They should do what is best for the greatest number of people involved in the stories that they report on. By focusing on the classical theory of utilitarianism the media can resolve this problem.As stated in Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility, â€Å"relativism is the idea that one's beliefs and values are understood in terms of one's society, culture, or even one's own individual values† (Mosser, 2010). Relativism is when you agree to disagree in an argument. A relativism approach would argue with the utilitarianis m theory about the media by saying that the media has the right to fulfill their certain responsibilities. They would agree that the media has responsibilities that need to be completed in order to keep the public informed, regardless of who it affects.The police department also plays a huge role in what detailed information is being released to the news media during crime investigations. Their job is to protect the people of the society. The media and police should both work together to learn better ways on how to deliver the news while still being sympathetic to the victims involved. In most cases, there are facts that the police should not even release to the media. Information that is released by police could result into being more of a problem. For example, if there is a case where the person involved got seriously injured or killed by someone else.It could anger a close friend or family member and they could go to extreme measures in retaliation to pursue or look for the other person involved. I personally believe that the media should look into what they are reporting and how what they are reporting on can affect the people involved. I agree that the news media is a great way for the society to be informed about events but there are certain details that do need to be withheld in order to protect the individuals that are involved in the story. I do feel that the media jumps way too fast into reporting an event without really being onsiderate of the people involved. They want to be the first one to get the job done. I believe that we would not know much about what is going on in the world without the media. I do believe that they do carry out a good job by keeping the public updated on events. I understand that it is their job to inform the public about news but I do think that there needs to be limits and boundaries set so that all involved are protected. The media believes that their responsibilities are to get information out for the public to know.The y want the people of the public to be informed about what is going on so they provide the public with every bit of detail in scenarios they report about. It is their responsibility to provide the public with important topics that affect us. Sometimes the information that the media presents about people can attach itself to a person for their whole life. The media needs to take certain precautions about the unnecessary details that they present or announce to the general public. References Barber, P. (2011). A Brief History of Newspapers. Retrieved from http://www. historicpages. om/nprhist. htm Entman, R. (1990). Democracy Without Citizens: Media and the Decay of American Politics Retrieved from http://site. ebrary. com/lib/ashford/docDetail. action? docID=10142065;amp;p00=media's%20responsibilities Held, V. (1997). The Journal of Ethics Vol. 1, Number 2. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org/stable/25115544 Mosser, K. (2010). Introduction to ethics and social responsibility. San Di ego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu Walenta, C. (1995-2011). U. S. Constitution Online. Retrieved from http://www. usconstitution. net/const. html The Media and Its Responsibilities The constitution gives us the freedom of speech in our country. However, we must keep in mind that exercising these liberties includes duties and responsibilities. The media is an integral part of everyday life and has become a leading player and influence of our society and it have an outcome on our nations’ future, viewpoint, and the globe’s view of us. The media are responsible for mainstream America ideals and the familiarity of the image based on the impact from the media. The media are fundamental of social influence and political decisions. The media have turned the average person on reality television into an international star. Sensationalism is in newspapers, on televisions, in magazines, or just a click away on the internet. The media landscape is on the horizon. Commercial and advertisement entice Americans to create financial debt and can influence a poor diet all due to the media. Ratings manipulate the information to such a high level it converts into entertainment. Media is largely funded by advertising. Media have the responsibility to give readers, viewers and listeners accuracy and accountable. Media should uphold fairness and meticulousness. Media has built into for the most part crucial aspect of our era, influencing every citizen. I will discuss the unease relating to media responsibility today, but I will also challenge to depict the importance of the responsibility. A utilitarian purpose can be proficient only through an endeavor to added diverse ethical standards established by the social order improve our society. The media are what we read, listen to and watch; the foremost impact is psychological, intellectual and share commercial implications. Many media outlets cater to the business sector, s they must gain a profit. The Media and entertainment industry forms public opinion and the terms of public debate. Comparable, through its partnerships with advertisers, the media also, exerts a powerful influence on the decisions we make, the products we buy, and the variety of analysis, we ask when we make our daily preference. In financial partnership with advertisers, th e media also put forth buying influences which drives our nation economically, public opinion which affect the decisions we make, and the products we purchase alters the trends. The media are what we read, listen to and atch; the psychological impact funneled by the media which forms public debate. Unrelenting media coverage fed the fascination with both court cases. Media has a moral ethical responsibility to tell the truth, unbiased and remain balanced. Each of us has a responsibility to challenge and demand what we expect from the media on the subject of an unbiased account of issues and politics. The media have become a control center in the political arena. The clout is the power to the political decision of the people. The political system, have an immense influence on politics and on forming social transformation. Television along with social media can to the highest degree of influence the election of a national runner on the basis of image. Today, individuals who despise the media must use the media to assist them to forerunners ahead in the polls. THE MEDIA AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES 4 The Internet assists social equality by giving a voice to every citizen in every home and every workplace. Social media certainly plays a pivotal role in bringing media scraps and video goes viral world-wide creating national and international interest. Many celebrities ersonal lives are in the mainstay of modern times and the media. Misbehavior is constantly displayed in public view and it’s become the signs of the times and is not going away. Celebrities invite negative attention to boost their career. Though many papers syndications have been reduced those remaining in conjunction with and magazines compete on news about celebrities and scandals. All that is perilous, immoral or incorrect takes prece dence has a prominent place, especially in those papers that are mainly sold from newsstands. Media pays thousands of dollars to gather the dirt for up-to-the-minute candal on the front page every day in order to sell papers. The media's momentous spotlight is high-profile crimes coverage. Crime and victimization should include more privacy. Crime reporting is at an all time high being biased. The media have a tendency to take a stance of guilt before a verdict is rendered. The D. A. and law enforcement seek publicity. The judge can be influenced by the trial, For instance, the Casey Anthony murder case and the murder trial of O. J. Simpson created a new market for courtroom drama influence, both positive and negative. . Nowadays there can be repercussions for moral breach. Today 75% of endorsement contracts contain a moral clause that allows companies to exit without penalty in the event of an incident by the celebrity that substantially damages the company's reputation. Often the â€Å"incident† is limited to criminal activity and previously it was not uncommon for the legal language within the clause to even mandate that an actual conviction of a crime be present before the deal is terminated. The truth is out there to access global news information which has served as an advocate for society and its right to be acquainted with an essential role of involving us in concerns such as ivil rights issues, famines around the world and health epidemics. They give us an intimate sense of national issues and global concerns to bring us awareness. Many Americans feel that we ought to reap the benefits of media, globally, due to new media platforms, global media can cross cultural boundaries. Foreign relations as cultural barriers are jaded by the media While media are in itself more helpful than harmful, are setting a trend in their media and computers have changed the way the media messages is gathered, processed is produced affecting the printing and broadcasting processes. Media currently continues to have an enormous impact on the way people conduct their lives on a global scale desiring to become more like western societies. Mass media are striving to arrange operations around the globe; some nations want to protect their own domestic media and culture. The massive expansion of TV culture expresses Hollywood subculture. TV viewers in Nigeria, India, China or Russia now dream of the American way of life, as seen on TV serials (which, being relatively inexpensive and glamorous, THE MEDIA AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES 6 ill the TV with most TV channels all over the world) and thinks in terms of the competitive values permeate by them. (Fotopoulos, Takis, 2009). In addition to financial interests, the global media and the internet have an impact on how the globe views Americans via media content, politics and culture, can many countries assume our country to be greedy. Mass media are influence by the culture and interests of our nation and viewed as an exten sion of the American way. Although the media keep us updated on our nations enemies and spectators an objective view f what is occurring without violating any human rights or offending viewers gaining what is happening in their parts of the Middle East Arab media channels like Al-Jazeera and other news channels are airing more graphic media in nature violating human rights and this has many negative effects on their viewers. Since there is no certain restriction on broadcasting violence, from airing the casualties in the combat zone Terrorists gain publicity due to the exposure that their networks give them, to promote their message of violence to create fear. News channels are sensationalizing the hatred toward the United States and other nations. Like our nations guidelines, media should ban the broadcasting due to empowering the terrorists by airing terrorists acts, and by making the atrocious details accessible to the public, the media are path that construct antagonistic society to set in motion terrorism. The press plays a pivotal role in modern society and social responsibility is at an all time high and imperative on mass media. Social responsibility is the concept roots in liberta ¬rian theory with more prominence on the press's responsibility to society than on the press's freedom. THE MEDIA AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES 7 Tentatively coming the a superior point than libertarianism, a category of moral and intellectual evolutionary trip from discredited old, libertarianism to a new or perfected libertarianism where things are forced to work as they undoubtedly should have worked under libertarian theory. (Merrill, John C. ). The media have a responsibility to society to present of the media mandates moral responsibility. Utilitarian ethics is enormously influential in North American society, ‘probably the basic moral philosophy of most nonreligious humanists today’’ (Harris, 2002, p. 119). Utilitarianism is prevalent in the media professions, and in quasi-form is the mind-set of most students preparing for careers, such as journalism, that serve democratic societies. (Erlbaumm L. 2007). The media must show prudence, discernment and circumspection. Whilst making journalistic decisions are that moral and ethical the press has a moral commitment to the meet the requirements distributing ideas and information supported of society that will bring into being he betterment of moral. The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics has high integrity to strive to higher ethics in regards to the media that journalists adhere to a high Code of Ethics to seek truth and report it which often involves easier said than done decisions and share responsibility for the penalty of unethical reporting and the impact on society. Journalists have an absolute duty to tell the truth, regardless of the consequences. Truth is key in ethics; journalists must take into account the probable penalty of their reporting. Plato call attention to the principle; his parable was meant to show that we live in a world of false impression and that we must get rid of our false impression to find the truth. Aristotle Nichomachean Ethics held that reason used to generate happiness, which gives us moral and intellectual virtues. The moral virtues include moderation, courage and nobility; the logical various wisdom. Trust is key in ethics and social responsibility. Media is of imperative importance to develop trust its supporters identified as being ethical, deliver excellence and responsible.