Power Of The Media

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Power of the Media In modern society the media is present in everybody’s lives, it affects the way we view the world around us and even sometimes how we make decisions. The media has many different forms that appeal to and are consumed by all demographics and types of people. These forms include television, film, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, music and many more. We are influenced in different ways by these media outlets, some intentionally and some not. With this influence the people who create media products have a significant power and responsibility in the way they affect their audience. To fully understand the power of the media we first have to look at and analyze the most popular and influential forms. It is estimated that 96% of people in Britain own a television and the average person watches 25 hours of T.V each week. This suggests that television is one of, if not the most popular type of media outlet. Television programmes come in different formats, firstly there is the half an hour to an hour narrative programme. Although these don’t directly tell a person how to think or behave, they do in fact challenge the way a person thinks. The soap opera Eastenders that is viewed by millions each week deals with a number of morally sensitive issues that the majority of views don’t and will never be affected by. By making the audience attached to the characters in the programme they are thereby attached to whatever issue is affecting that character. As the issue is not fictitious the audiences opinions or thoughts of that issue may be changed or at least be challenged by the television programme. Some forms of media effect public opinion in a more obvious way then television programmes, the most noticeable being news media. The main goal of the news is to inform the public about what is going on in the world,
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