Do the Media Always Act in the Interest of the Public?

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Do the media always act in the interest of the public? New media today are present in our everyday lives, and are much more liberated and difficult to control than traditional media which practiced censorship. Because of this new found liberty, the new media are expected to act in the interest of the public most of the time. This is due to the public’s expectation of the media as a watchdog and the moral obligation to do so even if the media lacks real formal power. The political state of a nation which determines the liberality of the media also contributes Putting these reasons aside, the media also have times in which it does not act in public’s interest. This is due to factors such as the vested interests of various media owners as well as the lack of regulation of the media by authorities due to its self-regulating nature could result in the media to not act in the public interest. Therefore, even though in reality, the media do not always act in the interest of the public, the media do try to act in the public’s interest most of the time due to the high expectations from the public. Due to the public’s high expectations of the media, the media do act in the interest of the public all the time in terms of the accessibility to a variety of information. This is because the pervasive nature of the media thus leads to an immense power to deliver information that has the potential to influence people’s lives, which includes their thinking and beliefs. For example, during the Singapore General Election held in May last year, the media have played a significant role in the dissemination of information regarding the activities of various political parties. The ease of accessibility to online forums had played a role in helping the public to discuss online and make informed decisions on the voting day itself. Similarly, the members of various political parties also
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