You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no special knowledge of the following topic: News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported? Use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. You should write at least 250 words.

Information is wealth. In today's world, most of the information we get on current affairs is through televsion, print and social media. The content in social media has no regulation resulting in ambiguity if the content is authentic or fake. Unlike social media, television and newspapers, by far, are considered as reliable sources of information. The content what we watch or read is highly controlled by the editors. Though there are many old institutions which are known for their unbiased views and interpretations, nowadays, we see many new TV channels and news papers spring up with the agenda of supporting selected political entities, religious institutions and corporate businesses. There are many factors influencing the decisions of the media to portray selective or biased opinions. For example, in the USA, Fox news is highly biased towards Republicans while CNN is biased towards Democrats. There are several instances where corporate tycoons like financial organisations, oil industry and arms industry have lobbied TV channnels and news papers to run propaganda on behalf of them. Due to globalization, geographical intrests are gaining more importance in the 21st century. Countries try to influence its people through news papers. For example, South China Post tries to exert its soft power in the Asia while Al Jazeera does the same in the middle east. The editors and content moderators of these media are often funded or given incentives to present false reports which are far from reality. These days, it is becoming more difficult to identify the truth with the overwhelming content thrown at us. I would state that it would be hard for the common people to understand the real scenario if they are provided with just the facts. It is the responsibility of the authors and editors to have a slightly biased narrative or representation of the facts but not too far from the facts. It gives the people a chance to hear both sides of the story and ultimately the decision of what to believe should be left upon the wisdom of the viewers or readers.