For many people, news is a regular pan of life. An issue in dispute is whether the massive influence of the press on people’s daily lives denotes a negative development. It is my view that the news media does more good than harm to the society.
The news media provides people with much of the information they need on a timely basis, although there are claims that it reports on issues and events purposely. Anecdotal evidence shows that people from all walks of life have the habit of collecting information regularly from the news media, including print, broadcast and Internet-based media. For example, the Free Trade Agreement reached by the Chinese government and its New Zealand counterpart might open up many opportunities for both countries.
Furthermore, it should be recognised that the news media can sometimes save lives and reduce casualties. There is a lot of uncertainty about the surroundings, and people are susceptible to the damage caused by accidents, crimes and natural calamity. The media conveys the firsthand information to concerned audiences and enable them to take corresponding actions right away. The authority can declare a state of emergency when it is necessary, organise evacuation and distribute aid to the needy areas. All these efforts count on the news media as the messenger.
Despite their significant and ongoing contribution to the society, the news media might sometimes be harmful to the public. It is a convention that the news media exaggerates the magnitude of the real threat (for example, the potential of a terrorism attack), in order to draw the attention of the desired audiences and in pursuit of high audience ratings. It ends up with causing panic among the population. Meanwhile, the news media tends to emphasise some issues or events, which virtually have little relevance to people’s daily lives, such as an occasional multiple vehicle accident, and an affair that a celebrity is involved with. It distracts the audience from something that is much more noteworthy, for instance, poverty, environmental problems, to name but a few.
In summary, the role of news media as an information provider should be acknowledged. In case of emergency, it acts as a lifesaver. However, it is not to say that the news media can give people an overall view of the problems in society all the time.
For
many
people
,
news
is a regular pan of life. An issue in dispute is whether the massive influence of the press on
people’s
daily
lives
denotes a
negative
development. It is my view that the
news
media
does more
good
than harm to the society.
The
news
media
provides
people
with much of the
information
they need on a timely basis, although there are claims that it reports on issues and
events
purposely
. Anecdotal evidence
shows
that
people
from all walks of life have the habit of collecting
information
regularly
from the
news
media
, including print, broadcast and Internet-based
media
.
For example
, the Free Trade Agreement reached by the Chinese
government
and its
New
Zealand counterpart might open up
many
opportunities for both countries.
Furthermore
, it should be
recognised
that the
news
media
can
sometimes
save
lives
and
reduce
casualties. There is
a lot of
uncertainty about the surroundings, and
people
are susceptible to the damage caused by accidents, crimes and natural calamity. The
media
conveys the firsthand
information
to concerned
audiences
and enable them to take corresponding actions right away. The authority can declare a state of emergency when it is necessary,
organise
evacuation and distribute aid to the needy areas. All these efforts count on the
news
media
as the messenger.
Despite their significant and ongoing contribution to the society, the
news
media
might
sometimes
be harmful to the public. It is a convention that the
news
media
exaggerates the magnitude of the real threat (
for example
, the potential of a terrorism attack), in order to draw the attention of the desired
audiences
and in pursuit of high
audience
ratings. It ends up with causing panic among the population. Meanwhile, the
news
media
tends to
emphasise
some
issues or
events
, which
virtually
have
little
relevance to
people’s
daily
lives
, such as an occasional multiple vehicle accident, and an affair that a celebrity
is involved
with. It distracts the
audience
from something
that is
much more noteworthy,
for instance
, poverty, environmental problems, to name
but
a few.
In summary, the role of
news
media
as an
information
provider should
be acknowledged
. In case of emergency, it acts as a lifesaver.
However
, it is not to say that the
news
media
can give
people
an
overall
view of the problems in society all the time.