Mass media, "our window" to which we are able to "peer through" at recent events happening all over the world. But the questions is are we able to trust our media? Is the media reporting the news in its purest form or is it twisting and making the news as they want it to be interpreted as?
What we know as "recent" is defined by the Merriam's dictionary as "having lately come into existence" and "events" are "noteworthy happenings". In other words, "recent events" are the latest things that happened or occurred. News is all about recent events as obviously anything way back in the past is not "new" and anything far off in the future cannot be confirmed. Recent events must happen during a time close to the present day.
However, news about recent events are always unreliable as the media usually do not report the news but rather "tweak" it to achieve their objectives.
One such example of the media altering news is the widely debated topic of the ex-US president, Bill Clinton and his scandals.
The reports of Clinton's affairs were so aggressive that it even caused his own government to become labelled as "corrupt", "incompetent" and "untrustworthy" and eventually caused his massive loss of support. Ironically, there was actually no concrete evidence of Clinton's scandals but it was the heat of debate as it involved sex. One reporter even admitted that they went overboard but said that they continued to report the story as "sex sells".
On the other hand, the same new organisations paid no notice to the present US president, George Bush's controversial sale of the Harken energy stocks. Bush, one of the head of the Harken company, "dumped more than 200,000 shares of the company's stock " when he heard that the company was facing a financial crisis. This caused the company to plummet and it would have lost millions.
However, top news agencies, including New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and many others, all completely ignored the incident, simply because it would not attract interest and that insider-trading was "difficult" to report. News agencies report more news that they feel will attract readers and leave out the more "boring" ones. Clearly, this shows how the media bases the news broadcasts on the profits they will earn form the increased viewership.
Another example is the huge extent of media coverage when the hurricane Katrina stormed the USA, one of the most developed countries in the world. The large extent of media coverage was astounding - ranging from actual footages of the disaster to websites and online commentaries based solely on getting more donors and support to Katrina victims.
However, the hurricane took about only 1,836 lives, which is by-far a small sum compared to the millions that die from AIDS every year in Africa. Surprisingly, the Katrina event was given more media attention than the African AIDS situation that was far more severe and deadly. This only spells one thing - the media is definitely not reporting the news but rather choosing and altering the news based on their profits.
Even our very own local media is not innocent of such altering of information. The case of Hwuang Na's murder is evidence enough how the media can blow up a single murder case to a large issue.
In conclusion, the altering and tweaking of information in the media will always continue as new agencies like any other company is profit-centered and will aim to maximise their earnings. It is up to us to decide which news information is reliable and which is just pure fiction.
Bibliography
Definition :
http://www.webster.com/dictionary
Bush info :
http://mediamatters.org/items/200605260016
Katrina info:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
Aids in Africa info:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/04/11/safrica.aids.reut/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aids_in_Africa
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
1.“YouTube has no ethics, it's been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and money.” Do you agree?
Youtube, the popular site which provides free online viewing of videos, has become a hot topic for debate today. Every day, more and more videos are posted on Youtube to satisfy the millions of viewers that frequent the site.
There comes to a point that people start to ignore ethics and post inappropriate material, in order to satisfy such a large demand for new and innovative videos. It is this offensive material and irresponsible behavior that cause outrage.
Celebrities and people of authority are often victims of satires, criticism and paparazzi. Youtube is one place where one can find videos that criticise and deface these famous people. One such case is the video where a poster of the Thai King was vandalised and even stepped on. Such irresponsible and thoughtless behaviour time and again sparks off fury that lead to lawsuits and even political violence. What is worse is that Youtube is encouraging such behaviour by condoning such insensitive postings without any checks.
To make things worse, Youtube is also accused of copyright infringement. The site have been reported to have used material from companies such as Viacom without complying to the copyright laws and regulations. By illegally exhibiting the videos from other companies, Youtube has in fact promoted piracy. This lack of respect for intellectual property causes one to think twice about whether Youtube is ethical.
Offensive and vulgar clips are also rampant on Youtube. It is not uncommon to find clips containing material inappropriate for children. Despite this, Youtube has no form of censoring or viewer control.
What is saddening is that Youtube has not taken any action on any of its problems. In contrast, it continues to allow these problems worsen. Although viewers do tag videos that they deem inappropriate for removal, there is still no official checking system to prevent this continuous influx of unsuitable clips from entering the site.
Up till now, Youtube gives one the impression that it spares no thought to ethics. As long as people remain glued to the clips on the site and it continues to earn millions from advertising, the company will remain profit-centered and will not take action for such problems.
There comes to a point that people start to ignore ethics and post inappropriate material, in order to satisfy such a large demand for new and innovative videos. It is this offensive material and irresponsible behavior that cause outrage.
Celebrities and people of authority are often victims of satires, criticism and paparazzi. Youtube is one place where one can find videos that criticise and deface these famous people. One such case is the video where a poster of the Thai King was vandalised and even stepped on. Such irresponsible and thoughtless behaviour time and again sparks off fury that lead to lawsuits and even political violence. What is worse is that Youtube is encouraging such behaviour by condoning such insensitive postings without any checks.
To make things worse, Youtube is also accused of copyright infringement. The site have been reported to have used material from companies such as Viacom without complying to the copyright laws and regulations. By illegally exhibiting the videos from other companies, Youtube has in fact promoted piracy. This lack of respect for intellectual property causes one to think twice about whether Youtube is ethical.
Offensive and vulgar clips are also rampant on Youtube. It is not uncommon to find clips containing material inappropriate for children. Despite this, Youtube has no form of censoring or viewer control.
What is saddening is that Youtube has not taken any action on any of its problems. In contrast, it continues to allow these problems worsen. Although viewers do tag videos that they deem inappropriate for removal, there is still no official checking system to prevent this continuous influx of unsuitable clips from entering the site.
Up till now, Youtube gives one the impression that it spares no thought to ethics. As long as people remain glued to the clips on the site and it continues to earn millions from advertising, the company will remain profit-centered and will not take action for such problems.
Friday, April 6, 2007
'The teenage years are the best years of one’s life.’ Would you agree with this view? (CAMBRIDGE NOV 1994)
Teenage years - what we all know as the intermediate stage of our lives where we undergo the change from an adolescent to an adult. No matter how much we love or hate our teenage years, one has to admit that the teenage years are indeed the most important and the best of our lives.
Although many teenagers do not realise it, our teenage years are the highlight of our lives. It is the point of time where a person undergoes the "rites of passage" into adulthood. It is when one recognises his or her responsibilities and expectations. During these period, parents start to pass on responsibilities to their children and place more trust in them. We learn how to manage tasks given to us during our teenage years. It is only in teenage years that we are first given the opportunity to learn how to manage responsibility and how to gain trust.
Teenage years is also a time where one experiences attraction to the opposite sex. Dating and relationships are just a few things that teenagers learn during this intermediate stage of their lives. No matter the outcome of the dating, these experiences will stay etched in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Another joy of teenage years is that it is the point of time where the body and the mind is at its peak. A teenager has the capability to perform better than any other adult both physically and mentally. It is no wonder that many refer the teenage years of a man as their "prime".
Most importantly, the teenage years is a time of experimentation. Teenage years is a time of discovery. Most teenagers are still protected by their parents who are there to help their children when in need. Therefore, this then gives them a "second shot" at new things. This experimental stage allows teenagers to learn new lessons and still be able to fall back upon their family when they encounter setbacks. This "exclusive right" is only open to teenagers.
Like building blocks to a skyscaper, teenage years are a crucial component in a person's life. No matter how we love or hate our teenage years, we cannot deny that it is the most exciting and significant part of our lives.
Although many teenagers do not realise it, our teenage years are the highlight of our lives. It is the point of time where a person undergoes the "rites of passage" into adulthood. It is when one recognises his or her responsibilities and expectations. During these period, parents start to pass on responsibilities to their children and place more trust in them. We learn how to manage tasks given to us during our teenage years. It is only in teenage years that we are first given the opportunity to learn how to manage responsibility and how to gain trust.
Teenage years is also a time where one experiences attraction to the opposite sex. Dating and relationships are just a few things that teenagers learn during this intermediate stage of their lives. No matter the outcome of the dating, these experiences will stay etched in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Another joy of teenage years is that it is the point of time where the body and the mind is at its peak. A teenager has the capability to perform better than any other adult both physically and mentally. It is no wonder that many refer the teenage years of a man as their "prime".
Most importantly, the teenage years is a time of experimentation. Teenage years is a time of discovery. Most teenagers are still protected by their parents who are there to help their children when in need. Therefore, this then gives them a "second shot" at new things. This experimental stage allows teenagers to learn new lessons and still be able to fall back upon their family when they encounter setbacks. This "exclusive right" is only open to teenagers.
Like building blocks to a skyscaper, teenage years are a crucial component in a person's life. No matter how we love or hate our teenage years, we cannot deny that it is the most exciting and significant part of our lives.
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