SOC 120 Week 5 Final Paper

The Media and its Responsibilities

SOC120

Final Paper

Instructor Tonya Cannon

When we are children, we are taught that a lie is a lie, no matter how big or how small. You should always be honest and own up to your actions. When we grow a bit older, we learn what a “white” lie is. When your mother makes soup, if it’s horrible you don’t say so. When your sister gets a haircut, if she looks like a boy you don’t tell her so. The older we get, the more complex the truth seems to be. We learn that there are different versions of the truth, and become familiar with the “grey” areas. From what I’ve learned about the media, it can be accurately described as one big grey area of truths, half-truths and lies. The media holds the responsibility of relaying information on the most important events as they occur, and they should also be factual, disregarding the consequences of the truth. They are not following through.

When using the term “the media” there are many different sources that come to mind. Television used to be the primary source of “real” media, but many people are now turning to the internet for their fix. For years, people have questioned the validity of the stories the commercials they would see, the shows on television and even the stories on the news. Information that was portrayed as factual didn’t always seem so, and this caused mild concern in society. The broadcasting companies clearly control what we see, and from what point of view we see it. Because there weren’t many options people had no choice but to believe what they heard, but now with the internet that isn’t as big of a problem.

When refereeing to news stations i.e. NBC, CNN or Ksat 12, the media is supposed to display relevant news stories. What we don’t expect them to do, is to display them according to their false utilitarian standpoint. It is arguably more important to keep society calm than it is to keep them up to date on the problems we face. There are six top companies that control 90 percent of what we watch on television. There are only 232 media executives that decide what is best for us to watch. (Lutz, 2012) Whether their choices have any moral or value behind them, is for a select few to decide. They put on what they think the general public should be watching, what they think is best for our nation as a whole. But what is best for us isn’t decided by us. This is their twisted utilitarian view. What they think is best for us, or what they will claim to believe, is really what is best for them. The money generated for these companies (at a whopping 257.9 billion) supersedes five times the government bailout of General Motors. Clearly these companies have had a major focus on their own momentary gain.

While it is nice sometimes to have my newsfeed filled with light hearted nonsense such as Justin Bieber getting arrested and the net worth of Kim Kardashians butt, I would like to hear about real world issues and the truth behind them.

Through the internet, you can hear about many stories from viewpoints you didn’t know existed. There are true utilitarian’s out there who want to create messages that the community would want to receive. For instance, www.copblock.org is a website that presents stories of police officers wrong doings. While this doesn’t prove that all cops are bad, it does give an alternate perspective on police officers. When officers are mentioned on the news by mainstream media, it is almost always in a positive light. It has been said there are two sides to every story, but both sides aren’t always told. This is the problem with mainstream media today, and is where they fail to uphold to their responsibility.

Main stream media isn’t for the public the way it should be. A virtue ethicist may argue that what’s portrayed in the media is not what we should be watching, because of the morality of the executives in charge. What ever gets the highest ratings is what gets them paid, so there motives are anything but ethical. Why would they air a depressing story of how our society’s morality is diminishing when a “B list” celebrity’s overdose will turn more heads? And if that depressing story is aired, how can we be sure of the truth in it? When someone who is not morally sound is put in charge of what the nation sees, everyone’s views are compromised.

Main stream media has been compromised for a long time, but it is finally coming to the light. In a recent survey, “only 6 percent of Americans thought the news was trustworthy.” (Snyder, 2014) Something will eventually be done about the fact that the media isn’t doing what they should be doing anymore.

There are many people who have made peace with this, and have an understanding of why the media is controlling its content the way they are. These ethical egoist are an important part of society, and can help keep the nation from causing an uproar, but the utilitarian is what keeps the nation from going blind. Clearly, the media is not following through on their moral obligation to society.

References

Alterman, E. (2004). What liberal media? The truth about bias and the news. New York: New York: Basic Books.

Lutz, A. (2012). These 6 corporations control 90 of the media in America. Business Insider,

Snyder, M. (2014, May 21st). [Web log message].

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