Media

The anonymity offered by social media allows anyone to post anything at anytime, and through the creation of “burner” accounts, tracking down and arresting the person behind the screen has become exceedingly difficult. By the time a piece of information is censored by the government, it is likely that many people have already viewed it or downloaded it due to high social media traffic. 

  • New media has allowed terrorists ideals and radical mindsets to spread easier than ever. - In 2020, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a total of 98 terror attacks were recorded in the United States. Despite the country’s government being one of the most advanced, it has failed to completely sealed itself off from foreign influence, resulting in the rise of lone wolf terror attacks by self-radicalised individuals who often kill many and injure many more.

  • In Singapore, the arrest of a teenager who had intended to conduct an attack on a mosque with bladed weapons has proven that even a digitally-prepared government cannot effectively regulate social media. 


Numerous newspapers have shifted to online websites, such as The New York Times, The Straits Times, and many more around the globe. One no longer has to obtain a physical copy of The Guardian to enjoy its crowdfunded journalism. 

  • “The Uncensored Library” an aptly named world in popular video game Minecraft contains more than 240 banned books in multiple countries, available for anyone with a computer and the game to download and read. The fact that government-controlled media is now accessible through something as innocent as a video game and by children is astonishing. 


Nature 

  • Mass media is mostly made up of many corporations that are mostly driven by profit-motive -> can be argued that their decisions are largely dependent on how it would affect their sales and consequently, their revenue and profit margin

  • Some companies may be state-owned → biased in their reporting as they are obliged to maintain an editorial slant towards the state

  • Corporations do not dominate the new media as much as they did for traditional mass media -> with the advent of the Internet and its rising popularity, more and more people are able to participate in the creation and dissemination of information, especially through social media outlets such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter

Functions

  • Entertain and engage its audiences

  • Pervaded by attempts to promote sales and consumption in the form of advertisements -> businesses and corporations pay large amounts of money to advertise their products and services on television, newspapers, the Internet and so on

  • Source of income for people that work in this industry (authors, tv/movie producers, editors, bloggers or vloggers)

  • Educate -> documentaries that are aired on television and the big screen as well as news reports. Eg. magazines (and their electronic counterparts on the Internet) like National Geographic, TIME and The Economist

  • Governments make use of state-owned media companies to further their political agenda by the spread of propaganda

  • Help with the spread/dissemination of information -> In terms of crises, people have to know what to do and how to act and the media is often used as a way to reach out to the masses (Eg. during a tsunami, the government has to warn people living around the coast to evacuate)


Mass media as a form of entertainment

Prior to the mass media, people were entertained through means such as the theatre and there never existed a platform where entertainment catered for the masses as there were issues of affordability and accessibility. With the inception of the mass media, entertainment for the masses immediately became a viable option as it was cheap to reach out to the people.


Mass media has to be accurate and truthful in its portrayal of information

Mass media has a huge reach and one of its functions is to educate and disseminate information. 

While this may not be as applicable to tabloids, who rely largely on sensationalism to pique public interest and consequently boost public sales, corporations who are involved in news distribution have added incentive to remain accurate and truthful as its sales are largely contingent on the accuracy of its reports. This is because the people who subscribe or access these media platforms want to be informed; inaccurate information would discourage them from continuing their subscription.


Mass media has to be comprehensive in its reporting

As people rely on the mass media to educate and disseminate information, the range and depth of issues reported by the media should sufficiently inform its readers and help them keep abreast of global issues.


Mass media allows for exchange of views

This would help the media in educating its audience as an exchange of views would shed light on the different perspectives individuals can view specific issues from, which they may have failed to recognise otherwise. Moreover, by facilitating an exchange of views, the media can act as a bridge between the government and the people they serve.


Mass media is expected to stimulate change

By educating and informing and promoting an exchange of views among the masses, the mass media can catalyse the process of change. A recent example would be the Arab Spring protests where social media was largely utilised to mobilise the public for protests and demonstrations which eventually saw the demise of several dictators in the region.