Public and Private Censorship Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public and Private Censorship - Term Paper ExampleRather, it is much more reasonable to assume that take in and market dominance will be the driving force. This brief editorial will seek to analyze the carriage of lifes in which the media has recently come to be dominated by just a handful of players, what this means for journalistic integrity, and how this bodes for the future of democracy within the United States. Regardless of the individual branding that greets the reader, listener or viewer of the particular media outlet in question, the fact remains that Viacom, NBC Universal, Walt Disney, CBS Corporation, News Corp, and Time Warner ultimately are the owner and/or the fiduciary instrument behind whatever firm is being represented (Taylor 1). Whereas just 20-30 years ago, the field of media firms could not be described without tracing a complicated maneuver of ownership back to about 40 distinct and separate firms, the field has been progressively narrowed as a mass of mer gers have taken place. that as with the banking industry, these mergers have consolidated power within the hands of but a few ultra-dominant market forces which have the power to mold and shape the way that Americans view the world and what particular items of inte anticipate are presented to them in any given instance. As such, the level of journalistic integrity that comes to be displayed is highly shadowed as the goal and point of the controlling interests is to display their own point of view, gain further profit margins, and provide a powerful form of challenger to their rivals. As can be noted from the direction that the news media has shifted within the past few years, the main drive is focused on sensationalism, high exposition graphics, and other somewhat cheap ways of integrating with the audience (Morris 1). This can be seen as a means of compensation for the lack of journalistic expertness and excellence within the field. As a function of the fact that stories are no t researched and fact-checked anywhere near the level that they used to be during the heyday of American news media, poor quality and a litany of misprints and outright false information have been foisted upon the viewer, reader, and/or listener. Naturally, such a concentration of media power begs the question of to what degree the journalism is consumed is tainted by a high level of propaganda. One need look no further than the recent raucous with regards to the New York Times and the way that government gatekeepers give the final clearance for each and every quote that is attributed within the paper to understand the level to which a free and impartial media is precisely a figment of the imagination. The scandal in question began when the Romney and Obama campaigns had ultimate access to the newspapers publications before they went to the presses (Michelson 1). The reason that these handlers were allowed to review the news before the rest of society did was given to ensure that the campaigns stayed on message. However, as the reader can quickly infer, the message that is being presented is only a doctored view of humanity and is likely oftentimes not the truth that would otherwise be presented.