Effects of Media Reporting War, Terrorism and Dissent Essay

Effects of Media Reporting War, Terrorism and Dissent - Essay Example An undeniable truth on modern media influences is our unconscionable act of media outlets delivering stories in such a fashion as to downplaying three important aspects of our attitudes: "importance of things, value of things and reality of things" (McKee, 2005:18) The public sphere is metaphorically speaking "a domain of our social life, where such a thing as public opinion can be formed [where] citizens deal with matters of general interest without being subjected to coercion [to] express and publicize their views. (Habermas, 1997:103)" (McKee, 2005:9). This is particularly resonant in how modern society has progressed from dealing with conflicts through attrition and war with its citizens and in fact wherein "cultures that are structured by values of equality, freedom, justice and comfort." (McKee, 2005:9) As we are continually inundated with social inequalities and conflicts, our opinion and objections are often subjective through the efforts of the media outlets that will garner our astonishment, atonement or impaired judgment with respect to the true situation that we are not privy to. One of the many problems with the media influence as it is today tends to emasculate public culture through making it "too spectacular, too trivialized, too commercialized and too apathetic". (McKee, 2005:3) Many of our sources of information, be it small, large, sensationalized or derived, the general public is left with accepting the knowledge on its merits or questioning the entire relevance. Unfortunately, our ability to succumb to the reporting of the story as factual in its entirety or a flight of fancy, the power of the media will be forever at the forefront of modern culture and there is a necessity to have these stories or events properly recorded and researched prior to being accepted as truthful in nature. Values of Reporting War, Terrorism and Dissent An important function of this paper is to take away an objective viewpoint of both the values perceived or real from what is derived by reporters and book authors. Basically, anyone who has any influence over public opinion. In the article by R. Manne Introduction in Do Not Disturb: Is the Media Failing Australia (pgs 1 - 13) it discusses how an author is capable of destroying years of reputable research, discussion and public empathy toward a native people's entire culture and existence by publishing an entirely fabricated story. The author of such injustices toward the Aboriginal people's historical suffering and massacre in Australia and what the public had come to understand about its tawdry and shameful acts by the British settlers toward the Aboriginal people, sparked outcry by many scholars. This type of misrepresentation of information within a single novel proved how much of an influence that reporters or authors have with respect to delivering truths or falsehoods. As the general public is, as it seems, susceptible to being accepted by their piers and do not want to go against mass opinion be it negative or positive, these types of authors thrive on public acceptance even if what they write is entirely unproven or fabricated in telling of the facts. Reporting Dissent As many viewers of media representation for