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Mass Media

 

            The media plays multiple roles in our country to provide us with the information that we need to help us better understand our political system. They help make as much information available as possible without being bias towards a certain side. By doing this they make it easier for the public to make there decisions by providing all sides of the story. When dealing with the mass media which refers to the technologies employed in mass communications there are two major areas, print media and broadcast media.
             One of the first functions of the media is that it will report the news as it happens. They have the responsibility to report the news as objectively as possible without showing any bias towards a particular side. By doing this it helps the public form an opinion and base there decisions on what they just learned.
             The second function of the mass media is that they need to interpret the news accordingly. They have to sort through the junk and only give us the key and relevant factors. This is where ethics come into play and firm decisions have to be made whether to air certain pieces or not. The way that people view or interpret these issues will change from person to person on certain topics, so the interpretation must be done responsibly. .
             Once the media goes through the first two functions it should then come up with the third, influencing the public opinion. Once the media interprets the news and then reports it the public will start to form an opinion. Based on the public opinion of what they just learned they will be influenced on a certain subject.
             The next function that the media does is setting an agenda. This means that they decide which issues have more precedence and need to be on the political agenda. This shapes the public opinion on what issues they should be more concerned about. .
             The last function is that they instill political socialization. They keep the public up to date with what is going with the political system.


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