Lack of media’s social responsibility and countermeasures
Name: Gao Yana Student ID: S08397
Research paper supervisor:Dr.Sekou Conde
Minzu University of China
2008-2009 Academic Year
Abstract:
Nowadays, the media has become one of the most important ways for getting information. We are all surrounded by the media. However, as the media developing, the Social responsibility of media is an extremely important issue, especially in developing countries like China. The media has become the most important way of affecting the countries, the public opinion and the mood of the masses. It is also one of the important tools for us building a harmonious society.
In the first part I will talk about the importance of media and give the introduction about the media’s social responsibility. Media is information, and information itself is meaningful. Although the news media is willing to report the facts in an objective and neutral attitude, its information content including leading public opinion, imparting knowledge, educating people, promoting justice, defending the truth decides the media has the responsibility whether in subjective or objective way.
In the second part I will introduce the dilution of the media’s social responsibility. At present, it’s common for the media to lack their social responsibility. The fierce competition between Local news stations and the pressure of competition for the first may lead to moral values decline.[1] For example, serious news becomes entertainment, and entertainment news becomes vulgar news. Then I will give some examples about this issue.
The third part is the countermeasures to the media to fulfill their social responsibility. The media should strengthen the supervision of public opinion; always remember keeping impersonality and justice, Close to the masses and obey journalist professional ethics. They must learn that the media’s brand decides its credibility and the high credibility will gain a great economic benefit.
Key words: media; responsibility; dilution; countermeasures
Ⅰ.the importance of media and the introduction of the media’s social responsibility
Nowadays, the media has become one of the most important ways for getting information. We are all surrounded by the media. However, as the media developing, the Social responsibility of media is an extremely important issue, especially in developing countries like China.
In China, the media has become the tool of the ruling party for guiding the public opinion. At a recent Web 2.0 Experts discussion, someone commented, "As there is an explosion of clean tech, there's also an explosion of social media." [2]According to statistics, there are more than 2100 newspapers, 4 million television sets, and 1.3 billion TV viewers in China. China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) 13 release of "the 23rd China Internet Development Statistics Report" showed that as at the end of 2008, the number of Chinese netizens reached 298 million, the number of mobile phone users reached 113.7 million. [3]The media has become the most important way of affecting the countries, the public opinion and the mood of the masses. It is also one of the important tools for us building a harmonious society. [4] The media had a crucial role in tracking the process of creating a modern, progressive, inclusive and dynamic society, built on a rapidly growing economy and in guiding it as well through reportage and criticisms.
Media responsibility is a term for the belief that mass media have a basic responsibility to help strengthen and support democratic processes. Although this is a subjective concept, hard to define, arguments have been made for newspapers, television, radio, and perhaps types of Internet communication to act as a government watchdog, as a gatekeeper and instrument to disseminate necessary information, and more popularly, as a reflection of cultural interests and trends.[5]“The Media occupy a privileged position in modern society. But more than simply seeking out truth and reporting it to a populace, the media themselves have an active role in influencing and shaping public opinion.”[6]
"The social responsibility theory of the press" was first referred by Robert Hutchins in the University of Chicago in 1947. The "commission on freedom of the press" investigated the U.S. media and formed the "Hutchin report," that is 《 free and responsible press 》. From then on, they began to advocate social responsibility theory of the press. The news media should assume their social obligations, and carry out self-restraint.
No mater in the theoretical research or in the social practice, the responsibility of the news media is a serious subject, which we can not evade. In view of Chinese media system and the characteristics of the media, the Chinese news media's responsibility is insisting the correct orientation of public opinion, serving the national and social development and meeting the needs of the growing audience’s spiritual and cultural life. “Xinhua News Agency the late President Guo Chaoren once said: tens of millions of property described by reporters, journalists control the human life.”[7]Media is information, and information itself is meaningful. Although the news media is willing to report the facts in an objective and neutral attitude, its information content including leading public opinion, imparting knowledge, educating people, promoting justice, defending the truth decides the media has the responsibility whether in subjective or objective way. In other words, no matter how the mass media exposure to the society, they must hold the responsibility to the whole society.
Ⅱ.The dilution of the media’s social responsibility
1. A small part of journalists’ unconsciousness about responsibility
The News Media's job is to report the news. They are not psychics, social workers or pastors. They are people who report what happened in the world. When the Media goes beyond reporting the news then they are creating the news. It becomes more and more about the Media and less and less about the story itself. Let’s look at some foreign examples. “A responsible media is supposed to function as our democracy's immune system against...gross errors of fact and understanding," wrote Al Gore in his book, The Assault on Reason. But it doesn't - as Gore explains - and that is what makes the mass media one of the most important obstacles to social and economic progress in the 21st century. How the media treats repeated falsehoods is a key issue. For example, when the New York Times reports on the allegation - spread by his enemies - that presidential candidate Barack Obama is a Muslim, there is a sentence that follows immediately: "In fact, he is a Christian..."
The mass media fails us on many issues other than war and peace. Most Americans under 50 think they are never going to see their Social Security benefits. In fact, the probability that they won't get their Social Security benefits is about the same as the chance that there won't be a U.S. government when they retire - pretty close to zero. The media could correct this widespread false belief by merely inserting a few undisputed facts about Social Security when reporting false statements from politicians and interest groups. For example: "Social Security is more financially sound than it has been throughout most of its 71-year history"; or "Social Security's projected shortfall over the next 75 years is less (as a percent of national income) than what was fixed in each of the following decades: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s."
2. The media pursuit of economic interests excessively.
At present, it’s common for the media to lack their social responsibility. The fierce competition between Local news stations and the pressure of competition for the first may lead to moral values decline. [8] For example, serious news becomes entertainment, entertainment news becomes vulgar news. The media pursuit of economic interests excessively. At the same time they ignore their responsibility in an objective and impersonal way.
In the process of Chinese economic transition and social transformation, social groups emerge a variety of psychological needs, and the media also faces with all kinds of contradictions and difficulties. Some media dilutes their social responsibility, using vulgar news in exchange for the "eye" and profits, even as "baozi incident" to win the so-called false sensation.
The journalists Value the integrity mostly. Once they loss the integrity the entire framework of journalism will be threatened. The editorial independence is also important. They decide what is reported and how it is reported .the decision should be based on the principle of news value, rather than in calculating gains and losses. [9]“If the impersonality and truth were lost, the saying of media would not be trusted by the masses and the result would be that News Media retreated from market. For these reasons, the Media must be persevering in authenticity in order to reach the result of impersonality and justice.” [10]"Southern Weekend" keeps abreast of current affairs. It keeps in step with China's society and [...]
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