2. Censorship
INCREASE IN CENSORSHIP DOES AFFECT THE QUALITY OF NEWS:
When working to achieve maximized profits, major corporations censor their broadcasts in order to align with the interests of their investors and advertisers. Former CBS president, Frank Stanton, voices this objective by saying, “since we are advertiser-supported we must take into account the general objectives and desires of advertisers as a whole (Champlin & Knoedler, 2002).” Therefore, the public is disserved by the media because there are important news stories that the corporate media fails to cover (Perrucci & Wysong, 2007).
It is evident that major news corporations conduct themselves in a manner that contributes to the maximization of their interests and profits.
“All the news that’s fit to print.” This quote published daily as part of the New York Times masthead suggests the ideal of news reporting in the U.S. media: diverse, impartial, balanced, and complete. But this ideal is far from reality. As we will see, there is substantial evidence that subtle and insidious forms of censorship are pervasive throughout virtually all print and electronic news media outlets owned and operated by large corporations in the United States (the mainstream media). Media censorship in the United States doesn’t involve overt, heavy-handed, formal rules of reporting or the killing of new stories by government censors. “Instead, it comes stealthily under the heading of Missed Opportunities… It is a subtle system of information suppression in the name of corporate profit and self interest. (Perrucci & Wysong, 2007)
Major news corporations have demonstrated an inability to partake in ‘diverse, impartial, balanced, and complete’ journalism. For example, the Wall Street Journal failed to report Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of the newspaper in 2007 (Jackson & Hart, 2008). Another example of self-censorship by the news media occurred during the Watergate scandal. When Walter Cronkite, the renowned CBS news-anchor, tried to do an in-depth report on the Watergate scandal, the news story was curtailed when the Nixon White House called the chair of CBS and had the report “scaled down” (Jenson, 1997).
Many news stations have witnessed corporate censorship of new stories, which lowers the quality of news broadcasts. Censorship in journalism is common. However, the incentives behind self-censorship vary. In pursuit of maximizing profits, journalists often compromise responsible journalism. As a result, market pressures often stimulate self-censorship. Around 80% of journalists that were surveyed admitted that they often avoided “important stories that are seen as dull” and 50% of journalists said they ignored “important but complex” stories (Croteau & Hoynes, 2005). Furthermore, over 30% of the journalists surveyed reported that “news that might hurt the financial interests of news a news organization is sometimes or often ignored” (Croteau & Hoynes, 2005).
Overall, many journalists are driven by the bottom line and strive to appease the demands of large media corporations. Although journalists are charged with the First Amendment right to disseminate information, at this point, journalists are primarily driven by a desire to maximize profits. Self-censorship, a corollary of meeting the demands of large corporations, contributes to the deterioration of news in the twenty-first century.
mediagirlz4 said,
May 12, 2008 at 1:02 am
CENSORSHIP IS NONEXISTENT AMONGST NEWS CORPORATIONS:
Many argue that censorship is non-existent with the development of so many new media outlets. People are able to receive news from not only the television but also from the Internet. The Internet allows for discourse that is not able to occur through the television. The news can be reported through Web sites that contain blogs; these blogs allow people to express their opinions. Through this mean of expression, the news and topics covered can be debated and available for public discourse. The ability to debate and express different opinions contradicts the assumption that the news is characterized by corporate censorship.
In addition, the media often has too many stories to choose from and many that have already been covered and do not need to be reported again. Others say censorship is a must in the violent, abusive world we call “society.” The news is too diverse, fast breaking, and unpredictable to be completely censored. There are many cases where censorship is needed to ensure that footage or information that may not be reliable is released. There is also the third person effect, which states that individuals exposed to a mass media message will expect the communication to have a greater effect on others than on themselves, is a reason for why people support media censorship (Rojas, Shah, & Faber, 1996). Although there are negative aspects to censorship, it is needed and cannot be eliminated from the news media.
mediagirlz4 said,
May 12, 2008 at 5:37 pm
OUR CONCLUSION:
The media is definitely involved in self censorship but the reasons for why can be heavily debated. Whether it is the journalists or the corporations who own news stations that are participating in self censorship, both are equally guilty for allowing such damaging behavior to occur. People are less informed and unable to understand fully what is going on in the world due to the selfish behavior of journalists and corporations. It is evident that self censorship cannot be destroyed due to the power that these corporations have over journalists. Until the motive for maximized profits is eliminated, journalists will continue to appease their bosses.
Although censorship may be good for certain stories, censorship of stories regarding political candidates and debates can be damaging. As we follow the debates and look to decide on a candidate, we must remember that certain stories may be censored to shed a more positive light on a candidate that supports news corporations and their beliefs. Until change occurs, we must scrutinize what we see in the news and look to other outlets to better understand what is going on in the world. Believing everything we see and here is something that we as a nation need to stop doing because the truth is not always the main goal of the media.