This weeks lecture really interested me. I have written quite a lot about gender roles and issues, and how they are socially constructed. It pains me, but they are, of course, constructed by the media.
Reality is reality, but the way we view the world and others is limited and mediated through social life. The media plays such a significant role in shaping individuals and societies conception of reality. There is such power held by journalists in shaping public opinion.
Everyone has seen those stories that pp up everywhere, constantly for a period of time. Sometimes they are justified by their importance, other times it just seems odd.
Luckily, (or unluckily, depending on your opinion) news organisations are being presented with more and more accountability for their stories, with ratings being readily available for analysis. However, the public perceive issues with higher media coverage as being more important than those with less coverage. For the most part, this is relatively true - the federal election is generally more important than a lost puppy. However the waters become murky when corporate agenda starts influencing the media through the use of clever PR stunts. In my eyes, the integrity of the media and of journalists is compromised when PR stories are run to the ground over other, more news worthy pieces.
This week just reinforced how important journalism is, and how important it is to get it right.
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