What have i learned this semester?

This semester i have learned a lot about mass media. I learned about the origins of the media, how media became to reach the masses and the downfall that media can also bring. Heading into this course i was unsure of what was going to be the objective. But now i see that the objective was to teach us as teenagers the effects that media can have on us and how important media is in our lives today. Within the first week we did the media log, and that alone showed me much about my own life. I see now that as technology evolves our reliance on the media grows. However we have to learn to balance our use of technology and media between our interpersonal skills. We should not lose sight of our natural skills of communication and the use of nature. I also learned the origins of the media with the printing press. Its amazing how one simple invention has lead to world wide connection and communication.

How does mass media shape the publics agenda of issues?

Throughout this course, the idea that media shapes the values and effects people has been drilled into us constantly. As we learned in earlier chapters there are gatekeepers and all different types of censors on what kind of news can be told and what cannot be told.

Agenda setting, the idea that media tells people what to think about is the major force in mass media. The media today easily shapes the publics agenda of issues. If there is news on the war over seas or another scandalous issue with the president, the media will most likely choose to tell the public about the scandalous issue about the president. The media wants to tell the people the news they believe is the most important or the most though provoking. When the public watches they news they don’t have a choice in what they are told. What they hear is what they hear.

The effect that this has on the public is grand. The public get used to hearing similar news over and over again, so they start to only worry about certain things more than others. Then when the news tells them about another type of issue they take it a lot harder because it is so different from what they are used to hearing.

Something that I worry about now is how the long term effects of media will impact us later. Will we still be strongly influenced by the media? Will we ever realize the effects of the media and stop? What can we do to change this?

How does mass media shape the public’s agenda of issues?

Media is a main form of communication especially for public issues. Because of this, newspapers, news stations, radio and other forms on media, have the chance to choose what stories are brought to the audience’s attention. Agenda setting is when media tells people what to think, not what to think about. This is used during status conferral, when the media attention enhances attention given to people, subjects, and issues. The media choose which topics to emphasize. By amplifying certain topics, the audience sees them as more important or urgent and they remember more about it after seeing it. They do not tell them to think these things, but through status conferral, they set the public’s agenda.

The CNN effect is the ability of television, through emotion-raising video, to elevate distant issues on domestic public agenda. This can cause the viewers to think more critically or some situations. It is proven that the media can provoke emotion in the audience. The news and newspapers are such prominent forms of communication about public issues. They are sometimes the only resources we have to base our opinions on. This makes it easy to create framing, the selecting of a perceived reality for emphasis in a mass media message, thereby shaping how the audience sees the reality. Because we get most of our information from the news and the paper, they control how we see certain issues.

How does Mass Media shape the public’s agenda?

It has been established as a fact that today’s society relies heavily on the media, whether it is to get daily news, to gain information on a hot topic or to be entertained. The public first goes to the media to learn about what’s going on. This gives an enormous amount of power to the media because they decide what to put on the front page of a newspaper. They decide what news story to cover over the weekend and which one to begin with on Monday morning. They choose the person to interview or investigate upon and expose. Mass media does shape the public’s agenda in a fearfully influential way. We are mere followers of what they show us. People seldom form their own views nowadays because opinionated knowledge is constantly handed to them. Will we loose our ability to think and critically analyze due to this growing problem? The question remains unanswered but we should become aware that the media has a big say in the public’s agenda and that at some point it might become an issue.

What is the significance of the first amendment with speech and press?

The first amendment prohibits government interference in free expression, religion and individual and public protests against government policies. The freedom expression provision is the First Amendment ban against government abridgement of freedom of speech and freedom of press. Freedom of expression was limited in the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. However, the government cannot suppress a publication in advance. Government restrictions can be justified in a time of war. An action has to pass the Incitement Standard, a four-part test, to determine whether an advocacy speech is constitutionally protected.

In the press, this gives the press the freedom to work as a watchdog against the government. This makes investigative journalism possible. This is beneficial to the people because unlike authoritarians, the government cannot censor certain articles that portray them negatively. In speech, this gives people the right to state their own opinions without having repercussions. Yet, public endangerment is not permitted. You cannot yell “fire” in a crowd of people. You can speak your opinion about heath care at an event.

What is the significance of the First Amendment with speech and press?

The First Amendment is extremely important with speech and press because the first amendment literally guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of press. This allows for the press to be able to say just about whatever they want without fear of prosecution. This means that the press can cover any topic they want including the topic of the government. The press can freely report on the government to the people of the government it is representing. The press and media's most important audience is the common people. Also the idea of freedom of speech gave room for the development of new ideas and thoughts. This freedom of speech and press allows the media to educate people on what is happening in the world and they don't have to hold back and they can tell the whole truth. The media is known as the fourth branch of government and the first amendment s where all that branch's power comes from. The Media does not have any power to make laws or change laws or anything like that but it does have the power to influence the people of the country and in the people is where the real power is.

What is the significance of the first amendment with speech and press?

The foremost and most obvious significance of the first amendment with speech and press is the right to free expression. The first amendment strongly stresses free expression and since that is such a powerful bond with the media, the amendment and the press are significantly linked to one another. The first amendment protects the media and allows for a “market place of ideas” as John Milton said.

It definitely is beneficial to some extent because there is an endless pool or opinions and views out there. Nevertheless, it can cause many problems because people might feel that they are protected no matter what they do or say even if it meant saying something wrong that can jeopardize someone else’s life.