CAN WE OWN MEDIA?

So throughout my years of growth and change, there was one thing I could never get into the habit of no matter how much I tried, and that was watching the news on a daily basis. However, when I do want to be informed about news, my go-to place is definitely the internet rather than the TV.

My first point of contact with the news is usually twitter and then that’s when I go into further research via the google search engine. From there, that’s when I’ll go through articles and newspaper that pop up. However, until now, I’ve never thought about checking who owns or controls these.

We do have to keep in mind that as the years go on, various of things have changed, such as the shift from traditional media to digital media. My parents, who used to watch the news traditionally on the daily, have now shifted to finding their news source online on various media platforms. Therefore, now, not only do we have credible people sending out messages, we also have unqualified people on social media, broadcasting the news.

Taking it all in, I do think it is important that we know who is broadcasting our news source. It’s like making sure we find out a doctor’s qualifications before letting them diagnose us or prescribe us with any medication. Because, what if they diagnosed you with something completely wrong?

The news is exactly like this scenario, because millions and millions of people are accessing the news at the same time. It’s important that the news being broadcasted to us, globally, is accurate and correct.

In saying this, just because I don’t think we all have the qualifications to own and control media, we all have the power to influence the media and what we think. It’s important we use this power effectively. However, it does all come back down to how you’ve used this power in the past.

For example, Beyonce is one of the biggest and most iconic star in the world. The way she manages her iconic status and how she uses her name and social media will have an effect on whether the audience will take what she says as believable or not. Comparing Beyonce to another big star such as Kim K (cliché comparison, I know), and seeing how Kim K manages her own status and how she uses her name, the audience will decide whether or not they take what she says as believable. This is the same as broadcasting the news. In the end, we all matter just as Beyonce matters, but it all comes down to credentials and who others want to believe.

– G