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Nowadays, the mass media do not report the news; they make the news.Discuss this with references to recent events.
Before I begin to discuss the question, let me define the question. The statement actually meant that the mass media like the TV, newspapers, online news etc do not just merely report the news with the truths wholesomely; they had to choose what news they want to report and also remake and restructure the news in such a way that it will sell. Recent events would mean events that happened recently within the same and their news still being in the minds of those who read them.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Kidney_Foundation_Singapore_scandal)
The first article I would like to mention is the NKF scandal uncovered by news company Singapore Press Holdings. This actually generated a lot of interests when it was revealed on how Mr. Durai had been running the charity to his own benefit and has gold taps in his office, has been flying first class on flights etc , indicating a misuse of the funds that came from the pockets of ordinary Singaporeans. News coverage of the court proceedings followed even after months later and even covered by newspapers of other companies in Singapore. Even after the ex leaders of the foundation has been sued and hauled to court and a new board of directors has been set up, the image of NKF has been ruined. Even though other charities have been asked to be more transparent on how they deal with the funds, Singaporeans are now actually more careful and reserved about donating to the charities anymore. This is due to them having read a lot of the scandal of incident through the news and hence their mindset of charities as a whole (not just NKF) has changed. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6537555.stm) The second event that I would like to highlight to address this question is the one on the Iran’s capturing of the British soldiers and accusing them of entering Iranian’s waters. When the soldiers were finally released and allowed to return about 2 weeks later, the captives were allowed to sell their stories to the press by the Ministry of Defence. The news reporters thus bid high price for the stories, to the anger and anguish of even Liam Fox, the shadow Defence secretary. They made dealings with the soldiers and even their families in order to get the stories from them and offering those significant amounts of money. They could have just get the facts from press reports from the relevant authorities and merely report the news, yet they choose to try to get as much content to make it as ‘juicy’ and attractive as possible. This shows that the press is capable of fighting and competing with each other to get the best stories, to make the best stories and to attract the most readers, in order to maximize their profits, and not work together in order to get the news as truthful and correct as possible. (http://www.todayonline.com/articles/184277.asp) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre) Another recent event (and the most recent one also) which I wish to discuss is the Virginia killing which took place last Monday. What follows was coverage of the event for some days after the event on the killer, a South Korean and the victims of the mass murder. While I do applaud the media like newspapers, televisions and online news channels etc for reporting the events with figures like the numbers and stories of why it happened etc and the victims, I do condemn the decision to air the videos and pictures sent by killer Cho Seung Hui. The mass media should, rather, educate the public and not publicize the videos and pictures. It was a move that was actually planned by Cho himself to make he himself famous after his death and to also spread what he had wanted to tell the world, through the press. Although NBC, the station which receive the ‘package’ of videos and photos only on Wednesday, said that it would practice restraint on how often its videos are broadcast and Fox news deciding to stop altogether, they (the videos and photos) have been released and hence, effects have been felt. There have been copycat cases since then. This shows that the press actually makes the news without prior consideration of the feelings of the family and the consequences. They wanted to make their news sell and hence the pictures and videos made by the gunman himself was an attractive option. In conclusion, although the mass media, especially those in Singapore, are to an extent reliable that they report news with facts in them, some of the content, are actually spiced up in order to make their news more attractive and able to sell. News would not contain merely facts and more facts which would actually make it no different from the rest who also report facts only. Hence, the mass media had to “make the news” and not merely “report it” so that they as a company can earn maximal profits.
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