On a particular issue of importance to Canadians, do the media present a range of viewpoints or political positions or do they reinforce and reproduce dominant ideologies?
Media play a major role in informing the general public of the current affairs entailing the issues that may directly or indirectly have effects on their daily lives (Carney 2008, p.18). In both the western and eastern world, mass media are recognized as the primary source of news, entertainment, advertisement, sports and recreation in general, and the education channel that aim to reach a large number of audiences. Media are deemed as businesses whose loss of ethics has an advance effect on the information it handles can lead to ethnic or national conflicts (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 21). Canada, which is a nation that is traditionally dominated by racial conflicts, is a good example of places in the world that are affected by this vice. In the Canadian case, there exist various media types, which include the columns or the editorial pages, soft news and hard news, the web-based media, the local and the national media coverage. It is clear that the media reproduce dominant ideology rather than presenting a range of viewpoints or political position. This paper seeks to find out whether the media reinforce and reproduce dominant ideologies or they present a range of political positions or viewpoints in Canada.
Media have been accused of bias in the ways in which it presents the news in (Carney 2008, p. 21). The reports on the media represent a series of distorted information that is to a greater extent meant to represent the views of a small group of individuals. The reported information or news in the media is, therefore, a reproduction of a conservative view or government’s perspective regarding a certain aspect of the national, local or regional occurrence. However, ethical code of the media is against the United States’ constitutional provision, whereby the government is not permitted to interfere with the freedom of the press (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 37). The media code in Canada defines the value of good journalism, where the originality of the reports made to the public constitutes a bigger percentage of the ethical values.
The practice of report distortion by the media has been attracting the various amendments experienced on the various clauses concerning the independence of the media in the popular law of the firm (Carney 2008, p. 22). The challenge concerns the legislators and the members of the judiciary, who constitute the major parties in the making and enacting the law of the land. The legislators are the politicians who seek to grow their popularity to the general public, revealing only their strengths and seeking to conceal their weakness. This situation poses a major threat to the media freedom, where the media owners are also involved in the distortion of the news’ reports. The questions arising from such a case revolve on the reasons for the practice and the probable solution to the malpractice as experienced in the media houses (Carney 2008, p. 27).
Media in Canada are influenced by the various forces on what to cover and what to leave unreported to the general public (Carney 2008, p. 31). Although it is possible that cases concerning crimes in Canada may exist, it is also probable that this vice remain unmentioned in the media. If in any case there is a mention of the issues, the subjects are highly avoided hence the cause of the crimes remains concealed. The number of crimes occurring in the society is concealed, and the ideal number is reported to make the public feel that the government is providing security as expected. The decision on what to report is dominantly made by the directors of the media group, who follow what the government officials command. This action to a greater extent is a betrayal of the independence of the press. With the advancement in technology, the media has the capacity to not only conceal what it does not want but also to distort the voices of the criminals, who happen to be the top ranked personnel not only in Canada but also in the entire USA (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 26). All this happens because the media is known globally to shape the public opinion and therefore it endeavours to feed the public with the information that in their own opinion cannot lead to liberalism from the watchdogs such as the opposition of the incumbent government in Canada.
The other reason why the media conceal and distort the information differently from the real issues on the ground is to avoid any attention from the humanitarian groups, including the human rights associations and the civil society (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 27). It is highly notable that in Canada, the crime stories forms the largest news category. Other common areas of interest in the newspaper include the political views and opinions, sports and commerce and trade. Homicide in Canada garners for more than one per cent of the crime stories; hence, media attention is directed towards any case of such crimes (Carney 2008, p. 38).
On the other hand, the media is likely to focus on the events attracting attention to most people (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 38). It thus looks for the most unique events that might have no effect on the society, but those will call for the audience’s desire to dig further for more information. With the adoption of the current technology, several online channels generate income for the media. For instance, links to the YouTube enables both the citizens and the non-citizens to access news online. This action forms a base for the online business for the media, which earns from selling the news to the majority literate population of the society.
Media and political views
In Canada, politics are shaped by the media (Fletcher and York 1998, p.23). The media have been advocating for treating people equally in Canada, a state that was traditionally characterized by unfavourable national myths of bad attitude towards the black immigrants. Partisan politics dominate the state and hence there is always a call for positive reports to the public on the political news. Before the press releases the news, the government has to review the media reports (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 41). This process mainly entails distorting the news to make it fit the political positions of the government.
However, according to Robinsonet al. (2009, p.54), there are instances when the public gets hold of the news reports before the government can alter their original forms. This situation can occur due the increased forms of media. Televisions, for instance, may release the news as they break as opposed to the newspapers that are subject to regular alteration. The social media is no exception. It has led to the shaping of the national and global news reports. These include the Facebook, the tweeter, and the Skype, where the individuals make the videos of the news immediately an event happens (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 41).
According to Carney (2008, p. 43), there has been a warning from the government in Canada, prohibiting the sharing of sensitive news in the social media. There has been a case of mishandling of information when crimes leading to murder do occur in Canada. In such a case, there is a dire need for the government to restrict the sharing of the media news. This action ensures that the ethical and confidentiality, as well as the privacy of the affected families and individuals, are protected from the press, and also the victims enjoy their human rights. The news reports may range from the political conflicts that dominate the media with more than thirty per cent of the entire newspaper. “Wiki-leak” for example is the commonly used term for the press releases that have not undergone the process of scrutiny by the government. The oversight groups perceive this process of press scrutiny as the first stage by the government to pursue their dictatorial agenda.
Nesbitt-Larking (2007, p. 31), indicates that the magnitude of what is to be reported also depends on the individuals owning the media house. This is with reference to their ethnicity, race or linguistic differences, and can be traced back to the historical inclination. For example, in 1939, there was a formal discrimination of the people of other races from entering into Canada (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 47). The very case is being experienced presently, but the media is forced by the external forces including the ruling government to eliminate any form of reports that would attract attention as far as the world insight groups on human rights are concerned (Allan 2009, p. 34). On the issue of discrimination regarding Canada, the black population is the target, and this group fails to secure leadership positions. Nevertheless, the general public is denied the right to the real picture in the sense that it just depicts it as a general Americans war.
Dominant political, social and economic ideologies are reproduced to meet the demands by politicians, the judges and the executive members of not only the state of Canada but also America in general (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 47). The other question is on the role that the media should play in enlightening the public. As a puppet for the government, the media fails to fulfil its primary role in educating, and the entertainment is the only sector that remains true to the audience who are dependent on the information. The market for the media product is achieved through exaggeration on the daily occurrence. Unfortunately, this may be on the issues of major importance to Canadians including the health matters as well as the number of casualties in case of an attack or disease outbreak. Politics influences all the other sectors of human life including the economic and social structure in the state(Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 47).
According to Nesbitt-Larking (2007, p.49), the distortion of the facts helps in protecting the government against the rebels who may use the information provided in the media to criticize the governmental operations. To avoid such vices, the government restricts the media and the mostly influenced media is the government press.(Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 47). The critics of the incumbent may take decades as they try to find the correct set of information to ground their arguments. The politicians also avoid the facts on the ground as they resolve the challenges that arise from the political divide (Robinsonet al. 2009, p. 52). They are several advantages of manipulation of political views when it comes to the issue of conflict or homicide as was the case with Canada. This action is in building the positive relations among the societal members who bear differences in the political agenda hence avoiding partisan politics.
Distortion of information and loss of public confidence
According to Nesbitt-Larking (2007, p.57), flat earth news is a terminology that defines the reports made by the media houses that show the ideal situation of the news as opposed to the real grounded evidence. For example, the television may report the Canadian news on the death as was reported on the 4th February 2008 about the passing of a young boy. From the media report, the death was said to be caused by their friends as a result of bullying, but the boy was said to have been hung from a tall tree where the children could not have reached (Robinson et al. 2009, p.53). The dilemma in such a case is a representative of what occurs in the media coverage where the audiences are left with the two-sided coin where they are left to form an opinion regarding a certain event as presented in the media houses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, media can be said to follow a predetermined course where it fails to report what is observed in the field, but reports the expected societal norms. The media follows popular political ideologies when it comes to the issue of politics (Nesbitt-Larking 2007, p. 67). What is presented can be said to have undergone the governmental scrutiny, and the public only receives what the government wishes to be reported (Allan 2009, p. 37). The media houses should fight for the independence of the press to avoid the influence of the external forces that are dominantly government forces. This initiative can work towards increasing the public trust on the media reports as well as the government since it can increase the dependency level of the public to the government institution.
Works Cited
Allan, Chantal. Bomb Canada: And Other Unkind Remarks in the American Media. Edmonton: AU Press, 2009. Print.
Carney, William W. In the News: The Practice of Media Relations in Canada. , 2008. Internet resource
Fletcher, Frederick J, and York. “Media and political identity: Canada and Quebec in the era of globalization.” Canadian Journal of Communication. 1 Jan. 1998. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
Nesbitt-Larking, Paul W. Politics, Society, and the Media. Peterborough, Ontario [u.a.: Broadview Press, 2007. Print.
Robinson, Daniel J, and Gene Allen. Communicating in Canada's Past: Essays in Media History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. Print.
