The mass has the responsibility of informing the world about noteworthy events taking place all over the globally. Masses rely on them to deliver unbiased and truthful information. However, some journalists are driven by personal feelings or maliciousness to emphasize and sometimes hide some information. This is usually done in order to make masses believe on certain notions and suppress other important factual information. Such unpopular methods of journalism are yellow journalism (Hannabuss 2009).
Yellow journalism is the act of concealing information, distorting information, and issuing misguiding images in order to boost newspaper sales. This added or distorted information trick the buyer emotionally to derive a certain opinion on an issue (Hannabuss 2009). Muckraking is the act of journalist exposing injustices, crimes, and delinquency by mostly public figures. They also inform the public about corruption in politics and the moral ills in the political, social, and economic platforms.
The above stated notions are a manipulation of information given to the public. Some are noble while others are questionable. Yellow journalism acts for personal vendetta while muckraking is for the good of unknowing citizens. The both forms of journalism are used to improve circulation and increase profits for printing companies.
Notably, journalists in the past have engaged in yellow journalism and this brought results that they pleased them but not in all occasions. William Allen White was a journalist in Kansas City that had to live with the consequences of his actions driven by anger and personal feelings. He wrote in favor of the Democratic Party in the area and the press country wide reprinted his words that led to the Democratic Party winning despite their poor policy making. Despite the fact that he engaged in yellow journalism in a moment of anger, he regretted this decision since it defined his career all his life. He did not advocate for yellow journalism but would care for muckraking.
Reinhold Neibuhr and Walter Lippmann are convinced of the evil darkness that drives mankind. They are religious and preach of the evil of man all over the world. Both of them are convinced that it is their moral duty to expose transgressing members of the society and would advocate for muckraking. Due to their driven liberalism, they would also advocate for yellow journalism (Hannabuss 2009).
Similarly, Marshall McLuhan was a Christian who preached on the evils of mass media. His teachings have remained popular to date and many people follow them. His whole life was dedicated to depicting the consequences of media. He therefore advocated against yellow journalism as well as muckraking. He advised people to believe in only what they saw and not what the media said (Hannabuss 2009).
Localism and McCarthyism are other subjects of discussion in this paper. Localism is the act of reducing poverty by localizing economies activities to increase local dependency. However, regional economies may be affected due to the dramatic change in manufacturing and marketing. McCarthyism is the political act of giving public accusations of malice without sufficient evidence. This was invented in America in the 1950s by senator McCarthyism when he filled the nation with hysteria over communism.
Philosophers hold different ideas from realists. Bentham, for example believed in utilitarianism. He believed the only measure that could be used to determine good or bad could only be the happiness or pain it brought to people. In other words, the consequences it brought to people. Thus stated, he would be against yellow journalism since it only brings happiness to a minority. Also, he would never advocate for McCarthyism since it resulted to hysteria thus not acting for the greater good. However, his philosophy advocates for muckraking and localism since it brought happiness to the greater population (Hannabuss 2009).
James Mill was another utilitarianism philosopher. He was a strict Jeremy Bentham believer and advocated for similar principles. His reaction toward yellow journalism, muckraking, localism, and McCarthyism would have been quite similar to Bentham’s.
On the other hand, despite John Stuart Mill being raised by his father James Mill on strict Bentham’s philosophy, he added a bit of his own into philosophy. It was more of explaining his father’s work. Since he was a utilitarian philosopher, he believed in the greater good being derived by the greater happiness for majority. He also added that public opinion also defined greater good since people could only advocate for whatever added happiness in their lives. Outstanding philosophy in his work included that morality could also be defined if it reduced pain or increased happiness to masses. Therefore he would not advocate for yellow journalism but would advocate for muckraking and localism. He would also advocate for McCarthyism if it acted for the greater good of the people despite the mayhem.
In conclusion, good or bad will always remain to be a challenge in determining. What others may deem to be morally wrong may be morally right to others. They may provide justification to their actions but this does not solve the issue that has rocked our nation sideways over the years. It is however our moral duty to consider other as we partake actions and think the least of personal benefits in order to avoid hurting innocent people with our actions.
Reference
Hannabuss, S. (2009) The International Encyclopedia of Communication: Reference Reviews 23 (1) 20 – 22.
