Democracy for the Few, Essay Example

The fact that news bias in the media industry is inevitable is being promoted again and again. All the misrepresentation and inaccuracies one can find in the news or entertainment programs can be caused by several factors, like human factor, deadline pressure, limited print space, budgetary restraints, scarcity of air time, and others. Of course, each and every area of the media requires selectivity to deliver precise and accurate information to the public. However, are those misinterpretations merely a result of human error or production issues? In fact, these are not the major principles of selectivity involved in the media. As discussed in the reading, Michael Parenti suggests that U.S. government and giant corporations are the major structural factors of media manipulation. The author provides a vivid example of how Fox News Company, owned by a right-wing billionaire Rupert Murdoch, was ‘censuring’ its news reports according to certain political forces. Thus, it “refused to air and advertisement critical of Samuel Alito, President Bush Jr.’s nominee to the Supreme Court.”(p. 174) The main reason for such extensive manipulation is the fact that a huge number of newspapers, radio and TV stations are owned by private corporations that incorporate their own interests into the style and delivery of the information. As for governmental manipulation, the author provides an example of CIA, owning more than 240 media operations around the world.(p. 181) Same thing with the entertainment sector – TV shows and movies, for both of them go through a thorough political censorship. Thus, programs that treat anti-imperialist or anti-corporate ideas get very limited distribution, and are not broadcasted by most of the companies. Consequently, the Public Broadcasting System was developed as alternative to the commercial television, thus it was supposed to be financed independently. However, it ended up being depended on annual appropriations from the Congress, and receiving federal and corporate funding.(p. 184)

References

Parenti, M. (2006). Democracy for the Few. Thomson/Wadsworth.