T.V. has Changed

      

Television sure has changed! I remember as a child growing up there was no such thing as sex scenes, there was rarely even foul language. The coolest show I watched was Saved by the bell, where being bad was saying the dog ate your homework. A time when things seemed to be more simple in terms of what parents had to worry about their kids watching. Today parents have to worry about setting parental controls.

As an adult now, I can honestly say that there has been such a dramatic change. All you see today on television is reality shows. Not to be honest I would be lying if I said I didn't find some of these shows quite entertaining. But I can't help but wonder how over a decade we have turned into a society that would rather watch people eat bugs, then sit and watch America's funniest home videos.

It seems to me that the role of the media has changed dramatically. What was once not appropriate for television, is no longer offensive to people today. And while I will agree that everything changes with time, and it is great to see that people are more open minded. I can't help but wonder how we have become so easily amused by shows, that we no longer care how degrading some of them are.

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Today I had a debate in my Media Ethics class about whether or not there are more or less ethics when it comes to the internet. The professor was a little skeptical as to whether the internet was less reliable. For me there is a big difference when it comes to the ethics that are faced within different environments.

The way I see it is that when it comes to the internet, there are no gatekeepers. People are allowed to write about whatever they want. For example take one of the internet’s most popular encyclopedias, Wickipedia. There has been much controversy as to how accurate the information on Wickipedia is. For those of you who are unaware of Wickipedia, it is a free encyclopedia that is available on the web. It covers almost anything and everything, and most cases are accurate. However it has come to the attention of many people that people were starting to write false information.

Like many of you I am sure that you have had you fare share of professors warning you of using the internet to do research. The reality is that no matter how useful the internet is, it will never be viewed as reliable as The New York Times. Don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that newspapers have their fare share of mistakes. However at the end of the day there is a system in place that helps to reduce the amount of false information that gets printed.



While I feel that the internet leaves more room for people to be less ethical, I feel that over time it will develop into a reliable source.

The internet allows people to have access to information at all times, and is extremely useful; however it can be very misleading at times. If used properly, it is one of the best sources available.

When it comes to writing for the mass media, there is no doubt that it is a very important job in our society, as for being the most important, that is debatable. We live in a society that tends to have an obsession with celebrities. There has been many times when the mass media has focused on what is going on in the lives of celebrities, rather then more important news.

One recent example of this is the death of actor Heath Ledger. While many people will agree that his death at such a young age is very tragic, they will also agree that the amount of news coverage it has received is a bit extreme.

The news, in which we receive first, is not always the most important. However there are plenty of stories within the mass media that are essential to the way we live. The coverage on the presidential campaign is one of the most important things for many Americans. For journalists who have to focus on stories such as these, there is a great deal of importance to their job.

When looking at a major mass media newspaper such as the New York Times, there are always very important stories, however these stories are always in a section that is easily accessible. In some cases there is very little coverage on issues that may not affect us directly, but that are still very important to know about it. Right now there are a lot of things going on in Kenya; however there is very little news coverage of it.

It is the failure of the mass media to prioritize their coverage correctly, that makes me skeptical on their importance in our society.