I think during this current global pandemic, the importance of the media has come into the spotlight as millions of people are looking to their respective media outlets as a trusted source of information that could be the difference between life and death. Yet we have seen a global shift in how the mainstream media across almost every nation is now starting to face challenges regarding their own values and beliefs being portrayed to their audiences. This essay will look in particular the challenges facing the free press with a number of international examples and how polarising the argument has become in recent years.
Why have a free press ?
The duty of the press is essentially to represent those who rely upon it. They are there to relay important information that would not be disclosed otherwise. They are on the frontline asking questions and reporting facts. They hold governments, corporations and individuals accountable. Obviously there is not one unifying body monitoring the content of every press associate, however it is thought that every reporter or journalist has the best interests of the recipient at heart. Yet it is how this information is conveyed that determines the impact of this information. If we look at the theory of Virtue Ethics, one would believe that a free press should embody Plato’s four virtues “wisdom, courage, self-control and justice”. One need only look to the likes of Veronica Guerin and Lyra McKee to see the dedication many in the press have to their profession. I personally think that political coverage might be some of the most important work carried out by journalists and reporters. As a democracy, we the people elect and choose who we deem fit to serve in our government. Therefore, it is imperative that we know what those elected politicians are doing on our behalf, and are challenged when unfavourable choices are made.
We see Plato’s four virtues in their practices on a daily basis. I have great admiration for the determination and persistence that goes into the work that they do. It takes wisdom and experience to walk into a room with politician and conduct an truthful and informative interview. It takes courage to touch down in Afghanistan and report while bullets fly overhead. Finally, it takes an incredible amount of self-control in order to not only find dishonesty, but to build and expose the facts in the search for justice
Influences?
Generally speaking, most press agencies are owned by large parent companies or by their respective states that they reside in. However these can be very influential on the content being released to the public. An extreme example of a state’s influence can be seen in North Korea. Although their constitution protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the communication being showed to the citizens is heavily censored and portrays a false narrative. Many dictatorships use the state media as a way of distributing political propaganda. Political influence has become a very prevalent hindrance upon the idea off free press in recent time. This argument has taken the main stage in the united states in recent years. The two main political parties (Republicans and Democrats) both have their press services which are more favourable in their coverage. An example of this is Fox News’s coverage of President Donald Trump. Arguably his preferred media outlet, he will give exclusive interviews with them and no one else. This is in exchange for favourable coverage and very little pushback on controversial statements or actions. In one way, they are catering to the presidents base supporters, and it is a platform for him to reach them, but on the other hand he is not being challenged on inaccurate or blatantly false statements which have led many to argue that this outlet is essentially Trumps own propaganda platform. Yet on the opposite end of the spectrum, the more liberal media such as CNN, MSNBC and others have given opponents of the Presidents administration a platform to launch attacks and false accusations without being checked. Although it is not right, this dynamic would flip if a democratic nominee wins the upcoming election in November 2020.
One would think that news agencies and their reporters should be independent and unbiased, however this is not always the case. Many news outlets are following the agenda set forth by their board of directors. Rupert Murdoch is a very influential media tycoon, who at one point owned Fox News. Murdoch was a big republican donor which fits the narrative as to why Fox News has swayed so far to the right in terms of their material, opinion hosts and political coverage.
Challenges ?
One of the biggest challenges facing the idea of a free press is the rise of the “fake news media” in the era of Trump. What was once used to deflect difficult questions has now been used as an attack on the very idea of a free press. Conservative supporters and reporters of President Trump have taken upon themselves to verbally and even physically attack news organisations and press associates that their president has deemed as “fake news”. This assault on the press has led to a renewed sense of fear not felt since the tragic attack on Charlie Hebdo in 2015. One major challenge that the press is facing is the changing public opinion in recent years. Individuals have become more and more aware of the “Gaslighting” being done by certain organizations in order to achieve a certain goal. Essentially gaslighting is distorting or manipulating a person’s view of events. One would imagine that all press outlets would be on the same page when it comes to the reporting on the Covid-19 global pandemic, however as case numbers began to soar in the united states, many conservative news outlets began to downplay the seriousness of the growing crisis. In the early weeks of the virus making landfall in the states, Fox News pundits in particular were downplaying the severity of the virus, even going as far as to compare it to the common cold, and that the warm weather would eliminate the virus completely. I believe a utilitarian ethical approach was taken when deciding how to approach coronavirus reporting. In particular I believe that Mills theory of self-interest utilitarianism have been adopted in this circumstance. Essentially, the executives decided to channel a certain message regarding the pandemic with the hope that people would not be put off socialising and that Donald Trump’s strong economic figures would not be adversely affected. It was in their own self-interest to gaslight their audiences to the true impact the pandemic would have on daily life.
If we wind the clocks back to January 2020, the American economy was strong and looked promising and would be Donald Trump’s main advantage going into the November presidential election. There was an initial fear that if the US would follow the procedures taken by Chinese officials to lockdown certain parts of the country, the US economy would suffer greatly, thus impacting Trumps re-election efforts. Therefore I believe that the executives at Fox decided to downplay the impact of a coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Being strong supporters of the president, it was in their interests to downplay the potential economic effects that a national lockdown would create. I believe that they pushed this misinformation in order to keep consumer confidence high as their millions of viewers would continue to go out and spend their money and keep the economy going. In my opinion they meant no harm by reporting in this manor, however given the impact the virus has had since then, public reaction has not been positive as many lawsuits have been taken again the broadcaster for publicly broadcasting misinformation. It is choices like these that has led to a diminishing public opinion regarding the “Free Press”.
Fisher, C. and Lovell, A., 2006. Business Ethics And Values. 2nd ed. Essex: Pearson, pp.102,128,131.
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