Can the media be trusted?

Media often acts as an avenue for profiteering rather than for accurate reporting or creating awareness among public

The media’s job is to represent the views and opinions of the masses, and inform and educate people regarding different points of views and opinions. The concept behind the media’s role is a simple one: to update society’s knowledge on the status of affairs through recent developments and events. Both the print and electronic media have a role to play in this regard. The most rudimentary ethics to follow in this endeavour are honesty and accurate reporting. However, sadly, honesty is the last thing to expect from this now complicated institution.

In the 21st century, the media has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This creates new opportunities for expansion in the scope and role of media, but also exposes it to greed and corruption. Due to the profit motive of media companies, achieving high ratings is often their final goal, rather than the quest of quality reporting. This leads to cheap tactics, such as exaggeration and distortion of facts to attract viewership, along with mis-prioritisation with the focus being on the most popular topics rather than on the most important ones. Minor events are manipulated to garner interest and a celebrity culture has taken over.

The quest to get the latest scoop has led to these institutions indulging in tasteless and sometimes even illegal activities, especially when it comes to certain international media organisations. These involve wiretapping and numerous forms of hacking. The lack of respect some media companies have shown for the rule of law raises doubts over their credibility. Can we truly trust people whose main sources of information revolve around deceit, manipulation and even breaking the law? Besides their blatant disregard for the rule of law, the moral code of many of these institutions has been brought under question time and again. Snooping into people’s private lives, fostering a paparazzi culture and spreading misinformation are just some of the vast array of moral discrepancies these organisations indulge in.

Moreover, these corporations, each claiming to provide unfiltered and truthful opinions and facts, have actually become political tools for manipulation of the general public. In the US, Fox News’ blatant bias against the Democrats exemplifies this. It presents a view of the status quo tainted by Republican propaganda and conspiracy theories, as well as fudging of facts.

However, amidst all this confusion, there are still some avenues for honest journalism and accurate interpretation of real world issues and dilemmas. When a British soldier was beheaded by the Taliban in Afghanistan, sparking media uproar, an article published in The Guardian reminded people that in the war on terror, soldiers do die and you can’t expect to invade someone’s homeland without there being a backlash. Whether right or wrong, this view that strayed from mainstream opinion and common consensus is a prime example of someone going against popular opinion to present an opinion true to himself/herself. This example shows that there is still place for such reporting in mainstream journalism.

While the media has the ability to uphold the truth, it has, unfortunately, also been used as a tool of distortion and propaganda, and is often plagued with bias. It often acts as an avenue for profiteering rather than for accurate reporting or creating awareness among the public.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd,  2015.

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