Recall about a year back. Splattered on every major mandarin newspaper was about a scandal – one of Edison.
As I wonder about the power and influence the media of today holds. To think that the media today has no influence is simply being ignorant. Much of our views and perception is still shaped by the mass media. Take for example, the 911 terrorists attacks.
Much buzz was created by the media on this attack. The pictures of the planes crashing into the were much publicized a short while after it occurred. In a matter of minutes, the news of the terrorist attacks was spread throughout the world. It was ground breaking news. Every headline of the newspaper in the world features the incident. It managed to grabbed the headlines of all radio stations as well. This phenomena lasted for weeks.
The media is able to influence our choice and stand on issues. From the above example, the media shapes what is important and emphasizes it to the public audience. We, as public audience, read the news and through it, form perceptions of the things around us. What seemed to be important in the eyes of the media becomes what is important and delicious to us.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” This famous proverb is best explained by the media. By only producing news that affect the middle class would not help increase sales. There has to be a wider group of target audience and juicier news than “Motorcyclist, 21, dies in a traffic accident”.
Enter Edison Chen. Personally, I feel that he has been very unfairly targeted at. It just so happened that he got exposed by some guy in relation to the computer shop he had earlier sent his computer for repair. The pictures of him and his affairs started to arise. They were circulated all over the internet, leading him to be widely criticized for his actions. It is clear that the media has exagerrated things, causing Edison to be at the brunt of things and unable to cope.
Why do I say that he has been unfairly targeted? Look at the other artistes. Look at other normal human beings who are not celebrities. They lead their own personal lives without much media glare. They do commit mistakes that normal humans do and not get all the media attention. With the additional attention by the media, reporters have to beef up their stories to increase readership, to create differentiation. This is purely for entertainment purposes that we, the public, pays to read. Who would not want to read hot gossips anyway?
Gossip or purely important, breaking news, the media is there ready to pounce on every single ounce of juice and make a feast out of it. The power of mass media cannot be underestimated. Think twice before you do anything stupid, my friends. Think twice about littering. You would not want your face to appear in the newspapers.
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andy said
The media thrives and survives on attention and they will do anything capable and within means to grab a secure hold of that. This is exceptionally prominent in places like HK and USA where media is deemed as an influential source. In your case of celebrities, they are paid for all these exposure. They chose this path of stardom and should know the costs and risks involved. The price Edison Chen had to pay is immense, but it equates his astronomical earnings.
Tristan said
yah i agree with the above comment.
the reason why news are being circulated at such an insane speed, especially those ‘ground-breaking’ ones are because 1) as mentioned above, the faster they report it. the more money they earn and 2) the public has the right to know such news quickly.
and sad to say, its true that media plays quite an important role in shaping our thoughts and perceptions. as media is often …. ‘ government controlled ‘ in many countries, thus it leads to citizens believing in everything that is reported without actually doubting it <– majority.
iuhiq said
I agree with what you say. Media do bring matters up and is how and what they do to make that issue big or small. Unlike others, celebrities life do become a point for the media to discuss. I feel that if that person choose to be a celebrities, they should know that they are the one that people would look at and need to show some form of “proper behavior” to the public.
The power of media could make people pick up what they see and read. Example, Media portray women to be skinny while man as muscle and good looking. People who want to be like them result in dieting or even plastic surgery. Thus, maybe have their life at risk. People even follow scenes show on TV series. This is the power of how media is. It is a entertainment factor to many to read; However, one should know how to filter what they read and see.
Jacob said
No doubt media lays an invisible hand over our lives, shapes our perspectives and penetrates our minds in the most covert way. Nowadays, newspaper headlines are getting bigger and news are getting juicier in an attempt to draw a bigger audience and fend off competition. Even lay people who are not avid consumers of such gossipy news are not let off. That’s to say, even people who are not interested in Edison’s scandal will eventually hear and know about it because they are constantly fed with news from the radio/tv/internet. There’s no way to shut out these information.
Zhezhang said
you can say that Edison Chen is unfairly targeted at. True. But in many occasions such publicity is also a tool to increase their popularity. It’s like free marketing for these celebrities. It does not have to be about glamorous, it can be scandal or affairs. What matters is that the news feature them; it reminds people about them. In this way, when people keep talking about them, they can ensure that they have a long way to go in this industry. In a way, the media gives them free advertisement.
In conclusion, all i can say is that one should think twice before accepting any sort of information, be it from the news or even from friends.
JK said
Are we influenced by the media, if yes how much? Sociologist and Psychologist contemplate that question often. No one can deny that the media has an effect on society, but is the media just giving society what he or she wants? Has the media taken away our ability to think for ourselves critically?
As we see in Edison’s case, our perceptions and judgement of the matter have been clouded and influenced by the media.
Media helps us form mental models of our environment and i believe as we sift through the multitude of information, it’s up to each person’s personal discretion to formulate his or her opinions about the matter.
Eva said
Media certainly have the power to choose what kind of information they want to feed to the public, and with this power comes greated responsibility. Even if some might say celebrity “sold” their life to the public because they are under the spotlight, I personally think that anyone deserved proper respect and privacy.
In the case of Edison, he is not the only victim here, media(especially paparazzi and tabloids) should be more ethical when it comes to how they go about reporting a news.
Hong Mun said
I feel there will be a greater impact if Edison Chen’s picture is put after the paragraph introducing him.
KS said
I do agree with what is posted in the article, that we should be careful in whatever we do in public. In addition, whatever that the media prints out we should read all these with a pinch of salt; not that the event in question did not happen, but rather to see it in an unbiased light.
Jonathan said
Media has become an indispensable part of our lives and many people are now dependent on a daily ‘dosage’ of entertainment, be it on celebrities or the latest scandals. Many celebraities have even come out unscathed in the public eyes due to people’s misdrected sympathy and instead benefitted from the negative publicity drawn. However, in the case of Asia, it is different. As the media and paparazzi reports on the current issues and situations, we must be vigilant not to be shaped by the opinions of what is protrayed but to be discerning in every report that seems to be ripe for public fodder in this day and age where everything that is true may be false and vice versa.
jesline said
Media is the primarily source of most of our information today. No doubt, it plays a indisputable role in feeding us with information. The effects of media is far-reaching, it is to the extent that, it is able to shape our perspectives, be it in a postive or negative way. A biased report may induce biasness sub- consciously.
There is a need to filter information and even take a personal stand towards what we are being fed. Not all reports protray a balanced perspective. I would say celebrities news do have a publicity propose in them (maybe not all, but most of the time) Given the fact that they are celebrities, i will agree that there is a tendency to over boardcast their mistakes or even their good acts, all because the figure in the limelight gives rise to curiousity and the piece of news will sell.
On this note, i think sometimes what is being reported in the media is just for money making purpose.
yj said
Are the media controlling us or are we controlling the media? I believe both play a part in this. When we are no longer interested in the gossips supplied by the media, the media will have to think of juicier information in order to catch the interest of the public. The consequence of this would be that celebrities will have lesser privacy and more of their hidden past is being dug out and put under spotlight. I agree with what was mentioned in the article. Everybody makes mistakes, however, it seems like if you are a public figure, you are not allowed to make any mistakes, and for every mistake you make you are being severely critisized. Therefore, being a public figure, you just have to pay careful attention to your conduct both on-screen and off-screen.