Bob Farnham's (of The Daily News) article 'Insights: A lie, told often enough, becomes truth' describes the increasing monopolization of broadcast airways and its detrimental effect on society. Increasingly, consumers of media (i.e. us!) are less and less critical of media information. We see or hear something, and assume it's true. Farnham describes his feelings regarding this increasing ignorance and naivety of the general public, saying,
"...it was then that I began to realize this is not happening just somewhere else in the country, happening to ignorant and educationally denied people. It was right there on my own doorstep, unrelated to ones' position in society or otherwise in any way associated with mere demographics. In fact, it is endemic to our population."
This mindless process of information can be dangerous. What if what we assume to be true actually isn't? How do we make sure we aren't foolishly accepting information? Normally, the answer would be to review multiple sources of information, however, this isn't fool-proof. As the FCC has relaxed ownership regulations, there has been as increase in media monopolization.
What is Media Monopolization??? --> basically, a corporation's ownership of multiple medium (more than one of a certain medium, or different types of medium). As these 'Media Giants' expand their ownership, they increase their potential influence.
Why? Because the public will see or hear their message more often and in more than one place... and repetition makes an impact! When we see or hear something over and over again, especially from different sources, we often take that to mean the message is true, or held by a large consensus.
Media scholars Croteau & Hoynes (authors of Media Society) discuss the evolving FCC regulations regarding monopolization. As developments in media occur, so do changes in regulation. Over the years, the FCC has relaxed the rules regarding ownership limitations. Essentially, corporations can own more media and reach more people.
For further information regarding FCC regulations and monopolization, check out:
'Whoever Owns the Medium Owns the Message' by Harold Feld (Focus on Law Studies).
http://www.abanet.org/publiced/focus/fall04.pdf
So what's the next step???
The next time you watch the news, think about where it's coming from... Who is sending the message? And more importantly why are they sending it? Is there a political or economic agenda behind it?
And, as Farnham concludes his article, "We must all make an effort to broaden our knowledge, study things a little more before deciding the truth of things. Only regret and remorse can result from knee-jerk reactions."
Article Information:
Insights, A lie, told often enough, becomes truth
http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2010/02/20/opinion/columns/insights/doc4b7f8e78d9e50876128873.txt
(nice post!)
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