Entry nº 32: The effect of the press in public opinion.

The press, in its varied forms such as newspapers or radio and television broadcasts, has existed for centuries with the purpose of spread news. But nowadays its power and influence have expanded to such a point that it produces certain effects on the public opinion, which are generally related to a fixed position towards a particular subject.
All the countries in the world are part of a globalized community where they are closely connected to one another. Consequently the press plays a very important role in maintaing people informed about the major events that take place around the globe. In this way, each person can be aware of the latest social, economic and political international news, which can affect both directly or indirectly each nation. The press is also the medium of disclosure classified information, which governments do not make public at the very moment that the fact took place because of the possible effets on the population, revealed many years later when nobody cares about it anymore.
But in order to make the information how as freely as possible, the press should be based on three main characteristics, namely, it must be accurate, objective and dispassionate; otherwise the public opinion can be easily dominated by biased reports broadcast by tabloids which have come to depend on overly-explicit articles and pictures in order to guarantee sales. Similary, the news informs us by using devastating images of grief desperation and death. It is ofter felt that by exposing the public to such graphic depictions people are becoming inmune to schocking behaviour and dramatic events, both or which would have been upsetting or offensive in the past. Both television reports and newspaper reports have even come to the point of broadcasting invented or unreliable information. Furthermore the corruption of the media has led to the spreading slander a libel with the purpose of making society relieve whatever some private or public sectors want. Therefore, public opinion is tied to their own convenience, it can be in favour or in opposition to other groups. It is commonly present in politics.
In conclusion, the effects of the press on public opinion are varied and can influence the individual beliefs as society values either in favor or against the government? And therefore, it can control the course of events and the future of a whole country. What people can do to avoid being influenced by the press is to keep a critical and objective thinking about the information that reaches them.