LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDIA

   

We are living in a time when there is great distrust of any institution. People distrust what the government says, what medicine says, what any branch of Christianity says and so forth. The center for  truth-making has gravitated more and more toward the individual. 

 

Part of the shift to centering all within the individual is due to the size of society in which we live.  Everything has become so big that we cannot rely that the institutions are working for the anything more than themselves. When societal structures are  too big, we need to become wisely critical of their motivation and purpose.

 

The media in modern life is huge. It is very powerful in how it can shape the narrative of any story of issue that we as a society has to deal with. Hence, we want to train all high school students (start early) to be very critical of anything that they hear and see through the media; the large multinationals and the social media that friends use.

 

No matter what we see or hear on the media today, we must stand back and question: “Is this true? Does this news item present things in context or is one side of the question exaggerated? Who is going to benefit from broadcasting this particular item? 

 

There are individuals that we deal with who are too quick to spout off some interesting tid-bits that they heard on today’s news. Oftentimes their facts are minimal about the item they are talking about. Cautiously we need to offer, “Maybe it not quite like that?” or “Maybe that is not true?” In today’s world you want to be cautious about unexamined facts that are thrown up around the coffee cups. 

 

Always examine the media through clear lens. Do not accept that the media is working in your best interest. First of all, the media are not a service to the community. This is a business. People have invested big bucks in this enterprise. The name of the game to gather advertisers’ who are paying the bills for this operation. If today’s media investors could make more profit selling pet food, you know where their investment will go. The first concern of any news broadcaster is to gain and retain viewers. The media is business!

 

It is more difficult to live I today’s world. We cannot assume that the media does not have a vested interest in what they are presenting. They are political just like the government people that they so often report on. 

 

The beautiful part of our Christianity is that we started with a teacher (i.e., Jesus) who was very critical of the dominant narrative of this day. He certainly did not accept what they powers-that-be were trying to tell the general population; i.e., the working classes and the peasants. If you are critical today of those who hold power in today’s society, know that you have a good background for inspiration.

 

When all is said and done, we need to have a love-hate relationship with the media. Question critically. Do not accept anything unquestioned.  Always identify who has the power in this broadcast and who are the losers. A critical viewer is the one who has control over the media and is not controlled by the media and their business interests.