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Originally Posted by Kyobanim
I'm a big boy, I can make my own decisions based on facts.
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From my limited view point, I think that you have summed up the entire crux of the matter with the media in general. It is not the media but the education level of the target audience and the access that they either have or are limited to when it comes to from where they obtain their information/news/propaganda/education or however you want to charactierize the role of media. Frame of reference is very important. Just read a newspaper from another country and you will see entirely different views of the same subject.
While the following example is humorous, it really isn't when it you consider that this topic was considered as gosphel by the readers. Every year the palm pollen in this particular country covers everything with a layer of golden dust. The news paper invariably blames the event on the " moon landing and that this yellow "moon" dust, known as "a pollo" is the result". Witch doctors make potions out of it and cast spells and the United States is blamed for causing the moon to shed its dust. Now if you can have folks believe that you sure as hell can have folks with limited, or controlled understanding, believe anything you wish them to.
So, then, in a society free to make its own choices and obtain information it should follow then that the media can educate. But does it? When we become apathetic and self-absorbed with our own little corner of the world and limit ourselves to what we allow ourselves to take in the media can, and does, manipulate us. Technology is a great thing, but information overload without the ability to sort the wheat from the chaf can be just as limiting as state controlled or culturally controlled media provided information. So, from my limited observation, the problem is how do you educate folks to make those informed decisions when their frames of reference have been programmed from birth and are further guided by "the word of god" manipulated by continuous updated "holy messages" and controlled by the state.
Jack Moroney-believing that sometimes it might be acceptable to shoot the messenger