It is fact, that even as we were at an all time low for violent death in the USA, the media reported more and more about it

It is observation, that the media seems to greatly influence public perception of reality


So the question is,, does the media reflect things just the way they are? or are they forced (for the sponsors to pay the bills) to reflect things the way their audience seems to want to see them?

They report what ever gets the ratings up... They have always done it this way by stretching the truth at times or not reporting all of the story just parts that catches attention...

I think Denzel Washington said it best, recently...

If you don't watch the news, you are uninformed.
If you do watch the news, you are mis-informed.

I think the media is basically bought and paid for - just like the government.

This is not to say there are not a few out there that try to report the truth, but I suspect it is difficult to get thru the news channels when they are owned by multi-billion dollar corporations.

I agree. Except I don't think it matters if they are privately owned or owned by corporations,,


Media (internet included) tends to pander to certain 'demographics' and not others, people dont realize that most internet sites are monetized to make money as well,, to get paid as 'affiliates' for their sponsors

and

their audience is drawn to whichever bias they have,,,(whether determined by a corporation or shaped by their own experiences )

we not only get a few 'facts' but we too often are given the adjectives to shape our perception of those facts,,,,

speaking of shaping the truth

this one always cracks me up (they didn't make up the puzzle pieces, but they showed enough to shape what the viewer THOUGHT they saw)

edit

Personally, I would say something more like "the media seems to cater greatly towards the paying public's desired and/or feared perceptions of reality."


IMO it's a feedback loop in a reciprocating cycle.


IMO it's important to consider there are actual people running the "media."
They've consumed their own product too.
They are trained and socialized by the same people consuming their product.
They don't grow up in a vacuum and all of a sudden, completely objective and unaware, wonder "what am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? I know! Let's manipulate people this way."

The same biases pushing people to consume media are pushing the people that produce it.

Other than that, thank Ted Turner for the 24/7 news channel and the need for constant content that keeps people watching, then thank your employer for giving you enough disposable income so you can afford cable and have enough time off to watch it, then thank yourself for wanting constant "news" consumption.


They didn't shape the bias of the viewer.
That already existed.
Show that blocked dancing twinkie thing to a 6 year old without a concept of masturbation and you'll get a different response than from a 30 year old single guy.
Most media doesn't create bias, it simply takes advantage of, or exploits, one that exists.
Some does so intentionally, some unintentionally, some with a specific agenda, some with a non specific agenda.