To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to seious issues? To what extent would you think that it is their role to do so? In your opinion do the tabloid media and 'Low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) have too much power and influence in this country?
The media most probably has the biggest influence on people in this country. Most of what people talk about, and often believe is from the media. It is the media that is blamed for things like girls wanting to be size zero and boyswanting certain video games. I believe that to a certain extent this is true as people read newspapers and magazines and read in them what they should be doing and how they should look, however, I rarely see any serious issues raised in these sources and this is what is, in many ways, worrying.
I don't often read newspapers, particularly not broadsheets, and looking at the information given on the blog prompt, neither do many other people, as there is only one broadsheet in the six most popular newspapers. This could be for many reasons, but I believe that it is for the reason that tabloids are easy to read, and written in a fairly short and simple way. Therefore people buy these to catch up on the news. Take the Sun for example, the most popular newspaper and the most well known tabloid, I have never read a story in the Sun about Climate Change or any such issue, particularly never as a cover story. The cover stories of the Sun are Usually the X factor results, new celebrity romance, or even the breakdown of celebrity relationships. This is because it is what many people want to read about, however these are not serious or even important issues of the world, and it is not keeping people informed on what is happening.
I am not a great reader of broadsheets or newspapers like the Daily Mail so can see why people may not enjoy reading them. The reason I mentioned the Daily Mail is because I see it as a completely different paper to the Sun, and although it is a tabloid, from what I have seen, it does have articles about reality TV and such, but it also raises some other issues, one of which being politics, which is an important issue in many peoples eyes. Some headlines on the Daily Mails website include 'Neighbours' fury as BT chairman is only person in village to get high speed broadband' and 'Policde set search to Tiger Woods' Mansion and seize his Medical Files after he misses third interview' and 'Britain pledges 500 extra troops for Afghanistan as Obama prepares 30000-strong surge'. This shows a variety in the news that they put forward, and therefore is more informative, and possibly in many way smore reliable than the Sun.
The Daily Telegraph is the only broadsheet in the top six papers according to the information given on the blog prompt, therefore I have looked into the headlines to see what issues are raised in this paper and how informative it could be about serious issues in the world today.The outcome I found was different to the tabloids, to begin with it was much more to do with politics than celebrities, and although on the website there was a section on celebrity news, there wasn't anything on the cover stories, showing that celebrities aren't the most important feature of this newspaper. There was also a section on the Earth, and the majority of this section was based on articles to do with climate change. I therefore believe that the Daily Telegraph does include serious issues in its news, however that doesnt necessarily mean that there is enough of this information. I have found that broadsheets are much more related to serious issues than tabloids are. It is a shame in my opinion that broadsheets aren't read enough by people as they could change many views and even educate people in some issues that are raised. I am the first to admit that I am one of those people who don't read broadsheets, and maybe should, but for me this is not necessarily because of the differnece in information given, but more to do with the fact that they are not as easy to read as the tabloids are.
As a result I do not believe that the UKs top selling newspapers relate enough to serious issues, unless you are someone who believes that serious issues include the winner of the X factor. I believe that tabloids should include at least a few more articles on serious issues such as climate change, new laws and legislations, wars and politics.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the media, particularly the newspapers to cover stories related to serious issues because of the fact that they are so influential over the public and can make a huge difference in what people believe and how they act, as we have found in relation to other media stories and actions. Due to the fact that the tabloids are the most popular newspapers, I believe that this should put them under more pressure to increase the serious information that they include as well as keeping the stories that people enjoy reading and this would increase the chance of people reading about the more important issues and therefore there would be more people becoming educated in these issues and to have knowledge to form opinions on these issues and possibly make some changes if they are or will affect these individuals in any way.
Tabloid media does have too much power and influence over this country at the moment, but they could use this to their advantage and it is possible to make the right changes as they could make the important issues into more interesting articles and improve the influence that they have over people. However, personally I believe that it is the 'low budget media' such as reality TV shows and soaps that have far too much influence. This is because in my opinion, they are interesting to watch, but they do not teach any lessons about the realities of the world. People begin to believe that soaps and celebrities are what are important because that is all that they see and read about, but they are missing out on the important issues. The most watched TV is not documentaries on what IS important and what is happening in the world, but soaps and reality TV, which shows just how much influence they have over people. However much this may be my opinion, I know that it is unlikely to ever change as it is what makes peope a lot of money and what people are interested in, but I do believe that people should make more of an effort to show an interest in world issues and important ones at that.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
To What extent do you think that it is your duty as a citizen to be 'informed'? Are you informed? How do you get to be informed about serious issues?
Sustainable development is such a broad subject that it is often difficult for many people to know how informed they really are, and how easy it can be to become more informed about several areas. The most known area of sustainable development is most probably climate change and global warming; however there are also many more aspects to this, broken down into smaller parts such as recycling and carbon emissions. Learning about sustainable development in my A-levels, I also found that the topic also covered such areas as preserving coasts. I learnt that it could involve anything that was developed in a way that would help future generations without affecting them and causing maintenance to be needed. The reason I mentioned coastal areas is that I found that Dune Stabilisation methods was more sustainable than sea walls, as sea walls would crack and need maintenance, but dune stabilisation would last a long time.
There have even been debates and articles written on mining. This is because sustainable development is the development that will not prevent the needs of future generations from being met. ‘…sustainable development -- defined as meeting the needs of this generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. There is much public antagonism towards mining, and three years ago chief executives of leading mining companies recognised the need for constructive engagement with the industry's critics.’ (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77133470.html) This quote shows a definition for sustainable development and is almost self explanatory as to why mining is badly looked upon. It has nothing to do with global warming in this case, but is an important aspect of sustainable development as if it was to continue, future generations could miss out on fuels that they need and this is not sustainable.
I therefore believe that is my duty as a citizen to be ‘informed’, however some areas of the subject are more important to citizens than others. As I believe that global warming is happening and it is a danger to the world for the future, I think that it is extremely important that citizens make an effort to understand the importance of the changes that are occurring, because if everyone had an understanding, changes could be made, and maybe the consequences of global warming could be reduced. I also think that as citizens it is easy to be informed about these issues, from recycling to your carbon footprint to the effects of global warming on the world. As it is such a huge subject in the news. There are newspapers, websites, books, television programmes and even films such as Al Gores ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ that inform people about climate change and global warming. I think that this is one of the most researched issues and there is a huge amount of evidence and information that is easily accessible to any member of the public. However, it is in many ways a controversial issue and therefore there are many biased articles, particularly on the internet and in certain newspapers. Sceptics that believe that global warming is a natural occurrence will do as much as they can to get this point across. I therefore believe that as citizens it is important to understand the issue and have an opinion on it, but we need to be more educated in the facts. If people were to watch ‘An inconvenient truth’ I believe that they would see some of the scientific evidence that shows the extent of the consequences of climate change. I think that the film shows enough information to inform citizens of all they need to know about climate change.
People who are studying the subject of sustainable development or areas around it need to know more than most citizens and therefore there are more resources available to them. It is also easier for these people to understand as they are interested in the subject and want to read more into the facts and evidence. They need to understand why there are different opinions on certain topics and what evidence proves, why it is trustworthy and how to interpret graphs and data. This is important as these people are those who will be making people in the future understand what is happening and some will be finding and giving the evidence.
I believe that I am fairly well informed about sustainable development, but this is due to my education and what I have chosen to study at a higher level. I have been taught about the topic, and I sometimes find it hard to understand as it is such a broad area, however, I find it extremely interesting and therefore look more into the subject than many citizens might. As I mentioned at the beginning, sustainable development covers several areas, and not all citizens may realise this as it is not made very public. It is mainly global warming and climate change that is broadcast on the news and that makes headlines in newspapers, however there are many more areas that may not be as important worldwide as they are to individuals. This includes being healthy, staying safe, clean environments to live in and the effects of drink and drugs, plus much more. Lifestyle has a lot to do with sustainable development, but as citizens we are not well informed about this in a clear way. There have been TV programmes to do with health for example such as Jamie Oliver’s school dinners and even the programme ‘Embarrassing Illnesses’ however many people wouldn’t see this as a way of being sustainable it is just entertainment on the television and many people may not see the significance as they are not informed about these things.
Complicated decisions such as ways to reduce emissions should be left up to others as they are the more educated individuals who specialise in the area that they are making the decision in. The decision makers should be the scientists who find the evidence because they know the facts and the best ways to deal with the matters. As professional as many politicians may be, they do not know the facts, and in many cases, this is why mistakes are made in dealing with complicated issues such as climate change, even they are not as informed as they should be to make such decisions. This is just my personal opinion, but citizens do need to be informed to an extent that they understand the matter; however they do not have to know specific figures and data, that should be left to the experts.
In conclusion I believe that it is important for citizens to understand some areas of sustainable development in a simple way, but enough so that they are able to form and opinion and have an understanding of what is published in the news. It is climate change that I believe that people should have some understanding of, but also they need to understand that sustainable development is also about looking after themselves and keeping things in a way that won’t affect future generations. My conclusion is therefore that the experts of the different areas should make the complicated decisions as they understand fully what it is about.
Bibliography
Mining Journal. (2001). Article: Sustainable development: the view from the bridge.(People antagonistic to mining)(Brief Article) . Available: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77133470.html. Last accessed 11 November 2009.
There have even been debates and articles written on mining. This is because sustainable development is the development that will not prevent the needs of future generations from being met. ‘…sustainable development -- defined as meeting the needs of this generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. There is much public antagonism towards mining, and three years ago chief executives of leading mining companies recognised the need for constructive engagement with the industry's critics.’ (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77133470.html) This quote shows a definition for sustainable development and is almost self explanatory as to why mining is badly looked upon. It has nothing to do with global warming in this case, but is an important aspect of sustainable development as if it was to continue, future generations could miss out on fuels that they need and this is not sustainable.
I therefore believe that is my duty as a citizen to be ‘informed’, however some areas of the subject are more important to citizens than others. As I believe that global warming is happening and it is a danger to the world for the future, I think that it is extremely important that citizens make an effort to understand the importance of the changes that are occurring, because if everyone had an understanding, changes could be made, and maybe the consequences of global warming could be reduced. I also think that as citizens it is easy to be informed about these issues, from recycling to your carbon footprint to the effects of global warming on the world. As it is such a huge subject in the news. There are newspapers, websites, books, television programmes and even films such as Al Gores ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ that inform people about climate change and global warming. I think that this is one of the most researched issues and there is a huge amount of evidence and information that is easily accessible to any member of the public. However, it is in many ways a controversial issue and therefore there are many biased articles, particularly on the internet and in certain newspapers. Sceptics that believe that global warming is a natural occurrence will do as much as they can to get this point across. I therefore believe that as citizens it is important to understand the issue and have an opinion on it, but we need to be more educated in the facts. If people were to watch ‘An inconvenient truth’ I believe that they would see some of the scientific evidence that shows the extent of the consequences of climate change. I think that the film shows enough information to inform citizens of all they need to know about climate change.
People who are studying the subject of sustainable development or areas around it need to know more than most citizens and therefore there are more resources available to them. It is also easier for these people to understand as they are interested in the subject and want to read more into the facts and evidence. They need to understand why there are different opinions on certain topics and what evidence proves, why it is trustworthy and how to interpret graphs and data. This is important as these people are those who will be making people in the future understand what is happening and some will be finding and giving the evidence.
I believe that I am fairly well informed about sustainable development, but this is due to my education and what I have chosen to study at a higher level. I have been taught about the topic, and I sometimes find it hard to understand as it is such a broad area, however, I find it extremely interesting and therefore look more into the subject than many citizens might. As I mentioned at the beginning, sustainable development covers several areas, and not all citizens may realise this as it is not made very public. It is mainly global warming and climate change that is broadcast on the news and that makes headlines in newspapers, however there are many more areas that may not be as important worldwide as they are to individuals. This includes being healthy, staying safe, clean environments to live in and the effects of drink and drugs, plus much more. Lifestyle has a lot to do with sustainable development, but as citizens we are not well informed about this in a clear way. There have been TV programmes to do with health for example such as Jamie Oliver’s school dinners and even the programme ‘Embarrassing Illnesses’ however many people wouldn’t see this as a way of being sustainable it is just entertainment on the television and many people may not see the significance as they are not informed about these things.
Complicated decisions such as ways to reduce emissions should be left up to others as they are the more educated individuals who specialise in the area that they are making the decision in. The decision makers should be the scientists who find the evidence because they know the facts and the best ways to deal with the matters. As professional as many politicians may be, they do not know the facts, and in many cases, this is why mistakes are made in dealing with complicated issues such as climate change, even they are not as informed as they should be to make such decisions. This is just my personal opinion, but citizens do need to be informed to an extent that they understand the matter; however they do not have to know specific figures and data, that should be left to the experts.
In conclusion I believe that it is important for citizens to understand some areas of sustainable development in a simple way, but enough so that they are able to form and opinion and have an understanding of what is published in the news. It is climate change that I believe that people should have some understanding of, but also they need to understand that sustainable development is also about looking after themselves and keeping things in a way that won’t affect future generations. My conclusion is therefore that the experts of the different areas should make the complicated decisions as they understand fully what it is about.
Bibliography
Mining Journal. (2001). Article: Sustainable development: the view from the bridge.(People antagonistic to mining)(Brief Article) . Available: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77133470.html. Last accessed 11 November 2009.
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