Media coverage exerts too much of an influence ove

1PRE-SESSIONALPROGRAMMEARGUMENTATIVE-ESSAYMediacoverageexertstoomuchofaninfluenceovergovernments2Nowadays,bothdemocraticgovernmentsandcitizensrecognizetheimportanceofpress-freedom.However,withthecomingofthenewmediaage,governmentsarelosingthedominantrighttoissuenewsandinformationgraduallysinceagreatmanyprivatemediaagenciesandsocialwebsiteshavethepowerandfirstchancetospreadinformation.Traditionalnewstheoryandwaysofmediamanagementlosetheireffectiveness.Somepeopledoubtwhetherthepowerofthemediaitselfexceedstheinfluenceofgovernmentoncitizens’thoughtandbehaviour.Howtocontrolthewillofpeopletotheextent,whichcanbeacceptedbythegovernment,isthemosturgentthing,whichgovernmentsneedtobeconcernedabout.Governmentneedtomakesurepopularwillcanbedeliveredfully.Meanwhile,governmentshouldavoidtheover-expressionofmediatothreatentheauthorityofgovernment.Thisessaywillstatethebackgroundofhowthemediainfluencepeople’slivesanditsbenefitstoconstructabetterpoliticalenvironmentforcitizens.Itwillalsoanalyzewhetherthereareanythreatstogovernmentinlooseningthecontrolofthemediaorgovernmenthasalreadytrumpedupacounterchargeagainstmedia’saccuser.Moreover,itwilldemonstratespecificcasesabouttheconflictsandtroublegovernmentconfrontswhicharecausedbytheoverflowofthemedia.Finally,therewillbeadiscussionaboutwhatgovernmentshoulddotodealwiththecurrentmediasituationandeveninturntakefulladvantageofit.AccordingtoTumber(2000),newmediaisakindofmediawhichsupportedbynew3technology,suchasdigitalmagazineandnewspaper,website,mobilemessageandetc.itiscalled‘thefifthmedia’besidesnewspaper,outdoormedia,videoandtelevision.Thepowerofnewmedianowpermeatesthrougheverycornerofthesocietymacroscopicallyandmicroscopicallyincludingpeople’sworldview,livingbehaviorandthewholebusinessenvironmentofasociety.Besides,newmedianowarechangingtherulingmode,conceptionandlegalsystemofgovernment.Therearelargeamountsofadvantages,whichnewmediahastheinfluencetodecision-makingofgovernment.Thoseadvantagesmaintainthecrucialstatusofmediaasasupplementarytooltoperfectgovernance.Atfirst,newmediaacceleratesthedevelopmentofdemocraticpolitics.PeopleareequalontheInternetandtheyarefreeofchattinganddebating,feedbacksaredeliveredtothegovernmenttimelyandeffectively.Secondly,newmediahavethepotentialtochangetheconceptofgovernances.MoreandmoregovernmentmovedintoInternetandcommunicateswithcitizens.Moreover,themediaencouragegovernmenttopublicinnersecretswhichexposesthepracticeofpolicyinatransparentenvironment,forexample,theemergenceofWikileaksuncoverthetraditionalcorruptionofgovernmentandmaypushthegovernmenttocleanthephenomenonofdecompositioninbureaucraticsystem.However,notalltheaboveinfluencesarebenign;governmentsometimeslosesthe4controlofthespreadingofviciousinformation.Amongthosenewcommunicationmediums,thesocialmediawebsitehasbecomethemostinfluentialone.AsCurran(2002)argued,‘newmediasometimesunderminedthehierarchicalcontrolofsocialknowledgebybypassingestablishedmediatingagenciesanddistributingprohibitedorrestrictedinformation.’Inotherword,theprocessofcensorshipformassinformationisnolongereffectivesothatpeoplereceiveinformationfromresourceswithpersonalorothernon-governmentorganizations.Thegrowingpopularityofsocialmediawebsiteshaschangedtheframeworkofjournalismsystemseveninsomeclosedcountries,suchasMalaysia,whichstandsatthebottomstatusinthepyramidoffreepress.Opposingviewsincreasinglyappearsonblogsandmobilephonemessageswhenthegovernment-controlledmainstreammediabroadcastcriticismnewsandinformation.(Robinson,2000)Sometimes,thoseresistivemessagesfromthesocialwebsiteandmobilephonemessagesbringbadinfluencetocitizen’sgroupactivities.Takingrecentnewsasaspecificexample,inthelastfewweeks,somemobilemessage,whichbroadcasthatredandpanic,leadstothousandsofIndianpeopleescapefromsouth-eastIndia.ItisthebiggestmigrationinthepeacetimeofIndia.ThegovernmentofIndiapassesthebucktosomesocialmediasuchasFacebookandTwitter.Characteristicsofthosesocialmediaareasfollows.Firstly,itsspeedofbroadcastingistooquicktogovernmenttoforecastandcontrol.Secondly,sincetoo5manytalebearersareinvolvedinsocialmediawithoutanycensor,itishardforaudiencestodistinguishtheauthenticityoftheinformation.Thirdly,thosesocialmediaiseasyandfreetomanipulate.Withthosefeatures,socialmediabecomeapotentialbombforgovernment.Anotherobviousthreatensforgovernmentisnewmedia’simpacttoreferendumdemocracy.Accordingtooneofthefamouscommunicationtheories‘thespiralofsilence’,‘theoneviewdominatedthepublicsceneandothersdisappearedfromthepublicawarenessasitadherentsbecamesilent.’(Lloyd2004).Inotherwords,thepeoplefearofseparationorisolationthosearoundthem,theytendtokeeptheirattitudestothemselveswhentheythinktheyareintheminority.’whatitistosayisthatoncepeoplewhoarecapabletomanipulatethepowerandintendtochangethewillofpeople,itiseasyforthemtoinfluencethepopularwill.Forexample,in2006,EricofGooglesaid,InternetwilldeterminetheAmericanElection.ThispredictionbecametruewhenObamaalmostoverturnthetraditionalpatternofAmericanElection.HetookfulladvantageoftheInternetincludinginternetnews,videosharewebsite