During the lecture, we discovered the importance of new technologies in creating free media. Why is media independent?
At the lecture Educational challenges of media technologies on 22 November 2024, we worked with the text by B. Kicior entitled ‘What do Mass Media Do for Us? What do We Do for Media? Function and Impact of Mass Media in Society’, published in Social Contexts in 2018. In class, we held a discussion on the functions of the media. In particular, we sought answers to the questions: Are the media always independent of political power? Furthermore, why are the media independent?
Why is media independent? Main observations of students
Political power and media control
The media are a tool for the dispute between the authorities and the opposition. Political authorities often try to influence the media, especially those that criticise their actions. However, the authorities do not go unpunished here, as a result of social and legal mechanisms.
Regulation and censorship
Power interferes in various spheres of life, including the media, through regulation or censorship. This is particularly evident in authoritarian regimes, such as in China or North Korea, where the media is a tool of propaganda.
Why are the media independent? Maybe it is only declarative independence
The media often claim to be independent, although in reality they remain dependent on funding sources, which affects the way journalistic texts are edited. So, the choice of what is covered and how it is presented is often marked by subjectivity.
Examples of dependency
Students highlighted the differences between public media in democratic countries, such as Poland (e.g., TVP), and media in authoritarian systems. In particular, they emphasized the role of propaganda in North Korea, where only content that aligns with the government’s narrative is presented. Moreover, similar mechanisms, albeit on a smaller scale, also exist in democratic countries; for example, the relationship between Donald Trump and the Fox News station illustrates this dynamic.
New media
Despite numerous forms of dependency, the development of the internet and platforms such as YouTube gives the public the opportunity to access a variety of information sources, which can strengthen media independence and pluralism of opinion.
Summary of the discussion: why is media independent?
The discussion revealed that the media remain dependent on political power to varying degrees and in different contexts. This dependence stems from both funding mechanisms, regulation and socio-political structures. However, the growing role of new technologies and online communication platforms creates space for more independent forms of media.
These considerations allowed participants to better understand the complex relationship between media and power, while raising questions about the future of media in a dynamically changing technological world.
Bibliography
Kicior, B. (2018). Po co nam media – po co my mediom? Funkcje i oddziaływanie mediów masowych
w społeczeństwie [What do Mass Media Do for Us? What do We Do for Media? Function and Impact of Mass Media in Society]. Konteksty Społeczne [Social Contexts], 6(1 [11]), 55–63. Retrieved from https://journals.umcs.pl/ks/article/view/11204