22.04.2005 Mass-media: the fourth authority or the fifth column?

ItТs hardly wanted to protest against and argue about caught stamp of contemporary clip-time, only receiving video track and also about the fact of objective reality according to which we all live exceptionally in the media world. We protest against the common thought that, if some event is not broadcasted on TV, it doesnТt exist in real life. Nonetheless, everyday we see and hear the second reality edited by an unknown author. Our Eustachian tube clearly detects calling headpieces of soap operas, newsflashes and entertaining programs on radio and TV. Moreover these highly repetitive images and soundtracks, which form evil infinity, are inherent part of our being. Television frightens and entertains, appealing to the lowest traits of the nature. Censorship covers mainly political and social life. Private life Ц the subject of the most of talk-shows Ц is given with all its troubles as itself. But society still hasnТt convalesced from exhibitionism and passion for watching otherТs vices. ItТs common to see infantile bЕh showing off her mercantilism and moral flaw in whatever talk-show. The public still assume this fact as an element of female emancipation. Some time ago marginal topics were brought to the foreground, out of a gutter directly on the air. So substitution of definitions occurred: private life has turned into a public affair. However social life has not become a private affair. ThatТs why, for example, the attempt to submit terrorist attack in Beslan as a challenge for everyone wasnТt successful. This negative tendency will go on until balance is found, balance between watching private daily routine and revealing civil activity, participating in countryТs public life.
The role of mass-media is many-sided. Here the dependence of mass-media role on the number of TV-buttons, newspapers, diapasons and waves is set. Principle of innovation lies in the basis of mass-media functioning. Innovation is not just an invention of something unknown, but also freeing something closed, rising some curtains. IТm speaking metaphorically. In accordance to this itТs difficult to overestimate mass-media role and to create controversy over its reproductive and theurgical functions. Using circulation and suggestion mass-media influence on public consciousness, shape public opinion. According to given powers they represent an authority. This authority often turns out to be unprincipled. But itТs merely visibility. Rigid circumstances of competitive struggle for surviving and profit make mass-media correct their policy significantly. As a result some medias begin to flirt with the crowd satisfying their needs and tastes; others stick to money sacks Ц oligarchic clans or state Ц making a type of information product Уa hostФ has ordered. So we canТt speak about total independence of mass-media with the exception of some internet publications and newspapers of small circulation created by unselfish people ached for society. Such publications have small audience and are not well-known. A propos! For democratic society itТs advantageous to develop such media. They defend interests of concrete groups, carry out goal-directed campaigns and are independent of the capital.
Governing regime and mass-media as an indicator of its democracy and freedom are firmly bound together. Judging from mass-media functioning we learn about authority status, its values and priorities. Absence of opposing mass-media is a bad sign. Whatever opposition is a competitor. Authority afraid of competitors is insignificant and wretched. Stifling an opposition is a sign that itТs easier for government to get rid of a man, a publication than to solve a problem. So thatТs why desired for a long time reforms are certain to remain merely dreams. Whatever monopoly is dangerous. There is no use in speaking that opposition should be constructive.
Today you can see facts of criticizing Russian government and the president mainly in western mass-media. For example, French УFigaroФ writes about KremlinТs insolvency and helplessness, about Russians with УmuzzlesФ put on, about mendacity of KremlinТs propaganda. Its articles concerning Russia are emotional. They show both daily irritation of the population colored in nationalistic tones and brought up to the level of national politics, and general situation of nuisance and horror after the events in Northern Osetia. It turns out if there is no opposition to the governing authority, the whole world becomes such opposition. Creation of multi-party system is not the solution. You know there is no any correlation between such dead pattern and a desire to speak out, put oneТs thoughts, ides into words, furthermore make them a reality.
Such kind of negative information may lead to social outburst. УSociety is a blind horseФ, so Уa coachman would be in big trouble if it dashes offФ. ThatТs why mass-media is also a tool of influence, control and management, some kind of reins. Now everything depends on a coachman. Uneducated population is the cattle. You feel idiosyncrasy to the crowd, the obedient majority. Opinion, mood of the majority or the quantitative factor is often used as a criterion that everything is ok. So the rescue for the mankind, the way to democracy and just society is in overcoming gregarious instinct, narrow-minded man in yourself. In this situation mass-media should prove that they are educated authority which do not just satisfy crowdТs wishes but defend rights if the educated minority.
Is it right to speak the truth if it may haunt, even cause horror. Television canТt become a weapon for mass defeat, so much the worse Ц annihilation. So learning the truth may have reverse effect. The truth would force to apply to the stronger, but this the stronger is the state, because it has the mechanism of compulsion. In our country Ц where everything is apprehended exclusively in extreme forms Ц it is a dangerous tendency. We can only guess what the idea of frightening terrorism would lead to. However expenditure on defense, power structures has been enlarged in many times. One third of the budget of Russia is expenses on power structures. Who proves that intelligence is more formidable than strength?
We watch great quantity of sweaty-sentimental serials, articles on УmysteriousФ topics, TV-fairytales and soap operas, which have serious social load, perform function of psychological relief. УIt is only a dream which helps to come to terms with realityФ. So many people prefer to run from real to dream, virtual world, what gives the government wide range of opportunities.
Mass-media are inconceivable without advertisements, the majority of which is vulgar and untalented. PR-technologies have entered our life. Unfortunately we canТt do anything with this Уegyptian executionФ. We just have to learn to live with it. Though we must resist banality and look for ways of influence on unconscientious mediators. In comparison to central newspapers and TV-channels, not even global ones, most of our provincial mass-media look like a fatal misinterpretation, second product of media revolution. Such attitude can be explained by 2 points. Firstly, we watch total absence of civilian outlook, Уsharp wordФ, personal view and showmenТs invoice, that nowadays would be assumed like a monkey on a birch. Secondly, political, economical and social life in our republic lacks worthy informational occasions. Are we really going to stay the same as Уforest republicФ? Moreover this epithet is propagated by reporters as if it were a geographical name which is not better than Уbanana republicФ. As provincial mass-media listen carefully to the government, they lack lively actual social contents, straightforwardness so they work merely as information deliverers.
How do some editions differ! In the first one there is an atmosphere of curiosity, interesting work and enthusiasm, based on aspiration if not to excel oneself then to be in line with previous achievements. While in the second one you feel stuffy daily routine surrounding you.
Journalists of one of the most popular newspapers in New Hampshire critique without looking at faces and statuses. Of course their articles have a profound impact on many powerful people, especially the governor. American taxpayers are interested to know everything about exertion of the elected person. So the fourth authority helps them to be aware. Despite disputes between independent press and the government noone has dared to close the newspaper, because freedom of speech and control of civil society over those who govern are above all. УRech PospolitaФ is the one of authoritative Polish newspapers. It writes a lot about officialТs affairs. Its owner is a Norwegian concern, consequently independence of the publication is guaranteed, because the core for an investor is business. The editor of the most well-known Russian gazette in Israel УWeek newsФ says that his publication is absolutely free to assess critically exertion of the prime minister, the government and Knesset deputies. They are free to write whatever they want, but of course conclusively. IТm writing only about policy of mass-media I know myself. The quantity of such newspapers and TV-channels is certainly much bigger. Are our society and mass-media as its reflection ready to have dialog with the government, to control the government, to ask from it and to influence on it?

Maxim Efimov, the 5th course of philological faculty, PetrSU

Replicas:
An ordinary person doesnТt have to know what mass-media are speaking. Concealing is a norm. An average man doesnТt have to know all the truth. Mass-media is a link connecting a person with someone else. Mass-media gives one plain answer. What kind of civil society can we reflect on if we think nothing depends on us?
Opinions:
I think mass-media should be free. Otherwise it is not press, it is a megaphone of ideology. Yes, itТs possible to limit journalistsТ freedom, but what for? Even the noblest watch-words for introducing censorship are merely a stove-screen for fishy aims, which we may only guess according to their authors. Certainly current government doesnТt like to be criticized, as far as critique and opposition are signs of competition. Existing government just canТt compete. Otherwise how can panic fair of losing the power be explained? This is about political censorship. I can say the same about limits regarding spreading unmoral lifestyle among population. Nowadays mass-media work using market rules. If there is demand on some information, it is satisfied. We have TV-channels of educating type, like УCultureФ, УDiscoveryФ, a number of radio stations, sport channels, etc. So we canТt say that all television is vulgar. However this fact attaches a look. There are too many programs which names are well-known, as from the very beginning they were created for scandals. Nonetheless itТs illusion that only ones of this kind are broadcasted. Moreover if newspapers write fiction, firstly it affects their reputation. Some publications (for instance, Уthe ExpertФ) care after their reputation very much; otherwise a gazette wouldnТt be sold. The same is about Internet. Some information portals are full of УsensationsФ, others gradually fill in graphs with proved data taken from steady sources. Everybody chooses for himself. Tinsel around wrong way of reporting about terrorist attack was aimed at hiding failure of power structures. Our government still hasnТt learnt even to lie; every official would say Уa little lieФ, finally there is no any correlation between them. So the rate of dissatisfaction soars. Nevertheless you should see the reason in yourself, firstly in yourself.

Oleg Gusev, the 4th course of mathematical faculty, PetrSU