李在鑫
“Yougotnothingtoworryabout. Itsallacircus. Athreeringcircus. Thesetrialsandthewholeworld...itsallshowbusiness.”Whenmedialosesitsresponsibilityandcriminaljusticesystembecomesstuckinformwithoutworking, songswillbechantedlikethis——inasocietyofshow, fabulousandluxuriant, dullandfilthy. Thebeginningof20thcenturywitnessedsocialchaosandeconomicdownturninAmerica, wherepeoplehadntrecoverfromtheworldwarⅡatall, withweaknerves, indireneedofstrongstimulation. Gimmickssitbehindtruth, fromwhichtheformeralwayswonattentionsincethepublicwaseagertoforgettherealityfullypackedwithmisfortunes. Consequently, mediabiasrosefromthesupportofthepublic. Itisinappropriatetojudgewhethermediabiaswerebadornotatthattime. However, thingsgetarguablenowadays.
Withtherapiddevelopmentofeconomy, ithasbecomeafactthateverything, includingthemedia, iscloselyrelatedtointerests. TheinformationexplosionontheInternethasmadeitmoreconfusingtotellafabricatedpieceofnews, whichismixedwithvariousfactorssuchaseconomy, politics, cultureandsocialpsychology. Actually, falsenewsnolongermeanstotallyfalse, butsophisticatedandmediabiasriseinresponse. Therearethreemainfactorscontributingit.
Firstly, mediasharereferencestonoveltyandsensationinsteadofnecessityinpublic. Inordertocatertothepublic'scuriosity, thenewsmediainclinetoreportthenovel, weirdandsensationalevents, whilethesignificantandmeaningfuleventsareduetobeabandonedbythemedia. Infact, newscomesfromlife, wherethemajorsocialproblemsusuallyarise. Whereas, sucheventsareoftenignoredbythemediabecausetheyarenotattractiveenough.
Secondly, thecommercializationofmediapartlycurbsthetruth. Apparently, informationisseenunequallyimportantbymediagiventheirincomeoutofadvertisers. Therefore, mediaselectivelyreportnewswhichbenefittheiradvertisersforsevercompetitionsonprofits. Meanwhile, toensuretheproperworkofinterestschain, mediausuallyavoidnewsdetrimentaltotherelationsandalwayssetpositivereport, whichiscrucialtomaintainapositivepublicimage.
Thirdly, fixedculturalimageinevitablyinfluencesmediaworkersattitudeandstandpoints. Themediaworkerssharethesameworldwiththeirtargetaudienceandhaveinherentsenseofresponsibilitytoprincipallyprotectthehistoryandsocialideologyofthecountry. Therefore, thenewsofmainstreammediawillunavoidablybebasedonthedominantculture, whichmakesmediabiasuniversalinsociety.
Atpresent, eithermediaoraudienceissupposedtorecognizeandweakenprejudicetoaminimumandtolookatourworldinmultipleperspectives. Onlyinthiswaycanwemaintainourownwayofthinkingratherthanbemisledandbecomethoughtless.