Nowadays, the mass media do not report the news; they make the news. Discuss this with references to recent events.

Nowadays, the mass media do not report the news; they make the news. Discuss this with references to recent events.

Firstly, we must think about what is considered as recent events. My definition would be, something that have happened or established in a time shortly before the present, i.e. about a year from now. Also, www.dictionary.com defines mass media as newspapers, motion pictures, radio, television, magazines and internet, all of which have the technical capacity to deliver information to millions of people. With response to the statement, I agree that the mass media do not report the news but make the news instead. However, we must also consider why such phenomenon is on the rise.

Previously, the role of mass media has been thought to convey information to the general public through mediums like, newspapers or new broadcasting. Unfortunately, this pure and simple task seemed to be manipulated overtime. The main idea of bringing the news to you and I doesn’t matter anymore, but rather, if people will come to read the news so as to boost the media’s ratings.

One example would be that of a Taiwan television station (TVBS) reporter helping an armed gangster to shoot a video threat to his rival. ‘Eager to score an exclusive, TVBS reporter Shih Cheng-kang, who eventually confessed, and his supervisor had lied about the video clip being delivered anonymously. The clip, first aired on 26 March, showed gangster, Chou Cheng-bao, sitting behind a table laden with rifles, brandishing a pistol and threatening his former gang leader: “The next time I bump into you, I’ll kill you.”’

Even though Shih was fired at the end of the saga, the issue of the mass media making news was highlighted once again. Sometimes, one wonder, do mass media have to resort to fabricate news just to woo more readers and viewers? Isn’t mere reporting sufficient to entice the public?

Sources: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=66757
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=66651

Earlier this year, 17 February, the notorious pop star Britney Spears surprised her fans when she appeared in a tattoo parlour with her head shaved bald, some new haircut indeed. This sparked off a series of paparazzi frenzy, all fighting to get hold of her latest news even weeks after her audacious act of going bald.

Evidently, this enormous coverage showed the mass media grabbing hold of the golden opportunity to make as much profits as possible relying on readers’ interest in celebrities. Instead of just reporting Britney’s intriguing haircut, the mass media crossed the line and went on to examine her life, how ruined her marriage with Kevin Federline is and the frequency of her checking into rehabilitation centre. This thus shows that the mass media not only reports the news but also make the news.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252563,00.html

A week ago, ‘the ghastly events at Virginia Tech University in United States’ took the world aback. ‘Police has identified Cho Seung-hui, a legal U.S. resident, as the shooter and said he may have acted alone in killing 32 people before pointing the gun at himself on Monday, 18th April.’

Even though the killer has been recognised, the innocent Wayne Chiang wishes to clear his name. That he ‘—the subject of fevered speculation on the internet—is not the killer.’

'Rumours that Chiang 23, was the mass murderer swept across the world after links to his gun-obsessed blogs were posted on social networking website Facebook and similar sites. More than 180,000 people visited his sites, with many noting the similarities between him and the man described in accounts of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Some went as far as jumping to a conclusion, “Early 20s, Asian man, vetch student. Fits the bill,” wrote one commenter on one of Chiang’s blogs. Another simply wrote: “Why why why why why?”

From here, we can see that even internet has the power to bring an innocent individual into the limelight. Reading too much between the lines can be a fatal mistake at times, having similar straits doesn’t necessarily prove Chiang as the killer. Could this news be highlighted just to arouse the readers’ interest of the massacre?

Source: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=67959

However, one must consider, why is this phenomenon of the mass media making the news on the rise?

During a discussion between the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) and several US journalists, concerns like the lack of public interests in news were raised. One possible reason could be the lack of international news coverage in commercial news media. If the public could pay more attention to global issues, then perhaps such cases of media manipulation could not have emerged. So from today, why not spare a little more of your precious time to read international news? Why not go to ‘World’ section before jumping straight to the ‘Life!’ section? In the end, this little action of yours could save the agony reporters have to go through just to squeeze out juicy and intriguing news.

Source: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=65537

1. “YouTube has no ethics, it's been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and money.” Do you agree?

To start off, I define having ethnics as having moral principle, so by suggesting that YouTube has no ethnics, my stand would be an absolute no.

YouTube was founded in 2005, by Steven Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. Its purpose was to enable individuals worldwide to broadcast themselves. True enough, it lived up to its name and is now one of the fastest-growing Web sites in the history of the Internet. Being ranked among the top-five-most-popular Web sites in the world, the popularity YouTube earns comes with a price.

It began with ‘simple and pure’ videos, with users uploading videos about their hilarious bloopers. However, as time passes, these users seem to be manipulating this privilege they were given and start to upload video with controversial contents. One recent example would be that of a 44-second film showing graffiti over Thailand’s king's face. Somehow I wonder, have these users thought wisely before broadcasting their videos to the entire universe? Have they thought about the consequences after revealing a video with such disputable images? Therefore, to say YouTube has no ethnics is not true as to come to such a conclusion; one must consider the conduct of YouTube users. Sadly, they have violated their given rights and have brought bad name to YouTube’s reputation. To put it bluntly, they were reckless in their actions. If they have stopped and think twice before clicking the ‘publish’ button, then perhaps, the current perception of YouTube will not be so harsh.

Secondly, by saying the sole purpose of creating YouTube is for entertainment and money, this statement seems to be inevitably true. It is now an alternative source for entertainment for online users. In fact, it is like an online television now! As for money, the usual saying goes, ‘Money make the world go around’ so I suppose in the world of technology, the saying still applies. Except, one must note that YouTube is not a money making company but one which is paid because of the certain advertisements posted by its users. They earned money through channels like these.

Therefore, I conclude that YouTube is neither an unethical nor profitable company, but one which has been created to bring entertainment to online users like you and me.

‘The teenage years are the best years of one’s life.’ Would you agree to this view? (CAMBRIDGE NOV 1994)

Firstly, let me define the term teenage years. It is when the teen is of years of age from 13 to 18. As a teenager myself, I would agree to this view that the teenage years are the best years of one’s life, despite the challenges one may face during this period.

The teenage are the best years of one’s life as we spend more than 12 hours with our beloved friends each day. We cry and laugh together, skip lessons together (not applicable for some), complete homework together and even visit the toilet together (applies more to girls). In fact, we do anything under the sun as in unison! I’m certain that our teenage years would be duller and uneventful without our friends. Without a doubt, they are always by our side, as a listening ear, a crying shoulder, or even our financial support (when we are short on cash). They will always be number two after our family.

However, at a certain phase of this teenage years, some may find themselves in an identity crisis. Their personalities could be said to be ‘missing’ and they end up jumping onto the bandwagon unknowingly. For the luckier ones, the bandwagon will be taking them to a path of brighter future. But for the unluckier ones, the bandwagon will be sending them to commit sins like, smoke, rob, or kill. In Singapore, there are growing popularity trend of ‘emo’, emotional for short. Teenagers find themselves in a sad mood most of the time, brooding over unnecessary issues. Feeling frustrated, they release their emotions by hurting themselves, usually in the form of cutting their wrists. This is a worrying sign as parents are often oblivious about this.

Thankfully, our friends will be there to observe such unusual behavioral signs and will quickly bring their ‘derailed’ friends back to the ‘right’ route. With our friends as our guardian angels, we are not afraid to be misled. Therefore, the teenage years are the best years of one’s life as it will be filled with many unforgotten memories we shared with our friends. Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant ones, they will never be thrown away. (361)

Introduction

Hello all!

I’m Jasmine, currently in class 10/07 of Anderson Junior College (AJC). An ex-AMKsian (pronounce as AM-K-cians), I was a true green ranger for 4 years. The all green Ang Mo Kio Secondary School (AMKSS) green uniform should ring a bell to some.

I joined the AMKSS Choir back in secondary one and from there; I embarked on my musical journey. Not only have I learnt the techniques to choral singing through choir, I’ve also pick up pop singing skills, well, accidentally. It all began in secondary two when I was approached by my choir senior. ‘Are you interested in doing caroling during Christmas season?’ she asked me. Being a happy-go-lucky teenager at that point of time, I agreed with much enthusiasm. This caroling was a youth training program, initiated by my choir conductor who is currently the President of The A Cappella Society. Basically, under this program, youths from various secondary schools and institutions come together to learn the tricks and treats to a cappella singing as well as have a taste of performing on stage. (For extra information, a cappella singing is singing without the use of musical instruments or CD backing tracks.) So, I began caroling around shopping malls from then on and now, I still am. Without a doubt, I’m in AJChoir now and I’m pretty sure you know why.

As a first year student of AJC, I’m glad that I’m adapting well despite the continuous piling of homework. After all, that’s part and parcel of a student’s life. I’ve stepped out to make new friends too, something I’ve never done before. Yes, I admit I was (somewhat) an introvert in the past. Now, I’m glad to shake off from the past of course.

I guess that will be all for my self introduction. Do drop me a comment as you leave! Stay tuned for more entries!


With much love,
Jasmine =)