The Importance Of The Mass Media

For decades the public have relied on the media for accurate and credible information. In September 2017, Omar Sweeny, Managing Director of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund stated that eighty five percent of females living in the Mount Salem community are prostitutes. His statement was later found to be incorrect as he misstated the figures which should have been seventy percent inclusive of both males and females, hence he had to retract his statement on a subsequent newscast. This is a perfect example of how inaccurate information can have communities suffer long lasting stigmatization and demarcation as many of the female students in the community may have been resented at school due to this incorrect pronouncement. The Mass media has

Journalists should be independent in their reporting. Reporting on issues should adhere to factual accuracy and lack favouritism always. At no time should subjectivity be included in objective matters. Once a journalist acts on self-interest that Journalist should face some ethical breach penalty or removed from the agency. In 1998 Steven Glass, a Journalist with the New Republic added forty-one articles to his name. later assessment found that twenty-seven of those articles had been fabricated and he also created websites for companies that were non-existent. This event was later dramatized in the 2003 movie “Shattered”. Biased or fabricated information can create flawed beliefs and force subjective views on people who rely on the news for pertinent information to make decisions and act. The Mass media should always be willing to rectify false information released to the public. Inaccurate information could possibly risk the livelihood of individuals especially sources. “Misquoted sources and others who may be dissatisfied with inaccurate media stories have only very ineffective means for influencing the media to correct their stories” (Fog, 1999). Implications such as lawsuits may be filed against the media houses for acts that put people at risk. In 2013 the New York Post published on their from page two innocent men titled as the Boston Marathon bombers. As you presume, these two men were not the actual bombers. As a result, they sued the New York Post as they were arrested innocently and wrongfully