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“The Persuasion of Media and how it Affects Democracy”
The media is a rapidly increasing source of news that most people in today’s society have grown to depend upon. ... The media has become very heavily relied upon for most of the world’s education on current issues and politics. The media can prove to be an excellent source of information and help educate individuals on world issues: if the press is free. Free press is considered to be an important aspect of democracy, but the question of how much freedom the press possesses should be the issue. The media does not always increase the level of democracy in a country. In some countries the media is an agent of propaganda that is used to mold the nation’s citizens without their awareness. Most media sources are controlled by private ownership and concentrated in the hands of a few. The media is also easily manipulated by the government and the elites of a country. These factors contribute to the media to be an undemocratic tool in democratic nations.
In democratic nations with free press, it is expected that the media sources would be independent of each other, creating a competitive, democratic press. ... In many prosperous democratic nations there is a media monopoly, where the majority of citizens get their information from an elite few’s perspective. This concentration of media ownership creates sources of media that are biased to one view – the owner’s.
In Canada the largest media corporation is Can West Global, which is owned by the Asper family. ... These media sources are all watched carefully and regulated by strict policies. ... This connection between the media and the current government of Canada was proven in the recent case involving the Can West Global Corporation and the long-standing editor of the Ottawa Citizen, Russell Mills. ... The media pushing the current government and slanting their news reports to aid a friend is “dangerous to democracy” as the NDP leader Alexa Mcdonough expressed. ...
The media monopoly is not only a problem in Canada but as well in the United States and Italy. ... the majority of all media sources as well as music and video are controlled by only nine large companies. ... These media monopolies not only feed the American population their beliefs and propaganda but are penetrating the global society as well. ... The minimal ownership of media and views provided to the public, hinders the political competition within a country and ultimately hampers the democratic process.
Approximate Word count = 2001
Approximate Pages = 8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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