How Does a Type of Media Shape the Future of a Given Society? Essay

Any communications mass medium has three primary functions: to inform, to educate and to influence. These primary functions contribute in shaping a given society. In the context of community organizing, there is a triad of an ideal society. In order to develop a society, there must be justice, participation, and empowerment. At the heart of the triad is human dignity. The triad depicts a development vision. It guides both the community organizers and the participants to mold and execute a collective action into shaping their society into an organized and influential community, based on justice, equality and mutual respect. Media can play a crucial role in the process of shaping a community, a society. The process of shaping is challenging and wide-ranging. In other words, there are many and varied hows. But, a society, must first determine its whys. Why should the people shape their community? The answers can also be varied but they all boil down to the essential characteristics of any given society. Every society evolves. Development goes along with the process of evolution. Once every member of a given society is deeply moved by the whys, s/he takes action. This action, or any action for that matter, is part of the hows. His/her action may involve the media. S/he can be informed, educated or influenced by the media. Media, one of the major sectors of society, can be both an independent body and a participant in the process of shaping. As the former, media has the watchdog responsibility. For the latter, media serves as a participant by transmitting relevant information that can move the members of a society into action. Media, then, is significant. Media organizations must embody the characteristics of beings the advocates of the people they serve. They are involved in business but the public and its interests must take precedence. The public, after all, is the main consumer of the information they transmit. Now, the danger comes if a media organization becomes corrupt. It becomes dangerous if it seeks to gain more profit than public accountability. On the brighter side, if the media organization is a genuine advocate for people empowerment, it uses its available technologies to provide the public with messages that correspond to the thrusts toward development. For instance, TV remains to be the most consumed medium because far more than appealing to the sense of sight and sound, it affects emotions. Emotions are powerful. A person may be roused to anger. Anger about his/her current situation, stricken with poverty and injustice. This anger can fuel his/her desire to do something about his/her situation. Another danger, thought, is what kind of action will he/she take? Will the action be moral or immoral? Legal or illegal? The power of TV in affecting emotions of its viewers can help in shaping the society. To illustrate, here is a given and realistic scenario. The seat of the Philippine government is in Manila. Some people even call it the Imperial Manila. But what about the Filipinos from Visayas and Mindanao? At this point, media enters. It is media that informs, educates and influences the people beyond the territories of Imperial Manila. It is media that transmits information about governance and politics in and about Imperial Manila. Recently, there has been an on-going word war between Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Allan Peter Cayetano. This war is in Manila, but Filipinos outside Manila come to know about this war through the media. Filipinos, then, become divided on the issue. Some may be pro-Enrile, while some may be pro-Cayetano. Their emotions drive their opinions, as influenced by the media. Elections are fast-approaching. It will be on May 13, 2013. Through the media, every Filipino becomes introduced to political candidates without actually seeing them in the flesh. Media becomes their source in formulating their opinions. Their source may lead them to make their decisions. A Filipino from Cagayan de Oro City sees a lot of campaigns on TV. He notices one candidate because of the latter’s prominence brought about by millions-worth of TV airtime. The former is illiterate. After seeing on TV for so many time this â€Å"prominent† politician, he begins to feel comfortable. On May 13, 2013, he writes down the name of this candidate because this politician comes into his mind with a lot of ease, much thanks to TV.