The mass media causes bias in its audiences

201821693 Hong JuSung

In modern life, people usually get affected by mass media. Thanks to the

improvement of technology, we are literally living in the flood of information. Mass

media provides us about lot of things such as social issues, weather, and many

other information that are helpful. When I wake up, we check the weather thorough

internet or television. I also check sports issues that happened during the night.

My parents usually check social issues thorough radio. I don’t think people can live

without mass media. It became huge part of people’s life. It seems very useful and

helpful for people. So people give too much trust on mass media, even though it

can provide fake news or some information that causes bias. In other words, mass

media is a double edged sword that helps people’s life, but also can cause social

problems such as injecting people wrong information.

There was a big issue in Korea at 2008. It was about mad cow disease. After

beef negotiation between Korea and U.S., it was very controversial because of the

possibility of mad cow disease. It was very big issue at that time and there was a

lot of debate and even candlelight vigil happened. Every mass media talked about
the dangerous of mad cow disease and beef from U.S. can affect us. Now everyone

knows that information at that time was not based on fact and U.S. beef isn’t

dangerous as we think. But thorough this issue, beef market became smaller than

before. People still think U.S. beef is dangerous and not willing to eat. I think this

case is the biggest case that mass media caused bias in Korea.

Another example is about political issues. In many countries, each media

companies have supporting party. They make good news about party they support,

and make bad news about party they don’t support. It can cause social conflict, I

think. For example, people who support Democratic Party will listen to the media

which make good news about Democratic Party. On the other hand, same thing

will happen to people who support Republican Party. This situation can occur big

social conflict between groups who support different Party. They just think that

opposite Party is wrong and their own Party is right in every circumstances.

Above those problems, the most dangerous situation that might happen is

possibility of media control by government. In North Korea, every mass media are

controlled by Communist Party. They should give praise to the Kims who are
dictators of North Korea since 1948. Most of the people except the head office

don’t know what’s going on outside the North Korea. Every military provocation

are known as reactionary behavior and no one thinks that the North Korea is doing

inappropriate behaviors. So they don’t know their country is the scourge of the

international community. They can’t think they are being under control by the

Communist Party. The North Korea is doing this behavior because by controlling

information and mass media, they could maintain the autocracy. Not only about

their own country, but also things are going on out of the country are also not

known to people in North Korea. Mass media keep provides wrong information to

people, so they are ignorant about everything. Country is making people fool.

I can’t deny that mass media is providing many people helpful information.

Our lives are relying on mass media. But mass media can also cause bias on our

lives. It can make bias about social problems, political issues, and everything what’s

going on our society. Those bias made by wrong news will make people ignorant

and we could be controlled by mass media. Mass media should deliver things

based on fact. There is no need to contain value of people or Party. I think it is our
duty to think about weather the information is right or wrong. We should think

about is there any intervention in value and is it based on fact. If we have the

ability to identify that the information by mass media is correct, we don’t have to

worry about bias made by mass media.