The Importance of News Media in Society

News media fulfill four textbook functions: information, entertainment, social gathering space, and advertising. It is important to recognize events that affected the adoption of mass media and how different technological transitions have shaped media industries.

Evaluations of the media along these dimensions correlate with trust, but links with patterns of news use – including paying for online news – tend to be weaker.

Information

News media are information-sharing platforms that share news in a variety of formats, including television and radio. They inform and entertain citizens by reporting on current events, politics, business, sports, and other subjects of interest. News media typically employ journalists and reporters to uncover and report on news stories. They also work with editors and publishers who assign, review, and edit content for accuracy and clarity.

News organizations often prioritize stories with high entertainment value and appeal, such as dramatic, conflicting stories that feature quotable advocates, over more objective reporting. These stories generate more advertising revenue for media companies and are easier to sell air time for.

It is important that people trust the information in news media, as it can have a significant impact on their lives. However, the majority of studies on trust in news media and its causal relationship to media use rely on cross-sectional data. Moreover, few studies establish causal directionality (i.e., whether media trust influences media use or vice versa) because of a lack of theoretical foundations.

Entertainment

Media serve as a form of entertainment, providing a variety of news and information. They also provide a forum for public debate and help citizens become more informed about important issues facing their society.

Newspapers, radio and television news broadcasts highlight national political issues, elections, and international events. They report on current affairs and societal trends, including terrorism, poverty and environmental degradation.

They also glamorize sex, crime and other controversial topics to attract readers. For example, the penny press of the 1830s catered to a larger audience by offering cheap, sensational (and often scandalous) news. This foreshadowed the gossip-hungry tabloids of today.

A defining feature of the modern media is its ability to instantly spread stories through social media and smartphones. This democratizes the process of setting agendas, though major newspapers and network newscasts remain powerful in initiating or changing discussions. Marshall McLuhan argued that the medium is the message, meaning that the way an event is presented shapes its content and tone.

Social gathering space

News media share information about events that affect citizens. They entertain the public, watch for corruption, set national agendas and promote the common good. In addition, they provide a social gathering space for people to discuss issues.

Local and community news media cover topics that directly impact citizens, such as upcoming city council meetings or school board votes. They also report on local economic trends that influence citizens’ purchasing decisions.

The rise of new media has blurred the lines between journalists and their audiences. Citizen journalists report on stories based on their own research and often critique the work of mainstream journalism. This type of reporting is called micro media.

In the same vein, conspiracy theories and outright fake news are spread across new media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. These false narratives appeal to preexisting beliefs and can reach large audiences very quickly. Some scholars believe that these new platforms undermine the traditional roles of a watchdog press.

Advertising

Media can play an important role in society by promoting awareness of issues that affect citizens. This includes the scrutiny of government policies and unearthing corruption, as well as facilitating community building by encouraging people to find common causes and work together toward solutions.

The media also provides a forum for political discussion and expression, though critics point out that media portrayals of political issues often focus on conflict and drama to draw attention and attract viewers. This can exacerbate existing divisions among people with irreconcilable values, as illustrated by the media’s fostering of a sense of insurmountable differences between moderate Hutus and the violent Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Media organizations are also responsible for educating the public through documentaries and news programs. This is an essential function that can be difficult to perform in a world of fast-paced technology where audiences are constantly receiving new information and changing opinions. This requires a high level of editorial oversight and rigorous fact checking.