Does the British media have significant power Essay

Does the British media have significant power - Essay Example From this point of view, their power in promoting specific political, social and economic trends cannot be doubted; however, it should be examined whether this power is positive or negative. Most of the theorists who studied the specific issue – as the relevant literature is presented below – agree that the British media can have a key role in the improvement of the local political, social and economic rules and initiatives; from this point of view, the specific industry should be characterized not just as a tool for the promotion of the views of the leading political and economic forces but also as a means for securing social equality and fairness; it should be also regarded as a tool for criticizing and evaluating the plans of the local government; at this point, the value of British media could be significant ensuring the alignment of the governmental decisions with the local laws and ethics. 2. British media – role and power 2.1 British media – descrip tion and role In order to understand the power of media industry in Britain it would be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics and the role of this industry; then, its power could be identified and evaluated – taking into consideration the local ethics and culture. In accordance with Stokes et al. (1999) the media industry in Britain is not similar to the media industries of other countries; reference is made though not to the content of the term but rather on its potential forms. More specifically, it is explained that in Britain, the term ‘media’ is used to describe the ‘books, newspapers, television programmes, films and music’ (Stokes et al. 1999, p.1); however, the content/ texts of British media is unique – being related to the country’s ethics (Stokes et al. 1999, p.1). This fact, leads to the following assumption: in Britain, the role of the media industry in the development of political and social decisions can be significant – reaching higher levels compared to other countries where there is no such close relationship and interaction between the media and the local culture – an issue also analyzed in section 2.2 below. A more descriptive definition of media is provided in the study of Oakland (2011); in accordance with the above researcher ‘the term ‘media’ may include any communication system by which people are informed, educated or entertained’ (Oakland 2011, p. 258). The above definition reveals the potentials of media in terms of supporting specific social or political trends; moreover, it proves that people of all ages are expected to be influenced by the media – being exposed to the media in different ways – either in the context of education, of entertainment or just of information/ professional support, as described above. In accordance with Garnett et al. (2007) in order to understand whether the British media interact or not wi th politics, it would be necessary to explain primarily whether such interaction would be positive or negative – referring to its effects on the country’s political framework. In any case, it is noted that the freedom of the British media should be secured – no matter whether the information provided to the public is well – justified (Garnett et al. 2007, p.62). At the next level, it is explained