Thursday, April 26, 2007

Nowadays, the mass media do not report the news; they make the news

The media is important to society as it provides information and news to the masses of people. But, in recent times, the media is suspected of making up news to sell instead of reporting the facts or not reporting anything as there is no confirmed information. After doing some research, I found out quite a few dirty side of the media.

Firstly, it is one on the Iraq war. Fox, one of the more famous media medium, inquired that the civil war in Iraq is made up by media. I think it is not right to report such stuff without basis. Just ask the 1500 Iraqis that died, as stated in the article. It is not funny to make a joke at the expense of others, especially when human lives are involved.

Another case happens in Baghdad. The media reported a story of the six Sunni's who were burned alive last Friday in Baghdad in apparent retaliation for the deadly carbombings of the day before. This information came from a person called Jamil Hussein, who is a longtime source and a police officer. However, checks showed that there is no police officer called Jamil Hussein working there. This raise questions, is Jamil a real person? Or is he some fictional character? If he is a fictional character, then who provided the information? If he does not exist, that means the media has obviously reported those made up news made under his bogus name.

The last incident is in Japan where several media firms reported themselves for fake news.

After seeing these, I felt cheated as I always view the media as a trustworthy source of information. Now, I feel that they are not reporting the facts but making up stories to boost their income.

In conclusion, the media is not totally reliable as there are made up reports floating in them. One would have to pass accurate judgment to see what is right and what is wrong.

Sources:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/01/fox-media-civil-war/
http://clublefty.blogspot.com/2006/11/who-is-jamil-hussein-and-why-you-should.html
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1215

Friday, April 13, 2007

“YouTube has no ethics; it's been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and money.” Do you agree?

I believe that Youtube has little to no ethics and it is created solely for the purpose of entertainment and money.

Youtube provides a medium for the people to have the freedom of uploading videos for others to enjoy. It is a form of way to interact with other people and spread around the joy of your personal works and to get reviews and raves from the internet community.

Youtube allows anyone to upload any videos on the site for viewing purposes. However, as a result, some people may post videos which are offensive or discriminating are broadcasted to the world. This cause much resentment and in more serious cases, anger when they view these videos. A recent example is one which showed feet being placed over the Thailand king's face. This is seen as very insulting as the feet are considered dirty and they also held high regards for their king. What may seem funny to some people may be offensive to others. People who upload these videos do not think about the consequences that it may lead to. They just foolishly upload videos which they see as funny or entertaining but do not regard other people’s feelings.

People also use Youtube to upload popular television programmes like Korean drama and animes to allow other people to watch it too. This act is breaking the law of copyrights issues, which is illegal. Now with Youtube, everyone can watch a particular programme without needing to buy the original disc. This makes life difficult for the actors will not be able to earn their income as their shows may not sell well. After they had put in so much effort into their projects they do not see it shine due to piracy and people broadcasting it on free to view websites like Youtube. They will thus not be motivated to work hard for their next project as we had just smashed their rice bowl.

Youtube also acts like an advertisement website. They would upload movie trailers and sneak previews to promote a certain film. It thus serves as a purpose for the media to promote movies. Advertisements can also be put up in Youtube to publicize the company’s products. From the movie previews and advertisements, Youtube will able to earn money from there to provide better service to the community.

In conclusion, Youtube has been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and money. It does not really care about the consequences of the videos uploaded onto the site.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

‘The teenage years are the best years of one’s life.’

I agree with this view. I feel that teenage years are the most enjoyable years of anyone’s life. Those years are a new start of a new experience where it cannot be felt anytime else.

Firstly, the teenage years are the best years of one’s life. When people reach teenage years, they have the most freedom than the people of the other age groups. Children are too young. They are not mature enough to make the right decisions. Adults also have less freedom due to the fact they are all have responsibilities like work, family and monetary issues to bother them. Their freedom is very limited too due to the problems plaguing them. Thus, teenagers are in the most carefree times of their lives and thus should thoroughly enjoy it.

Secondly, during our teenage years, we only have to concentrate on studies and not have to worry about other responsibilities such as monetary and working opportunity. Teenagers are also pretty much sheltered from the harsh real world. One of the examples is the power struggle in a company where everyone wants to get to the top. All they will think of is means and ways to push people down and climb up the social ladder. Compare this to school, where It is still quite pure and innocent where there is little or no struggle for positions. Without these matters to plague them, teenagers of course have every opportunity to enjoy themselves.

Lastly, they are still in their comfort zone where they can do almost anything they like. When they start working, they would have to listen to their superiors even when they feel that the latter is not right and have to meet the deadline punctually. If they defied orders, they may lose their job and thus pay a heavy price. During the teenage years where teenagers are still schooling, teachers would only scold them or sent them for detention if they do not submit their homework on time. The consequences are not as big as when they start working. Thus, as a teenager, one could make mistakes and still will not be punished severely. It gives much more learning space as they do not feel as much stress and setback should they do something wrong and would likely learn from their mistakes so that they do repeat them again. Its better to learn things this way then through the hard way.
In conclusion, teenage years are the best years of one’s life. Therefore, you must treasure the time when you are a teenager, as It is a once in a life time experience and once past, never to return again