READING COMPREHENSION B2 The Media

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 2

READING COMPREHENSION B2

The Owners of the "News"

The role of the media is essentially defined by the manipulation of information oriented
towards the control of "public opinion", but their goals are not social as described in the
mythology of "journalistic objectivity".
The famous ethical flags of journalism: fairness, objectivity and freedom of expression,
are nothing more than myths concealing the billionaire media business that moves daily
market information on a global scale. The process of manufacturing and distributing
information is not motivated by the need to "inform" but by the capitalist need to sell
news. To do this, the media, like any capitalist company, generates massive consumer
needs in society and plots information strategies aimed at encouraging business growth,
positioning themselves in order to successfully compete in the market.
First, information is a commodity to produce economic returns like any other
commercial product offered in the capitalist market. In functional terms (and beyond the
legend that is produced around it) the newspaper businesses are not guided by social
purposes but for the pursuit of economic gain. Secondly, in the light of the strategic
nature of the communication function to develop from the point of view of preservation
of the "governance" system the media is a key tool for the control and manipulation of
the economic, political and social processes.
The media does not practice "objective information" or editorial independence for two
main practical reasons:
They are companies that do not work with social objectives but rather with business
objectives subject to the capitalist law of searching for profitability.
Its structural dependence depends on the system that controls all the means of
production, finance and international trade over the countries and worldwide
In the news business, like any business venture, the media only works for those who can
pay for their "informative" services. This is why a relationship of mutual survival
between the media, governments and major economic groups exists. These groups
decide what is news and what is not and use this strategy to control political, economic
and social trends.

Test your understanding by answering true or false to the following sentences.

1. The article suggests that the media manipulates information in order to control what
the people believe.

False
True

2. Information is a billion dollar business that moves information on a global scale.

False
True

3. According to the article, the main objective of the media is the distribution of
information.
False
True

4. In accordance with the article, the media conceives society as a market in which they
can maximize profits by using information as a product for sale.

True
False

5. According to the article, the media business aims to aid social development and not
economic benefit.

False
True

6. According to the article, the media business is independent of any economic system.

False
True

7. According to the article, it is society that decides what is news and what is not.

True
False

WRITE:

What’s the text about? Sum it up in 3 lines. Then, explain if you agree or not with
the‘’ideas’’ of the author.

You might also like