Social Media, the Only True "Free Media"

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   Matthew Hughesposted 7 years ago

   Let's be honest, the media isn't "free", it never was.
   
   All media outlets are owned by a larger company or organisation, and unfortunately they are all business designed to grow, expand and make money. If you want to make money, you need to choose an audience, and give them what they want. This in turn means that you might make certain omissions or glaze over little facts which don't support your own argument, or that of your audience. Due to this, money making corporations such as Fox or the Daily Mail will never truly be unbiased, and places like that are where most people get a lot of their information.
   
   The good news however, is that now we have things like Facebook, Twitter, and even HubPages to express ourselves. Having a platform to express your voice or opinion with the potential of the whole world seeing it is very powerful indeed, and don't tell me this doesn't happen, a simple meme on Facebook which goes viral has after all been created by one person or a small group who found something amusing. People can use this power to influence and rally their friends, family, colleagues. There has been no other time in the whole of human history when me or YOU would have had this power, this influence. Social media is the only platform where we can get opinions from both sides of the fence, and use them to mould our own ideas and beliefs. This is the one place where YOUR voice means as much as that of the President of the United States, or anyone else for that matter. Yes a lot of people look at pictures of cats, but the amazing thing here is that is their choice, it doesn't make the fact that the everyday man or woman can now network and connect with anyone or any organisation in the world.
   
   So what are your thoughts on free media?

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      PrettyPantherposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you that the major news outlets are no longer "free media."  I like the term "corporate media" because major corporations now control our news.  Old-fashioned investigative reporting has gone by the wayside in favor of entertainment reporting that won't offend the moneyed corporate masters.
      
      With regard to the internet, it is a bit of a double-edged sword, in that one must wade through a lot of garbage to get to the good stuff, but I am glad we still have a free place where citizen reporters can be heard and people can freely express ideas and opinions and learn from each other.

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         Matthew Hughesposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I completely agree. It's a shame there's so much rubbish on the Internet but when you stumble across little gems sometimes you can find really insightful ideas. I especially like epetitions as it allows the common person to lobby government rather effectively if done right.

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      Credence2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, indeed, those ubiquitous cameras on the wall and buildings, sometimes even Facebook and Hub Pages could be a threat to traditional values of privacy. But that may well be outweighed by the immediacy of information available to people before the 'massagers' have the opportunity to get to it making it palatable to a general audience, their taking into consideration adherence to the 'system' and its values.
      
      In the old days, inappropriate police shootings of citizens were covered up,  never be proven and were too insignificant to be focused upon by the mass media. As a result of the new technology of instant communication and video recording, municipal law enforcement agencies have their officers equipped with body cameras to accurately document encounters with citizens and preclude liability on their part for inappropriate shootings. Also, this has risen because almost anybody can be a Cecil B. DeMille with any standard cell phone. Law enforcement is on its best behavior as they never know when their actions are under the glaring eye, of the citizens' candid camera.
      
      I may have digressed from what your concept of 'free media' could have meant, but I think that the advantages enjoyed can be seen from all corners.

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         Matthew Hughesposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Digress all you want!
         
         It's a really good point and I never even thought about how the public is always watching.
         
         I'm also aware that social media isn't all pros however, for example I might have a public platform on which to influence people and talk about my opinions, but then again so have people like Donald Trump.

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