Responsibilities of the Media

1. Responsibilities of the Media Journalist’s Job

2. Journalist’s Job • Political Function: The press is the watchdog of the government. • The guarantee of a free press carries the obligation of providing to the audience information upon which to base political decisions • Economic Function: The public needs information about products, goods, and services in addition to events

3. … • Through advertising, the press informs the public of such items: business, industrial, agricultural news performs the same function. • The sentry function: The press watches society’s horizons. What is peeking over the horizon to challenge us tomorrow? Technological change, the youth culture, new lifestyles, patterns of change in criminal justice, and the impact of changing habits of energy use all evolved after prediction in the mass media.

4. … • When the U.S. became involved in the revolutions and social and economic difficulties of Central America in the 1980’s, many experts thought the press had failed in its duties as a sentry. • These experts believe that journalists who lacked understanding of the region’s culture, history, politics, and economics had not altered the nation to the true extent of the problems here.

5. Record-Keeping Function • The mass media should reflect an accurate record of local, national, and world news. What bills passed Congress? What happened to the price of oil? • The journalism of big headlines and splashy news programs depends on the underpinning of record-keeping. • Entertainment Function: Mass media consumers need diversion as well as information.

6. … • Social Function and Marketplace Functions are also important aspects of a newspaper; What’s important to a particular culture? • Agenda-Setting Function: Journalists don’t tell us what to think, but they do tell us what to think about. • If the media place saving the environment on the agenda, then the people will begin to pay more attention to improving the environment.