The mass media is popularly called the fourth branch of government. And this is not casual. It is through the mass media that public opinion is formed. There are many theories and hypotheses about the influence of the media on the audience.
The media can manipulate the audience in certain situations, most often associated with major political, economic or emergency events. Otherwise, the interaction of the audience with the media is a two-way process.
Mass media as a means of unlimited influence on the audience
Sometimes the media affects a person to the fullest. Moreover, the influence can be both negative and positive. There are three theories regarding the powerful influence of the media on the minds of people.
The first theory, called the "magic bullet", compares information from the media to a bullet that has a quick effect on a person. Such an impact can be achieved by broadcasting critical news. The example is very popular, when in 1938 in the United States on the radio for the first time read "War of the Worlds" by H. Wells and many perceived the text as real news, which led to panic.
The second theory concerns propaganda. Propaganda comes in three shades: white, gray and black. White is aimed at suppressing harmful information, while black, on the contrary, is aimed at disseminating it. Gray propaganda acts as an intermediate phenomenon and can suppress and spread false ideas, depending on the tasks assigned to it.
The third theory is based on the formation of public opinion through censorship in the media.
All three of these theories reflect the most powerful ways to manipulate the emotions and minds of people.
Mass media as a corrector of public opinion
Not all people and not under all circumstances are completely subject to the influence of the media. Many people need to discuss the information received with others, find out what a significant public figure for them thinks about this, how much the information corresponds to their views on life.
An important role in understanding information is played by the level of education of a person and his interest in the phenomenon under discussion. Also significant is the level of his impressionability and propensity for others to control him or solve the assigned tasks for him.
There is a theory of cultivation, which is to translate television images into reality. According to the theory, a person who watches a lot of TV tends to perceive life in terms of the screen. If an individual loves crime programs, then most likely they will have a high level of anxiety and a high expectation that they will definitely be killed or robbed. More often than not, people with low levels of education and mediocre self-esteem can be affected.
Impact of the audience on the media
The media do not have complete power over a person: the individual himself determines the source of information based on his preferences, and narrowing it down to the circle of his interests. He knows what he wants to get from the media, thereby forcing them to talk about what he needs first.
