Title: Thought Control – How the Media Decides What is Important
In light of the geopolitical situation in the world since September 11th, 2001, and the wars currently being fought, I believe it is essential to examine why some wars are given an absolute amount of coverage, while others go unnoticed. For example, the United States has thousands of troops occupying both Iraq and Afghanistan, and over the past year, media around the world have been covering these events. But who is writing about the war in the Congo, not the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the other Congo. No articles in the newspaper, no stories on the news, nothing. Thousands of people are losing their lives, just as in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the world is not paying attention. Why? Well, simply because the media companies are not covering these wars. I agree that media companies should deliver the stories that are most relevant to their subscribers, but then, does this not turn into a matter of delivering only the news their subscribers want to hear, and what the media companies want them to hear, not what is really happening. Moreover, it is just naïve not to believe that the executives behind the scenes of these gigantic media conglomerates are not constantly in discussion with national heads of state about the content that should and should not be published or aired. This is not to say that there is corruption, but it is to say that our “big brother” has a significant influence on the content of mass media. Even in democratic states such as Canada and the United States. These are the aspects I will examine, and this is where my focus will lie.