What does news do and why is it important Essay

What does news do and why is it important - Essay Example Granted that it is the most pervasive, forceful, and most influential force in human societies today, news sources can be a channel of passing ideas unto the public, thereby influencing its viewpoints accordingly. For instance, as indicated by Iyengar and Kinder (1989) television news can be so forceful and influential in shaping the public’s viewpoints concerning the politics of the day. News can influence societies either positively or negatively, but either way, news plays a significant role in society. Brighton and Foy (2007) stated that the relationship between news sources and society has socio-cultural aspects, and the role of news can be explained using three perspectives namely the ‘common sense, the practitioner, and the academic perspective. This paper will examine what news does, and why it is important, using an illustration from the Guardian news organization. News is very important because it informs the general population of happenings in their immediate environment, which might be of primary concern to them because they may be directly affected by these events. According to Manning (2001), news sources have a moral obligation to undertake the task of gathering and communicating to the public what is happening both in their local environs, and across their borders. Focus on local matters enables people to have a fundamental awareness of matters o f importance to them, and in response to news, people may prepare to take actions; for instance, a news report of fatal road carnage at a dangerous hotspot can be a cause for lobbying to fix the problem. News may also cover stories that have a national perspective in distant cities and towns, especially in the context of countries with diversified population centres. Focus on national matters in other cities and towns enables people to get a national outlook or perspective on crucial issues such as trade opportunities and resources for economic empowerment available in other places. Nonetheless, news stories may also be international by covering events in other countries that are not only geographically isolated, but also culturally different and distinct. In this regard, events that may be happening in distant places where people are unable to reach may also be of interest to them; for that matter, news bridges the geographical gap between people and events in distant places, makin g them to feel connected too. News from foreign cultures can be very inspiring and insightful, leading to a fruitful exchange of positive cultural aspects and ideas between different people and societies in general. In this case, news plays not only an entertainment and informative role of relaying distant happenings to local audiences, but also a transformative role by influencing cultural movements within the wider society. Generally, news plays significant functions in society, including raising awareness on local happenings, giving people a national perspective on matters within their borders, as well as regional perspectives in other countries, leading to cultural and ideological exchanges. Consequently, as stated by Schadson (1996) the awareness created through communication of news invokes critical debates and discussions in the audiences concerning crucial issues in society such as policy. In addition, it empowers people to question and even challenge governments by holding them accountable to their policy choices and actions. One example of a news organization that performs its role of informing the masses or the general population of the happenings in their environments and holding those who hold

Poland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poland - Essay Example The national language of Poland is Polish and its total covered area is around 312,685 sq Km. (Poland Introduction, 2001) Poland is known as the most religious country of Europe. About 90% of the total population is the Roman Catholic, while Protestants, Jehovah's witnesses, Polish Orthodox, Polish Catholics, Muslims and Jews are in minorities. The Eastern Orthodox are 1% of the total population while Protestants are 0.3% and others are 0.8%; according to an estimation made in 2002. The last pope of the Roman Catholic church Pope John Paul II also belongs from Poland - before the Pope Benedict. The Roman Catholic religion is dominated in the country and it is also a part of the curriculum - in the education sector. (Religion in Poland, 2008) Economically, Poland is a sound country and growing day by day. The Poland's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 6.1% in 2006. After the rejection of communism, Poland adopted the policy of liberalism which successfully worked and supported the economy to rise. The liberal laws helped in the development of the private sector and many medium and small industries were privatized. Several important sectors were also privatized including; steel, coal, railway and power generation. In the year 2000, the national telecom was also privatized and sold to France which is considered as the biggest privatization ever made, by the year 2007. Main Industries include; mining, textile, shipbuilding, glass and beverages. With the growing GDP rate since 1993, Poland has potential to become largest food producer among the European Union countries in agriculture sector. Various private farms are producing fruits, vegetables and specially potatoes. Poultry, eggs, and pork are also monitored by the s ame farms. The currency of Poland is called Zloty. Poland is continuously bringing reforms in its economic policies to fulfill the criteria of adopting euro (European single currency). It is said that by 2012, Poland will be able to adopt euro. In Poland, salaries are low and the ratio of unemployment is high, one of the reason is; the economic crises in the Soviet Union and Germany (the biggest trade partners of Poland). People have started to move to other European Union countries mostly to UK and Ireland. With the continuous reforms it is expected that soon this problem will also be overcome. (Diziadosiz and Stasiak, 2004) Role of Women During the era of 1970, the work force of Poland basically comprises of women. Poland government gave more opportunities to female in education and employment. In many major professions, the rate of women was higher than men. During 1980, most of the medical practitioners were women. On the other hand, women were kept completely at bay from the posts of power and authority. However, Poland elected its first Prime Minister, Hanna Suchocka in 1992, but the interesting fact is that there was not a single woman in her government. During the same year another woman, Eva lelowska became the head of the National Bank of Poland. Though, women played remarkable role on all the labor positions but male dominance always remain hurdle for them to reach and gain higher positions. State institutions helped many women to do two full time jobs due to the lack of their