ISSUE108

雨&彩虹UID: 132532

Issue 40
"In many countries it is now possible to turn on the television and view government at work.
Watching these proceedings can help people understand the issues that affect their lives. The
more kinds of government proceedings---trials, debates, meetings, etc.---that are televised,
the more society will benefit."

In a democratic society, it is usually considered the right of citizens to get easy access to public affairs. With the development of mass media and the growing aspect of political events they effectively covered, some people suppose this is a valuable process, which will result in the public consciousness of politics and therefore benefit the society as a whole. I fundamentally agree with the statement insofar as the speaker take keen insight and rational analysis of the general public during this revealing process into consideration.  

Unlike those of totalitarian society which is exemplified by the sole dictatorship of certain leaders, the modern citizens in a democratic society is bestowed with the right of being kept informed about what the government do, what is their decision-making process and how they carry rules and regulations effectively into execution. If we turn on television today, various forms of television program are provided concerning the commentaries about current affair, the election of government officials at different levels, the tribunal trial of dereliction of public duty and the open debate among members served disparate parliament parties, all of which open an window to the general public who would otherwise being confined to their petty personal lives and lose vision for what is going on for the whole country. There are several advantages over accessing to public affairs through television. For one thing, television station, equipped with the best-qualified reporters, can supply us with the most quick and effective account and visual images. For another, combined with interviews, live reports, the publics are more likely to have a fully implemented idea about how the whole things get started and being handled. We need not go far to see a example aptly illustrate this, that is the Water Gate scandal. If it were not for the joint effort from the jurisdiction system with that of the mass media, we will still be cheated and sheltered in the dark misuses of one’s political power and influence to satisfy personal ambition.

But if we go too far to assert that the more government proceedings being televised, the more society will benefit, we face a dangerous notion that all the proceeding that televised are worthwhile and all things that are being televised are authentic and accurate. For example, in Clinton’s scandal, television spent large amount of time and coverage to focus on the detail of this misconduct, which turns out to diverge from the political consequences of this affair itself and degraded into dirty inquiry of personal life. While misleading the public attention from the essence of this scandal, the result turns out to be counterproductive and detrimental to the well being and economic soundness of American society. Except for the mis-focus of mass media of proceedings, another side effect of media report that we should observe is that some reports are biased and misleading. One underlying causes of this phenomenon is due to the personal preference and political tendency of a certain journalist which might hinder him to supply disinterested and unbiased political view and comments. Anther reason is that being exerted by some political influences, a journalist is often face the dilemma of professional consciousness and outside pressure. That is why we say that although, mass media benefit general public while mislead them to a wrong direction sometimes.

In the final analysis, I believe that television report of government proceeding make it possible for the general public to get quick and easy access to current affairs and political events, all of which contribute to the founding of a democratic society and its responsible citizens. But at the same time, we should notice that, in evaluating the merits of those reports, we should use our judgment and critical analysis to focus on the authenticity of those reports in order to discover the truth and underlying causes of those phenomenon.