Tin Tức

Given mankind’s technological advancements over the decades, we now have an easier access to information from across the globe than we have ever had before. Quite literally, to most of us, information is merely one click away from appearing at our desk. As such, news media have seen a hike in popularity as more and more people are also becoming interested in things happening outside of their day-to-day life, the same could not be said in previous decades when news were not as accessible, the fact of which essentially having stifled both people’s desire and ability to be informed. The rise of news media has not been entirely positive, however, as it has also opened up avenues for malicious manipulation of public opinion, the spreading of misinformation, and negative journalism in general.

Just a few decades ago, information was often held within the bounds of how far a news outlet was able to deliver a physical copy of their printed newspaper, with the only exception being the unreliable spreading of information via word of mouth. The term ‘physical copy’ itself, as opposed to the ‘digital copy’ with which we are so familiar, has only gained popularity in recent years when sending digital copies of text gradually became normalised, and so easy it has been compared to the taxing and logistically costly methods of delivering physical copies. When people have more access to information, it is hard to turn a blind eye to its influx, for we are, after all, curious human beings. As such, news media have gradually cemented their role in the lives of the people as the predominant source of information, inadvertently also becoming a tool for influencing public opinion, given their massive following.

As far as delivering correct information goes, the rise of news media has been extremely helpful in allowing the people to keep up with the happenings beyond their day-to-day life. However, news media have also amassed a bad reputation of bending easily to monetary and political influences given the reportedly biased viewpoints and borderline misinformation present in their publications. A reality in many countries whose people have only very few major news outlets to depend on is that once these outlets are seized by a certain party, their publications are bound to follow the wishes of the sponsor, essentially allowing the distorting of news, which in theory should be true and impartial, to one’s favour. Given the monopoly on journalistic channels that these companies have, which should have never existed in the first place, it is only understandable why news media
have become the target of parties looking to maliciously influence public opinion, as we have seen time and again in even some of the more developed countries in the world.

As society progresses, it is inevitable that news will continue to reach far and wide, influencing people all over the world. One cannot stop companies from vying for control over news media, but one can support independent journalism, thereby mitigating the negative risks associated with rising influence of news media as mentioned above.

VOCABULARY

Technological advancement: Cải tiến công nghệ
Accessible (adj): Tiếp cận được
Stifle (v): Làm chậm lại, làm dừng lại

Malicious (adj): Có ý xấu

Manipulation (n): Sự thao túng

Misinformation (n): Tin tức sai lệch
Journalism (n): Báo chí
Word of mouth: Truyền miệng
Normalise (v): Bình thường hóa
Taxing (adj): Cần nhiều công sức
Influx (n): Sự đổ vào
Amass (v): Gom lại
Monetary (adj): Liên quan đến tiền
Biased (adj): Thiên vị, không công bằng
Borderline (adj): Gần như