In light of such manipulative elements behind Television programming, it is not surprising those viewers for such programming had decreased steadily. In spite of the fact that most viewers of TV are women who are loyal to their program of choice, the decline seems inevitable. Coinciding with the decline in public confidence on media industry is the disturbing trend of incompetence among journalists. This phenomenon is more obvious in the electronic media – especially Television – where many talk show hosts don’t have the requisite expertise and range of knowledge to hold forth on issues of international diplomacy and economics. These “celebrity journalists” seem to pick and choose stories that serve their own career prospects as opposed to keeping the interests of the viewers in mind. (Marcus, 1997, p.348)
With a wider range of choices offered them by the Internet, people seeking entertainment programming finally have a say on “what they really want to see” as opposed to “what is imposed upon them”. This also explains the non-mainstream genre of digital content, which includes web-casts, program downloads, video on demand, etc. In other words, the equation has changed in favor of the consumer of entertainment content. This is probably a reflection of the fact that the media’s role as an ideological vehicle is coming to its last days. People have more control over the content and are in a better position to demand what they want. Survey after survey had reflected the public opinion in favor of their empowerment. It seems the time for its actual manifestation has arrived at last. While this will diminish media’s role as collaborators with an ideologue, it will help democratic governance and overall public contentment.
References:
Fabianic, David. “Television dramas and homicide causation.”, Journal of Criminal Justice. 25.n3 (May-June 1997): 195(9).
Frisby, Cynthia M. “Reaching the male consumer by way of daytime TV soap operas. ” Journal of Advertising Research. 42.2 (March 2002): 56(9).
“History in the Media.(Brief Article).” History Today. 51.5 (May 2001): 10
Potter, Robert F., Michael S. LaTour, Kathryn A,. Braun-LaTour, and Tom Reichert. “The impact of program context on motivational system activation and subsequent effects on processing a fear appeal.”, Journal of Advertising. 35.3 (Fall 2006): 67(14)
Marcus, Daniel. “NBC’s ‘Project XX’: television and American history at the end of ideology. ” Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 17.n3 (August 1997): 347(20).
Burrell, Patricia M. “Women and Soap Operas: A Cultural Perspective.”, The Social Science Journal. 37.1 (Jan 2000): 148.