The purpose of this paper is to discuss the power of the media, defined as both news and entertainment, and its effects on consumer cognition and comprehension. Further, as an all-pervasive source of technology, the media's impact on behavior, attitudes and values also will be reviewed as well as who and what regulates it and how such activities as advertising and foreign syndication relate to its power.
It is acknowledged universally that the United States has entered the so-called "Information Age," a post-industrial stage where the production of information is the driving force behind the formation and development of national policies (Mowlana 91). It has been calculated that nearly eighty percent of the American workforce is in the sphere of information and communication sectors (Mowlana 91). Ranging from media, advertising, public relations, consulting, telecommunication and computer industries to such institutions as banking, insurance, education, transportation, bureaucracy, and the legal system, perceptions, attitudes, values and opinion of the public and national leaders are being shaped by the quantity and quality of information circulated in society.
The mass communications media in America today includes books (over 1,200 publishers), daily newspapers (over 1,700 dailies), magazines (near 2,400 publishing houses), television (700+ commercial stations; 256 public; three commercial networks; one public network), radio (with nearly 4,500 AM stations; 2,900 FM; 840 public stations; four commercial networks; one public), film (eight large corps., numerous independent distributors/producers; over 16,000 theaters); and cable (nearly 4,000 systems), representing over $50 billion in annual gross income (Rivers 15).
The media serves many functions in society. First, it "helps us to watch the horizon" (Rivers 17). Now no longer dependent on the ancient messenger, we learn what is happening through news bulletins, on-t...