Blogpost #9

Mainstream Media refers to large, established media corporations that usually have a wide spread audience, typically reached through television, radio, newspapers, and online websites. While these corporations play a large roll in informing the public, they come with pros and cons that people should consider when taking in information provided by news networks like Fox, CNN, the New York Times, and such.

When it comes to mainstream media, here are some pros to think of: Wide reach, Established reputation, Professionalism, and Diverse viewpoints. Mainstream media outlets, like Fox, or New York Times, have wide spreading audiences, leading to them having a spread impact on public opinion. This is good for spreading important information and news stories. As for established reputations, these mainstream outlets have been around for quite some time, long enough that the public seeks them out for their world wide news. As for professionalism, mainstream media outlets seek out and hire professionals in their fields, meaning that mainstream outlets seek to provide high quality content for their viewer base. This can be particularly valuable in scientific fields when it comes to reporting, as quality can be key for the network. Another pro to mainstream media is the diverse viewpoints. In fact, this is one of the key aspects to these outlets, each providing news on different political or social standpoints, either with their different anchors or writers, or by the whole outlet itself. This creates a diversity between each outlet, so that each one isn't a cookie cut of the one before.

But another thing that needs to be considered when it comes to Mainstream Media outlets, is the cons. Cons such as Corporate ownership, Political bias, Sensationalism, Lack of diversity, and Misinformation. When it comes to mainstream news sources, its no secret that these big names are owned by large companies. This typically leads to these mainstream outlets to outsource their material more for views and money, rather than the actual spread of important information. Political bias too is an issue with mainstream media. This affects how the outlets cover their stories or topics, usually to create a bias in their viewer base just to rope in their select crowds, and also affects how their viewpoints are represented. Political bias is also an issue when it comes to mainstream outlets. Outlets will often focus on controversial topics during times of political debate to sway the attention of their views, more caring about view counts than actual important information, and this can lead to issues with voting, especially in a time when impartial reporting is very important. Sensationalism too, is a big issue, and one we often see. When giving stories, outlets often focus or work to exaggerate their stories more for the attention of their viewers, rather than the importance of the story itself. This leads to a loss of important messages. Another issue faced is a lack of diversity in news teams. It's no shocker that a lot of mainstream media is a white, male focused business, and while some try to diversify their teams, it still shows. And of course, one too well known, is misinformation. News outlets often twist the truth to direct their viewers to views that coincide with their larger audiences, to spread influence and to attract a larger viewer base. What makes this dangerous, is misinformation can gradually do greater harm over time, even if it seems small.