Newspapers And Other Print Media example essay topic

Written Language has been around for centuries. Humans have had several thousand years to perfect it, to develop the various forms of expression, rebellion and information distribution. Consequently, this has offered humans who are in power the time to develop various ways to restrict, censor, and control those who actually do the writing. Today we have editors, publishers, politicians who push their money around, and the social elite who essentially control out print media.

There are also a select few who go against this "social norm" and print what actually needs to be said, regardless of what some guy in a suit wants them to write. Daniel Roche writes in his article Revolution in Print that "Before publication came a skillful exercise in censorship, applied through a policy of selective privilege that involved the prepublication inspection of manuscripts for content and the rewarding of publishers... After publication, control was further applied by the police" (3). Although the time he is referring to was 1775-1800, this same idea of censorship has applied to the earliest writings in Cana " an and Babylon, as well as the most current writings around the globe. We see it applied enormously today in newspapers, as well as in non-print media such as television. Although most newspapers claim to strive to just report the facts, and let you decide, they are more likely to print a story that favors a political candidate who is favored by the company or person that owns the newspaper because of an investment of some sort the politician has made towards the newspaper.

Throughout history, books, pamphlets, newspapers, and other print media have been a place were people could voice their opinion on subjects. When the Church and state decided that books were getting out of control, they implemented every idea they could to control it. They forced publishers to submit their manuscripts to them for approval prior to printing a book, and the church used to decide what would stay and what would go. Fortunately for us today, there were many people who fiercely opposed this iron-fisted rule the church and state had over their books. These people would print flyers and pamphlets en masse and in secrecy simply to get out the word; any word; their word. Thankfully today there are much looser restrictions as to what people are allowed to print.

In the United States, for instance, if an editor of a newspaper or magazine decided to run an article that showed the president in an unfavorable way, they could do exactly that. But just because they can print it, doesn't mean they will. If they printed some slanderous article towards the president, they risk losing readers who may get offended by this. In contrast, in other countries, if you print an article slamming the president / dictator/ ruler / king/ whoever is in charge, you run the risk of losing your job, your family, and possibly your life. In many countries, reporters will make up a story just to make their leader look better, rather than print the smallest word against them. Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) is a prime example of how a rich and powerful man can utilize his multi-media empire to affect what the general public gets to see and hear.

In 1941, Orson Welles was having a small screening of his new movie Citizen Kane (a thinly disguised movie about William Randolph Hurst) for a group of movie reviewers so they could write reviews about the film. What he didn't count on was the fact that Hurst's wife was the movie reviewer for his newspapers, and she quickly picked up on the fact that it was about him. By the end of the film, she was thoroughly disgusted at Welles' candid look into the life of Hurst that she immediately phoned her husband, who became infuriated that Welles would even think of doing something like that (Battle for Citizen Kane). Hurst owned a chain of newspapers that covered the entire country, as well as radio stations that also spanned the country, and he utilized these to publicly denounce Welles' film. With so many newspapers and radio stations telling people how bad of a movie Citizen Kane was, you would think that would be enough for Hurst, right? Wrong.

He very quickly moved into Hollywood, and by spreading his dollars around at Warner Bros. (The studio that financed Kane as well as the one who was going to distribute it) Hurst got them to stash Kane away in the vault theoretically never to be seen again. Orson Welles fought and fought Warner Bros. for their decision, but it was no use because Hurst had become so powerful that he could have brought the whole studio down if they released it. Finally, through a courts decision, the film was released: five years after it had been completed (Battle for Citizen Kane). This is simply one of many examples of powerful people flaunting their money to get their way. Fortunately in this case, Hurst's rule was overthrown, and the movie that is now almost universally regarded as the best film of all time was released. Despite all of this, print media really can be used for good (gasp!

It's not all bad?! ). The obvious upside to print media is that it allows information to be distributed to the masses. Not only does it allow for mass distribution, it also allows for people to have a choice in what they read, and therefore what they know. Print media allows for every person to have a voice that can be heard by the masses. Donald Norman talks of the importance of writing to the technological advancements of a society in his book Things That Make us Smart.

On page 44, he says: "Oral cultures, societies that do not yet have a written language and that also lack the mechanical tolls of technological cultures, do not share the benefits... have not developed advanced mathematics... [and have] less formal schooling". This further illustrates the numerous advantages of print media. By being able to easily save thoughts, ideas, and stories, a culture can more easily draw on the past, and learn from the mistakes and successes of their ancestors, and neighbors alike. Print media is vital to all cultures around the world, if we would like to continue to advance as human beings. Censorship has the good intent of providing quality (or forced) information to the public, but it often gets skewed too badly and gets out of hand if it runs unchecked. Print media is all around, and so are the results of it.

We can't open our eyes without coming across some child of print media. One last example: without print media, I wouldn't be able to turn in this paper you " re reading. Battle For Citizen Kane, The. 1996.

PBS Television Broadcast. Prod. Thomas Lennon, Michael Epstein. Written by. Richard Cramer, Thomas Lennon. Citizen Kane.

Dir. Orson Welles. Perf. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Coming ore, and Agnes Moorehead. Warner Brothers.

1941. Norman, Donald A. Things that Make Us Smart. Menlo Park, CA. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Roche, Daniel.

Revolution in Print. University of California Press..