To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to serious issues? To what extent would you think that it is their role to do so? In your opinion, do the tabloid media and 'low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) have too much power and influence in this country?
The UKs top 5 best selling newspapers (Jan 09):
1. The Sun
2. The Daily Mail
3. The Daily Mirror
4. The Daily Telegraph
5. The Daily Star
After looking at the cover stories for each of the above newspapers, in my opinion it is clear that the majority of them are not related to serious issues. The majority of the cover stories focus on on-goings in the celebrity world with articles on Jordan (Katie Price), the latest updates on X Factor and I’m a Celebrity get me out of here and articles on Cheryl Cole, all of which I believe tend to be greatly over-rated and unimportant in society.
The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Star all centre their cover stories on the celebrity world whereas The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph use a combination of celebrity gossip and issues such as debt concerns and tax problems. I believe that it is extremely important for newspapers to concentrate on the more serious issues of today as it will not only make the public more aware of what’s going on in our world but will hopefully making people feel more concerned about these issues and will then want to learn more. Newspapers that prioritise celebrities in their main stories are giving readers unrealistic expectations and false impression of celebrity lifestyles which consequently is bad as the public look up to these celebrities and use them as role models.
It is in my opinion that the media these days do not focus on what is important in society but put this to one side and flaunt the latest celeb secrets. I believe that the media primarily focus on money making so instead of talking or writing about the serious matters that are happening in our world, the media chooses to talk about what the general public want to know or hear. I think that newspapers nowadays are in so much competition with one another to get people to purchase what they are publishing that they have resorted to trying to out-do one another by having the most gossip on their front pages pushing world matters aside. Celebrity gossip has no importance in our lives, yet it is their on-goings that I believe the general public can relate to the most, therefore they thrive off it.
I do believe that tabloid media and ‘low budget entertainment’ do have too much power and influence in this country. This is because I can relate this to myself. I often get distracted, reading the latest gossip on celebrities and TV entertainment rather than focusing on what really does matter in the world such as actions being undertaken by the Government, wars within other countries, worldwide development and much more. I believe people look up to and listen to the media as it is one of the main sources used to find out about the latest on-goings, therefore the media can have a strong influence on what people believe. I feel the media does provide a lot of false information to the public as I think it tends to live up to what the public want and expect.
The UKs top 5 best selling newspapers (Jan 09):
1. The Sun
2. The Daily Mail
3. The Daily Mirror
4. The Daily Telegraph
5. The Daily Star
After looking at the cover stories for each of the above newspapers, in my opinion it is clear that the majority of them are not related to serious issues. The majority of the cover stories focus on on-goings in the celebrity world with articles on Jordan (Katie Price), the latest updates on X Factor and I’m a Celebrity get me out of here and articles on Cheryl Cole, all of which I believe tend to be greatly over-rated and unimportant in society.
The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Star all centre their cover stories on the celebrity world whereas The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph use a combination of celebrity gossip and issues such as debt concerns and tax problems. I believe that it is extremely important for newspapers to concentrate on the more serious issues of today as it will not only make the public more aware of what’s going on in our world but will hopefully making people feel more concerned about these issues and will then want to learn more. Newspapers that prioritise celebrities in their main stories are giving readers unrealistic expectations and false impression of celebrity lifestyles which consequently is bad as the public look up to these celebrities and use them as role models.
It is in my opinion that the media these days do not focus on what is important in society but put this to one side and flaunt the latest celeb secrets. I believe that the media primarily focus on money making so instead of talking or writing about the serious matters that are happening in our world, the media chooses to talk about what the general public want to know or hear. I think that newspapers nowadays are in so much competition with one another to get people to purchase what they are publishing that they have resorted to trying to out-do one another by having the most gossip on their front pages pushing world matters aside. Celebrity gossip has no importance in our lives, yet it is their on-goings that I believe the general public can relate to the most, therefore they thrive off it.
I do believe that tabloid media and ‘low budget entertainment’ do have too much power and influence in this country. This is because I can relate this to myself. I often get distracted, reading the latest gossip on celebrities and TV entertainment rather than focusing on what really does matter in the world such as actions being undertaken by the Government, wars within other countries, worldwide development and much more. I believe people look up to and listen to the media as it is one of the main sources used to find out about the latest on-goings, therefore the media can have a strong influence on what people believe. I feel the media does provide a lot of false information to the public as I think it tends to live up to what the public want and expect.
