My justification for causing my son to suffer pain may be weak or strong, but justification of some sort is necessary because, unlike the person on the street, my son is vulnerable to my power. Media and Power Media institutions are powerful. How 'evil' an influence this creates is a point of contention among scholars. But it's a given that media of all types sell more than information, products or pleasure. Through choosing who's news, in deciding which physical images promote sales and in building contexts for situation comedies, television executives promote some lifestyles and dissuade the audience from valuing others.
Media are also powerful in that they are unavoidable.
Either from direct viewing or reading, or from second-hand reports, media provide the lion's share of our knowledge and beliefs concerning life outside of our direct experience. This influence carries moral responsibilities associated with power for media practitioners. These practitioners are responsible for the impact of their work on individuals in the audience even if there is no intention on the part of the practitioner or the industry to cause harm. Individuals in the audience are necessarily vulnerable to the impact of the media in all of its social functions. That is, economic realities don't provide justification for causing people to suffer harms.