And the voice of the aggrieved, being heard by the general citizenry, can create consensus for remedy. The media are crucial to the process. If the media do not report malfunctions in the system, the unheard cries never become a social fact. Or if the public, sensing the need for change, has opinions that go unreported, no mechanism exists for consensus to evolve. In those instances, public opinion remains powerless.
Unheard cries turn to aggression.
Common feelings become detached from institutions. The result is apathy or violence, both of which are subversive to democracy. The media has enormous power. The media has the power to set an agenda as well as to destroy one. The power it has to influence and change the political process.