Prompt: Whoever controls the media also controls opinions and attitudes of people and there is little can be done to rectify this. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is believed that the media have an ultimate control over the viewers’ opinions and attitudes. While I can understand this, I would argue that the public has become more judicious about what they are exposed to in the media. Ċ On the one hand, the media are believed to have the power to manipulate readers’ opinions and attitudes for various reasons. Firstly, it depends on the media to decide what is published and what is broadcasted; therefore, some news stories can be biased. Secondly, it is now even more pressing that the Internet and pay TV enable certain messages to be disseminated even further. As a result, it becomes so accepting of this frame of censorship. For example, it might be obvious that a piece of news that is harmful for the reputation of the sponsoring company may be omitted on the media. Ċ On the other hand, I am of opinion that readers remain their own ideas and opinions regardless of what they have watched on the media. In particular, the press can control what is printed, which does not mean that they can control individuals’ perceptions. It is certainly true that people are becoming well aware of the credibility of the source. For instance, the tabloid press appears to be interesting on the World Wide Web and it is not without controversy; readers, however, often take it with a grain of salt, as they understand that it is often filled with rumours and gossips. Ċ In conclusion, I am unconvinced that the media can control opinions and attitudes of the people by controlling what to be broadcast or published because readers tend to take it judiciously.