The people call the fourth branch of government. And this is not casual. It is through the media that public opinion is formed. There are many theories and hypotheses on the impact of the media on the audience.
The media can manipulate the audience in certain situations, most often associated with major political, economic or emergency events. Otherwise, the interaction of the audience with the media is a two-way process.
Media as a means of unlimited influence on the audience
Sometimes the media has an effect on the person to the full. Moreover, the influence can be both negative and positive. There are three theories regarding the strong impact of the media on people's minds.
The first theory, called the “magic bullet, ” compares information from the media with a bullet that has a quick effect on a person. This impact can be achieved by broadcasting critical news. The example is very popular when, in 1938, the Well-World War of the Worlds was first read on the radio in the USA and many perceived the text as real news, which led to panic.
The second theory is about propaganda. Propaganda has three shades: white, gray and black. White is aimed at suppressing harmful information, while black, on the contrary, is aimed at its dissemination. Gray propaganda is an intermediate phenomenon and can both suppress and spread false ideas, depending on the tasks assigned to it.
The third theory is based on the formation of public opinion through censorship in the media.
All three of these theories reflect the most powerful ways of manipulating people's emotions and consciousness.
Media as a public opinion corrector
Not all people, and not in all circumstances, are completely subordinate to the influence of the media. Many need to discuss the information received with others, find out what a significant public figure thinks about this matter, how much the information corresponds to their outlook on life.
An important role in understanding information is played by a person’s level of education and his interest in the phenomenon under discussion. Also significant is the level of his impressionability and a tendency for others to control him or solve tasks for him.
There is a theory of cultivation, which consists in transferring television images to reality. According to the theory, a person who watches TV a lot is inclined to perceive life within the framework of the screen. If an individual loves criminal transmissions, then most likely he will have a high level of anxiety and a high expectation that he will be killed or robbed. Most often, this effect can be exerted on people with a low level of education and with mediocre self-esteem.
