Why Media Ownership and Diversity Matters Essay

Why Media Ownership and Diversity Matters - Essay Example Why Media Ownership and Diversity Matters? By writing this letter, it is my firm belief that you will take a leading role in advocating for issues pertaining media ownership and diversity. From the onset, it is vital to highlight that various legislations and court rulings have rolled  the gains made in the ownership of media in the country with the issue of ownership concentrated on certain key elements while women and the minorities face challenges in media ownership. Simultaneously, it is evident that employment of women and the minority in the media industry experiences little progress despite the country’s efforts in engaging the minorities and women in various fields due to affirmative action. Undeniably, there is a persistent lack of women and minority representation in the management of media houses and broadcast companies, which consequently narrows the economic and professional opportunities in one of the most influential industries in the country. The issue does not only occur in management. However, watch ing prime time news in the media depicts minorities in a bad light. For example, the scenes that the media subjects their viewers to involve Latinos invading the borders of this nation while the black community in America is painted as criminals with handcuffs on them following incidents of crime and consequent arrest by law enforcement agencies. Indeed, this depiction of minorities paints a gloomy picture on the country’s media. On the other hand, women also face widespread underrepresentation on prime time news. In line with this, a study held by 4th Estate during the 2012 presidential poll in America observed that there were seven times as many quotes from men than from women in the country’s main TV news programs newspapers. To make matters worse, the country’s media focused more on men than on women even in instances whereby the news focused on issues related to women. Consequently, this is an indication that there is the presence of widespread exclusion of women and minorities in the country’s media, which leads to the stories of these vital groups remaining largely untold. Research studies indicate of the effectiveness of news coverage in impacting on public opinions based on various approaches such as agenda-setting and framing (Avery and Peffley 134). In line with this, setting an agenda determines the issues that media and broadcasting houses discuss in order to influence public opinion. On the other hand, framing involves the communication of content by a media or broadcasting house to the public. Consequently, it is essential to point out that the framing of the content and agenda-setting influences the way that the public in the country will perceive issues that are political, social, and economical in nature. Based on this, it is evident that the failure to involve the minorities and women in management and employment in media has failed to ensure the presence of an agenda that sets to debate issues that affect them an d how to solve these issues. For this reason, the country continues to debate on minority issues that are not conclusive since the people responsible for setting the agenda for discussion are not fully involved by the media. On the other hand, their involvement in setting the agenda might not be effective since their issues will not be solved effectively based on the evidence that