Final exam. Penny Press Day. Communications & Media Reaction Paper

Student’s Name
Professor
Course
Date
Reaction Paper
Penny Press Day
Among the various significant advancements in the history of the media, the penny press was very influential. Acting as remediation to the unaffordable newspapers in the United States, the penny press brought radical change by introducing cheap newspapers. This enabled more people to read newspapers which resulted in a shift in content from political content and foreign news to humor, crime, sports, and other entertaining content.
Similarly, the media today continue to publish content that is appealing to a large group of individuals to cater for their wide variety of readers. A significant influence of the penny press that is still prevalent in the current media is the mass production of newspapers. Since the move from hand-cranked presses to factory production, newspaper making has been coming up with new ways to print newspapers in large quantities. Aside from production and content, the effect of the penny press is prevalent in the current developments in journalism. Benjamin’s idea resulted in constant technological development to find cheaper means of producing newspapers. As a result, the journalism industry became more competitive, with newspapers constantly searching for appealing content for readers.
The affordable newspapers brought about by the penny press resulted in changes in the content published. Newspapers shifted their focus to more interesting news rather than issues of politics and money. This was purposefully aimed at attracting more readers. Although current media corporations continue to follow the same trend of publishing to attract the masses, the heightened competition has resulted in poor quality of news provided. With more people being able to afford newspapers, media houses are constantly trying to appeal to maintain their share of readers by publishing interesting news, irrespective of its reliability.
Moreover, since the penny press was influenced by society, the influence is also prevalent in today’s media. The content published in newspapers today ha changed with the trend, meaning that newspapers will publish the information that is likely to be read and eliminate the information which is less likely to appeal to the target consumers. However, this selection of information by the media houses is uncouth.
The penny press has been of great benefit to society. The reduction in newspaper prices enabled more people to afford them, which in turn increased the level of literacy in society. Consequently, as more people became literate, the rise in power of the working class brought public education in American society. Through these cheap newspapers, more people became aware of the political activities and other important happenings in the society. Eventually, the newspapers facilitated a shift in society to a more democratic and egalitarian ethos, which gave the masses more than the rich elites.
Although the penny press led to the publication of cheap newspapers, this monetary focus has also been detrimental to society, especially because of the increased competition that has led to the publishing of fake news. As more newspaper companies sprung up after the penny press, competition for news forced the newspapers to search for interesting news in the streets, courts, the government, and even in private homes. Journalists gathered information from individuals regardless of the evidence supporting the claims, and this led to the rise in fake news. Therefore, the monetary focus enabled more people to afford the newspapers, but the increase in competition resulted in the production of low-quality news for society.
Libertarian Theory of Press
The libertarian theory, also known as the free press theory dictates that the media has absolute freedom to publish any information. The free press is included in one of the first amendments of the constitution by the government of America as a means of ensuring the republic’s health. Contrary to the authoritarian theory which dictates that the government fully controls the mass media, meaning that only the government decides which information is shared by the mass media, under the liberty theory, the media is privately owned. Despite the freedom, the media should also be governed by ethics. The media is socially responsible for its environment, society, and the economy of the country. The media should promote socio-cultural and environmental aspects of the economy of the country in which it operates.
Although the libertarian theory is said to prevail in America, the relationship between the press and the government contradicts this theory. A free press means that the media is capable of sharing any information about the government, including political affairs. The press can undermine the credibility of elected government officials and uncover truths that can create enmity within the country. Due to such factors, the government has constantly been attacking the freedom of the press, making it difficult for journalists to uncover ugly truths about the government. Various media houses and journalists have come across immediate threats from violent political moments throughout the 21st Century. Journalists have been attacked for pointing out lies and revealing truths that might lead to political scrutiny. These attacks by the government officials prove that the press is far from being free. Instead, it either demonstrates an authoritarian approach whereby the government has more power over the media, making it difficult for the media to work independently or a communist approach, whereby the state runs the media as they wish as a means of spreading their propaganda. Such communist approaches have been experienced in the country in instances where the government fails to disclose all of its information to the public and instead, chooses which government activities are to be made known to the public.
Part of the reason why the U.S. government is trying to control the press can be linked to the security risks associated with sharing crucial government information. With press freedom, the media can publish information that might expose the government and cause national threats. Moreover, the exposing of certain political issues can bring wrangles among the citizens and disrupt national peace. Under the social responsibility theory, t...