Media Centrism and Ethical Concerns of the Media - Essay Example

Media centrism refers to the discriminatory reporting of new or past issues by conventional journalists.  It broadly entails a media position about particular social agendas that in turn reflects their support or public acceptance.  Therefore, media centrism usually entails the opinionated coverage of political systems, environmental occurrences, or other social issues such as diseases (Fuchs, 2011, pp. 297). Media centrism is not a new concept; journalists have perfected the art for the purposes of either enhancing or tarnishing public image.

Journalists or media houses give preference to particular issues. The liking demonstrates in the length of airtime and breadth of coverage and analysis. In most instances, media centrism manifests in the reporting of election campaigns. A journalist might decide to cover entirely an event and provide and positive description of the process. On the other hand, the media provides little coverage for an event they do not like.  Media centrism also demonstrates in reporting gender or cultural issues. In this instance, a journalist may provide an analysis that supports or opposes gender policies (Daniele Albertazzi, 2013, pp. 130). 

Media reporting should be neutral on pertinent issues. The reporting should also give the listeners or viewers the opportunity to make informed decisions. Hence, media centrism violates media laws and ethical reporting.  It denies the listeners or viewers the opportunity to get real-time information. Besides, media centrism also neglects the different ideologies that people possess. Hence, the reporting in some way disregards people’s diversity and cultural viewpoints. Particular examples of media centrism include the following (Fuchs, 2011, pp. 298).

British Broadcast Corporation is discriminatory reporting during the Lebanon War in 2006. Israeli authorities claimed the corporation favored Hezbollah. Hence, they refused media interviews and barred BBC news during the entire period.  Equally, CNN has had issues with media centrism during the commemoration of Newton's shooting. The news network showed centrism by hosting politicians from the Democratic Party, who proposed strict laws for gun control. The representation was unfair, and the audience only received a one-sided opinion instead of incorporating even the Republicans. Lastly, Aljazeera also grapples with media centrism issues in reporting news, especially from Muslim states. The agency gets accusations across the globe for biased reporting of such incidences especially the war on terrorism and the Middle East.

In conclusion, media centrism denies the audience comprehensive information. It contravenes the ethical concerns of the media and leads to poor reporting. Media centrism also creates prejudice among citizens. Hence, it is a vice that the mainstream media should corporate to eradicate.