Abstract:
It is innate in people to be curious about what is happening around them. That is
because people need to be updated about the status quo. They have to be posted with the
different information. These thoughts are part of the daily lives of the people and these
contribute to their various perceptions in life.
In this case, media is one of the sources of information. Hence, people must be
aware if the media gives the right information to the public. This research study serves
this purpose. It is necessary to know if the people are properly informed or are just being
misled by what they see/hear in the television/radio, or read in the papers/intemet.
To know further about this topic, the researcher used three key informant
interviews, from different sectors of the society; one focused group discussion; inquiries
from media-men themselves; and surveys conducted locally and internationally about
media and media’s effects in society.
The results of all the data gathered by the researcher suggest that media influence
society, and that media has the power to manipulate the information they disseminate to
the public, except for some surveys conducted locally by the Social Weather Stations
which say that media only has a slight effect in society and the people’s awareness about
it.
In the end, it is still based on people’s acceptance of the information the media
delivers. The people must be skeptical and critical about what is happening in their
environment and the world.
