Our daily media delivers to us a barrage of bad news. Climate change; political apathy in western cultures as evidenced by low voter turnout; youth disenfranchisement – drugs, crime; mental health issues & suicide; physical health advances undermined by stress & life style generated health issues such as obesity; family breakdown & divorce; fundamentalism, terrorism & war.
It is hard not to get shell shocked, to become apathetic and zoned out from it all. It is easy to turn to the soothing, numbing balm of sport, celebrity gossip and reality TV. After all, “what can I do?”
“Any problem, when traced to it’s source comes back to a decision by a human mind, a conscious human mind” Peter Russell or if you prefer, “Be the change you want to see in the world” Gandhi
Can media influence decisions that we make? The very existence of an advertising industry demonstrates this. Can it reach enough of us to make a difference? Excluding the 1.2Bn extremely poor (WHO <$1/day), media - TV, radio, print, internet - may reach about 5.4Bn of us, probably enough!
There is no other industry, no supranational body on the planet that can reach that many people.
This “reach” coupled with the power to change individual people’s behaviour is the unique power of global media.
Does that power confer responsibility? What responsibility and to whom? To give consumers what they want even if that appears to be the very soothing, numbing balm that forestalls action? To deliver the maximum return to shareholders through providing “supportive selling environments” to advertisers? Or is it to promote cohesive societies that can endure?
Does the ownership of media companies prevent them taking a responsible line on, say, air travel? Can a media company owned by one of the world’s largest maker of jet engines, take a responsible line on air travel?
We pressure drug companies to give away drugs that can treat HIV/AIDS because it is “the right thing to do”, regardless of shareholder concerns. That affects the lives of millions.
Should we expect our media companies to “do the right thing” which could affect the lives of billions?
What is the right thing? What can media companies do to improve our societies, our climate, our democracies?
Media, especially print and TV could make it their collective goal to mobilise their audiences to change their daily behaviour to reduce their personal impact on the environment. Media can act as the catalyst that encourages people to demand the same level of awareness from the companies whose products they buy and from the politicians who they elect to power.
The power to mobilise people is the power to change the world. Only media combines reach and the ability to influence individuals' decisions. Can and should the media companies be using this power to help the world accelerate out of trouble?