This division of labour ensured diversity. In the past, broadcast media were mostly owned by the state, while newspapers belonged to private-sector companies. The general public, nonetheless, needs a broad diversity of media organisations, since competition forces journalists to do solid work. Indeed, the opinion pieces in traditional western newspapers help to give readers an idea of that papers’ orientation, on the basis of which it is easier to assess whether it is covering opposing views with reasonable fairness. Professional conventions have evolved, however, that ensure that news media are “objective” in the sense of indicating precise facts, revealing their sources and conveying different parties’ diverging interpretations of undisputable facts.

Media scholars know, of course, that no media organisation can be entirely independent of its sources of funding. A recent example of an authoritarian leader trying to silence a critical media outlet is the way the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is hounding the website Rappler (see Emmalyn Liwag Kotte the debate section of D+C/E+Z e-Paper 2019/01). Leaders with authoritarian leanings are known to use taxation, criminal investigations, parliamentary inquiries and defamation laws to intimidate journalists and restrict unwelcome coverage. As Schiffrin points out, governments and other powerful forces can try to punish opposing media groups. Ultimately, it becomes a mouthpiece for propaganda. Once a media house is “captured”, it is prone to covering up crime and corruption, promoting and protecting allies.

Lastly, the age-old method of bribery is also used to influence and manipulate media workers.

Media may also be captured cognitively, if they subscribe to a specific narrative on any particular issue and reject any views that do not fit in.

They can restrict access to information to those who do not support them.

They may influence media through advertising.Government or other vested interests may give a whole range of favours to media companies that are friendly and supportive of their narrative.While reporting may seem to be free and independent, it is actually skewed and biased.Īccording to Anya Schiffrin, a media professor at Columbia University in New York, there are five methods of media capture: In practical terms, the result is often similar to direct government control of the media. “Media capture” means that formally independent news organisations become subordinate to vested interests.

Capture definition