Old Media, Young Media...

Old Media, Young Media…

Although the term “agenda setting theory” seemed such a new term when Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw introduced it in 1972, actually it was just a clincher to be written as a result of mass media. Especially in the leading countries of the globalization like United States, it is so obvious that media has a vital effect on the election results.

To today, a considerable challenge period was experiance by the world media especially after the widespread usage of internet. As a well known reality, an invention of web changed our lives seriously: YouTube. YouTube didn’t change only the “visual customs”, but also it indicated a new term in politics. According Jeff Jarvis, the revolution will not be televised, it will be YouTubed. I totally agree with Jarvis because YouTube gave a perfect opportunity to the people to broadcast theirselves freely.

So how does it effect world politics and public choices? By courtesy of YouTube (and the sites opened for the same target such as YouTube) the candidates in any country are able to express their opinions to their audience very comfortably as they wish. They can say what ever they want, they can share it online with everybody in the world at the same moment. Therefore, today no candidate need to ask media bosses’ indulge!

When I look at the issue from my country’s window, I name YouTube revolution as “Stopping Priod of Doğan Despotism”. It is a well-known reality, that if media in the classical meaning such TV, newspaper, etc. do not like you, or even they do not give a courage in their organs about your speech, declarations, etc. , you have almost no chance in the elections. You shouldn’t lose time for seeking democracy in such mediums. In my opinion, democracy, especially in media sector, is a spring fruit what does not come up every season.

And at this point, young media acumen subvened people for their agendas. Not only for the candidates to make their propaganda freely, but also for the electors to decide freely. Although “the classical media” still has effects on the audience, now I gladly see that holdings and bosses are not so free as the old times about considering the facts newsworthy just as they wish. And even better, now they are in such a situation that even they have to use internet media to reach some datas.

In conclusion, it is a period taking us into a alternation, and at least by the influence of the sites like YouTube, LiveLeak, etc. Now our brains are more free, because World Wide Web succeed what George W. Bush could not, it liberalized us…

Bora Yoldaş, 18th March 2008