Author: Arlind Lecini
Media is a simple and practical way to be informed, but is media doing its primary function for which it was created?
In its primary sense, media is an information tool (radio, television, etc.). We have hundreds of media channels, however, the information that they provide is not always trustworthy. From another point of view, many media feel “threatened” when it comes to freedom of expression. However, media in Albania has not yet achieved to provide valid and genuine information and educating the audience at the same time.
We are all part of this reality where:
-media misinform;
-media is politically influenced;
-media show what its owner wants;
-media portray only one side of the coin;
-media channels appear as “mushrooms after the rain”;
-media promote inappropriate role models daily.
Media is a large window in which if you step out you breathe a contagious “air”. It is raising generations without values and education, instead, it promotes wrong behaviors and attitudes which are harmful to youth and society in general. The media brings “reality shows”, which are promoted as live and real, but in reality, they are twisted and many times with well thought out scenarios.
The media provides plenty of space to “professionals” leaving no room for talented young people. Young people are not promoted in media as they are not seen as capable of reaching “K” or “M” in the audience numbers. But doesn’t the conveyed message matter more than its audience?
Recently, not only in our country but also in other countries, it is seen that traditional media such as television, radio, etc. are replaced by online media. As soon as we enter the social media world, we are served by various information in which it is not known who created it, is there any professional in the field, this media, etc. In these times the title matters more than the news, the character matters more than the message. We live in strange media times, where the older media channels get the more degraded they become. All of us, as readers or viewers of visual or print media, need to take care of ourselves, but we also need to be careful of what media literacy values we are transferring to the younger generation. We need to be vigilant and critical of the media as things and issues that may seem small can cause serious consequences for families and society in the future.