Whoever controls the media also controls opinions and attitudes of the people and there is little that can be done to rectify this. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In some countries, the

media

is controlled exclusively by large companies; in others, it is the government that has

this

control

. Often, in a war situation, one of the

first

casualties is the

media

, which is seized by one group or another.

This

gives some support to the idea that the

media

is a source of power and

control

. Whoever controls the

media

also

has ultimate

control

over what is published or broadcasted and what is omitted. They can

also

add a certain prejudice or bias to their coverage of certain news stories depending on their own feelings about the matter.

This

is not a new problem,

although

the issue is perhaps more pressing now that the Internet and pay-TV have enabled these messages to be disseminated even

further

.

However

, we should remember that readers have their own ideas and opinions. You can

control

what is printed but you cannot

control

the opinions of your readers. I think the only positive here is that, nowadays, people seem to be much more cynical about what they read in the press or hear on the television.

In particular

, when it comes to the tabloid press, people know that they have to take what they read with a grain of salt.

In other words

, they read knowing they may be being lied to. Perhaps it is of even greater concern that we have become so accepting of

this

form of censorship. The only thing that can be done to alter

this

situation is for the government to regulate the industry so that there is no longer a monopoly on

media

ownership.

This

also

means that they have to allow and support a totally free press, even if

this

means the government may be criticised or ridiculed within its pages.