Nikita
Khrushchev, the leader of Soviet Union, during the Cold War, was once quoted
saying "The press is our chief ideological weapon". This statement
proved to be debatable, but approaching this April's election, it has never
been more relevant. Lots of political parties nowadays use the media, the
press, as one of their main weapons. For example, Nasdem owns MetroTv and Metro
Indonesia, Hanura is heavily associated with RCTI and Koran Sindo, while Golkar
uses TvOne during the latest campaign, to name just some. There is no doubt
that the press hold immense power on influencing people’s mind, but, it is
really the case of “whoever controls the media controls the world”?
In political
arena, one of the main functions of the press is to inform public the events
that occured recently. The way the press inform us, whether it is a good or a
bad news, can alter our perception. Add to it the ability of the press to
spread information rapidly, and we can see why politicians desperately want to
control it. Using the press as a mean to enhance their reputation, we can see
almost every headlines favors one or two parties these days. The effectiveness
is said to lie in the constant barrage of information hammered into our minds.
So far, it seems like our choice is influenced. However, the truth is, it is
not.
The people,
although exerting no direct control over the press itself, are ultimately what
drive the politicians to do that. They go to great lengths to do something like
visiting a very poor village or checking catasthrope victims. These actions are
undoubtly out of their habits. They do all this just to grab tomorrow’s
headline in some newspapers. They even surveyed how the public reacts to a
certain action they make and act accordingly.
In addition,
individuals do still have the freedom of choice to choose who they believe in.
Surveys indicate that while the press can say someone is really good or bad, it
hardly change our subconscious mind. For example, in Aung San Suu Kyi case in
Myanmar. Despite the government’s best effort to suppress the news and even
tried to frame her for treachery, they failed to control the public opinion.
This proves the press itself is not actually that powerful.
In conclusion,
it is true that the press can exert a great deal of influence over people.
However, the effect only works if we decided to buy it. Constant barraging may
even bring negative effects as we feel like having enough of it. Therefore, to
say “whoever controls the media controls the world” is just a mere exaggeration.
