Control, What Control???

Since we have already discussed what the media can and cannot do, and what exactly allows them to do it, I think discussing the media itself would add to the benefit of the discussion. The media as discussed earlier has very few restrictions on what they can and cannot say. If they are not maliciously attacking someone with false accounts, or threatening our national security the basically have free reign. But how do they convey what they want to say. They have two forms of communication—uncontrolled and controlled media outlets.

Controlled and uncontrolled media outlets refer to the media communication channels used to convey messages about an organization to its publics. A good example of controlled channels would be things such as leaflets, brochures, emails and websites. They are controlled in the sense that they are created and delivered to the audience by an organization. Never at any time does the organization lose control of the message. Think of it as a one way street, the city can control where the people driving down that street go, they don’t have a choice to change lanes or back-up if they wanted—no control.

Uncontrolled media outlets are channels that refer to the media, that are used to broadcast messages that an organization can only hope to influence. Think of channels such as press reports, feature articles and TV programs. These types of channels are delivered to the press, but they can be influenced by the way it is presented and therefore perceived by the audience. There is no control here. This in turn gives the media even more freedom. How much freedom are we going to give the press before it goes too far??????