Advertising and Economy - VIII - Advertising and its Influence on the Media

Advertising influences the media as well. Not necessarily in crude way of buying up media personnel or even threatening to withhold advertisements. It is true that newspapers, periodicals and even the electronic media depend on advertising as a major source of revenue. What is more important, however, is the both advertiser and the media owners belong to the same economic and sociocultural level of society. Industries own the media. Even the bureaucrats who control state owned media come from the same section of society. With monopolies emerging, the media have also been monopolized. Sponsored programs in the electronic media set the pattern for programmes broadcast or telecast. The choice remains, but it is limited to a few different brands of the same product or service, which have little or no different user satisfaction to offer. It is the success of advertising that determines the choice. According to the American economist, Baran and Sweezy, advertising "in it's impact on the economy, is outranked only by militarism. In all other aspects of social existence, it's all pervasive influence in second to none"

Obviously advertising has today become a very powerful instrument for motivating public opinion and action. That is why it is used for political campaigns as well. There is, therefore, always the danger of advertising with the currently available versatility of modern information and communication technology, being misused. Every powerful instrument that interacts with human beings or human society has to be used with caution and sense of social responsiblity. This is, however very difficult. As Galbraith has said, "Men with power have extraordinary capacity to convince themselves that what they want coincides with what society needs done for it's own good."

to be continued...

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