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Mainstream media reaches large audiences with neutral news stories, but may avoid controversial topics and be influenced by governments and corporate shareholders. It is often associated with trustworthiness and integrity, but accused of bias and focusing on frivolous topics. Alternative media reaches smaller, more specific audiences and can provide a balance of perspectives.
Mainstream media is a collective journalistic entity that delivers news and information to large audiences. This is in contrast to alternative media, which reaches a much smaller and often more specific audience. Some people call it “mass media,” referring to the idea that it reaches the masses, and it is sometimes seen written as MSM. This is how most people around the world get most of their news.
Mass communications have been around for a long time, as extensive murals, statues and sculptures from Ancient Egypt, China, Greece, Mesoamerica and Rome would indicate. However, the mainstream media really started to come into its own as more communication options opened up; the development of print, for example, allowed newspapers to flourish, while radio opened the airwaves to broadcasting. In the 21st century, electronic communications have caused a media explosion. News can now reach people on computers, cell phones, handheld devices, radios, and a variety of other media, further expanding the media’s reach.
Because mass media address a large target audience, the news stories they report on are usually of general interest, and news stories are often kept as neutral as possible. Some media sources may avoid reporting on controversial topics because they don’t want to lose members of the public and because mainstream media is often heavily influenced by governments and corporate shareholders. For this reason, some people speak derogatorily of the industry, arguing that important issues often don’t reach the general public.
In most countries, mainstream media is often associated with trustworthiness and integrity, enforced by strict journalistic standards and the presence of editors and review boards who are supposed to ensure that news is reported accurately. However, the media industry is also accused by some individuals of being extremely biased. The political leanings of major media companies can emerge from the type of coverage they provide, and choosing to refrain from publicizing controversial stories can be seen as a lack of integrity. Social justice issues, for example, often don’t get the coverage that people who want to alert people to such issues believe they should.
Some people also think the media focuses too much on frivolous topics, such as celebrity scandals and non-news articles, such as stories about pets who can play tricks on you. However, even the mass media usually do not shy away from serious problems; in the Vietnam War, for example, the major news outlets’ honest and frank coverage of the war had a serious impact on public opinion, and journalists broke a number of major political scandals around the world.
People interested in smaller news sources and news that might cover issues considered fringe can take advantage of media outlets such as the Internet to find alternative publications. Reading a balance of traditional and smaller alternative or independent publications can be very enlightening.
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