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Why Has it Proved so Difficult to Measure the Power of Media?

Zixuan Wu

Abstract


Today, the power of media seems to be one of the pillars of power systems. People receive information from newspapers, radio, and television broadcasting as well as the internet. They are also the carriers of information by expressing their opinions. Unlike other powers, the media power is more abstract and with a more unclear defi nition. Therefore, it is vital to find a practical way to measure the media power. However, media researchers meet multiple pitfalls when they plan to measure media power and set a benchmark(Graber, 2011). This essay will analyze the four aspects of power that put forward by some infl uential theorists. Then, I would decide what the defi nition or aspects of power should be employed in this essay according to the four defi nitions of power. At last, three reasons why it is diffi cult to measure media power would be given. My argument is that there are three obstacles—the control or the connection of media from politicians, the rise of social media and the lack of suffi cient index.

Keywords


Media power; Power defi nition; Media Influence; Social media; Power measurement

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/ahe.v7i27.10507

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