How The Media Embodies Power In Modern Societies - Babatunde Onabaj

House of Commons, Photo by Babatunde Onabajo, 2012

The 20th century British novelist George Orwell once wrote in his famous book Nineteen Eighty-Four that, “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past”. These words, in my view, convey a significant aspect of power: the beliefs of a society and the goals it aspires to. This is further reiterated in the same quote, where Orwell, through the character of Winston, states: “Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon”. Winston then deduces that if the fictional English Socialist Party is in control of all the records, it is therefore in control of the minds of its members and thereby the past is whatever the English Socialist Party deems it to be.

Although the book is fictional, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a perfect analogy of actual society. In modern societies, power is wielded primarily by the media. The media have the ability to shape how people treat others, who gets voted into office and even how people perceive themselves. It has the power to both build and decimate reputations.

In sociology, there is a concept known as the “hypodermic syringe theory”. This theory states that messages from the media can be likened to “bullets” that are injected into the minds of the public and consumed unquestionably by them. Although the concept was mainly articulated around the 1930s and was used to analyse Nazi propaganda, the concept is still relevant today with how the media works. For example, the theory explains why misleading information, sometimes known as “misinformation”, on the internet is so widely believed by those who see it and all the detrimental consequences that fall from it.

Other writers have commented on the extent of the power of the media. The 20th century Italian writer Antonio Gramsci argued that the ruling class used the media to maintain power in society. Rather than using force or violence, in modern societies, the media helps create what is known as ideology and these are the accepted norms by a society that work to the advantage of ensuring that the ruling class remain the ruling class.

“The extent of the power of the media calls us to always question what we see. We should always ask, who benefits from this information being published?“

Traditional media, such as newspapers and radio stations, remain controlled by a select few companies. It might be thought that social media gives “power back to the people” by encouraging a diversity of views and opinions but even this has limits – traditional firms are given special privileges and rankings all throughout social media and the views of ordinary people continue to face obstacles in reaching many. 

The extent of the power of the media calls us to always question what we see. We should always ask, “who benefits from this information being published”. Similarly, we should always follow the dictum of “follow the money” when it comes to who funds which media outlet. Only until we begin to ask such questions will we find out why some call war peace, freedom slavery and ignorance strength.