Media Controversies

1. Are American values shaped by the mass media?
2. Are freebies given to journalists the same as bribes?
3. Are news agencies that use press releases and video news releases without attribution guilty of unethical behavior?
4. Are newspapers insensitive to minorities?
5. Are people better informed in the information society?
6. Are the dangers of concentration within media monopolies overstated?
7. Are V-chips and content ratings necessary?
8. Can privacy be protected in the information age?
9. Can the music industry survive despite technologies that  facilitate downloading?
10. Do advertisers unduly influence news and program?
11. Do African American (Asian/Latino/Middle Eastern, etc.) stereotypes still dominate entertainment television?
12. Do magazines compromise their editorial integrity in their push to obtain advertisers and celebrity news?
13. Do media drive foreign policy?
14. Do media technologies increase citizen participation?
15. Do new media have an immediate effect on our behaviors and attitudes?
16. Do paparazzi threaten privacy and First Amendment rights?
17. Do public relations practitioners provide a valuable service to the public?
18. Do ratings work?
19. Do some men's magazines promote sexual stereotypes?
20. Do television programs stereotype women?
21. Do the mass media undermine openness and accountability in democracy?
22. Do the media have a liberal (conservative) bias?
23. Do the media introduce us to new ways of thinking about things?
24. Do very thin "heroin chic" fashion models encourage eating disorders and/or drug use?
25. Do women's, men's and teen magazines promote unattainable body shapes?
26. Does concentration of ownership limit the diversity of voices in the newspaper industry?
27. Does electronic media enhance political knowledge?
28. Does media coverage of criminal trials undermine the legal process?
29. Does media violence cause more violence in society or merely reflect that society is violent?
30. Does the "blockbuster syndrome," -- the publishing industry's obsession with books that will have sales in the millions -- freeze out young talent?
31. Does the globalization of media industries homogenize media content?
32. Does the Internet have the power to transform culture?
33. Does the low number of women and minorities in the newsroom affect the way in which news is covered and presented?
34. Has coverage of political campaigns improved?
35. Has democracy been transformed by new uses of media?
36. Is advertising ethical?
37. Is censorship always wrong because it curtails freedom of expression?
38. Is economics the bottom line in the newsrooms of today?
39. Is emphasis on body image in the media harmful only to females?
40. Is enough being done to regulate deceptive advertising?
41. Is Internet addiction a social problem?
42. Is it wrong to present the news in an entertaining way, distorting the information it conveys?
43. Is local television news unnecessarily superficial?
44. Is negative campaigning bad for the American political process?
45. Is television harmful for children?
46. Is the First Amendment working?
47. Is there a conflict of rights between a free press and the rights of a defendant for a fair trial?
48. Is there scientific proof (in addition to anecdotal evidence) that movie violence has caused real-life violence?
49. Should advertising be regulated during children's programming?
50. Should books sometimes be censored or banned by government or quasi-governmental organizations such as schools and libraries?
51. Should children be protected from Internet pornography?
52. Should freedom of speech ever be restricted?
53. Should Internet access be regulated?
54. Should news reporters vote or belong to political parties, or is that a conflict of interest?
55. Should public relations professionals be attributable to a government agency?
56. Should radio content ever be censored?
57. Should shock (or hate) radio be legal?
58. Should songs with explicit lyrics be banned from radio and television?
59. Should television networks be required to show a certain amount of educational programs for children?
60. Should the FCC be abolished?
61. Should the names of rape victims be reported?
62. Should violence on television be allowed?
63. Standard public relations tactics, such as "greenwashing" are unethical and should be banned.
64. Was the banning of billboard cigarette ads in 1999 appropriate?
65. Will technology change social interaction?