Some people argue that news media is the most precise source in which people can acquire information without distortions. However, I disagree with the opinion because the news media is easily biased by the influence of advertising companies and political positions.
First of all, news media is often affected by the companies which provides the media the main source of income by posting advertisements. As widely known, advertising fees from big companies are where most newspaper and broadcating companies get most of their income. Therefore, advertising companies have a great influence on the news contents especially when there are news materials their funding sources. For example, the companies would provide advertisement only to the magazines, papers, or TV staions that release news beneficial for them and conceal defective informations. Accordingly, news will be easily biased in a way that the companies prefer to show. Thus, it is quite naive to believe that news media always present facts without any fallacy.
Moreover, political position also has a great influence on the information that news media shows. Recent response of Korean medias dealing with the accident of sunken Korean military ship demonstrates this fact very well. Regarding this serious issue, most conservative medias focused on the possibilty of North Korean attack and mainly presented the proves related to explosive armor used by North Korean submarines. On the other hand, liberal medias brought up expert opinions saying that it was sunken by the collision with a huge rock under the sea. As a result, in a recent survey by the Korean National Survey and Research, more than a half of the respondents replied that they feel confused and cannot tell the truth. This points out that news media does not alway suggest unbiased information.
In conclusion, unlike the belief of some people, the information provided by news media is often affected by exterior factors such as pressure from advertising companies and political background. Therefore, people should make an effort to maintain balanced opinion when receiving the information in news media.