!Diversity! in a Media point of view!!!

The article introduces us to two new concepts that broadcasters use to create diversity in order to serve the needs of the public consumers. Open Market and regulation are two different ways that scholars have been discussing and using to promote a diverse broadcast. “Market proponents believe the efficiency of market forces to create the breadth of diverse voices in society.” Using this “school of thought,” let communications companies freely compete and they will create as much programming as the market will bear. Social scientists believe regulation is needed for diversity and other social needs. The needs include creating informed citizens and educating the children. They believe that this “pro-social programming will not be created without regulation and that diversity will be threatened by the pursuit of profit over public interest.”

The FCC requires that broadcasters must operate with the guidelines of public interest, convenience, and necessity. Diversity is a key concept that broadcasters are trying to define in regards to their media content. What is diversity in terms of broadcasting? Offering a mixture of shows with all different values and norms? That is the difficult question that is plaguing the social scientists and corporations. Diversity has such a broad concept that it can be used in various circumstances. In an ideal broadcasters world, the audience would watch all different types of shows. However in the world we live in today, people watch want they want. In our world today, broadcasters create shows that will create profit for the corporations. Diversity represents one way that broadcasters try to conform to the FCC’s rule of public interest, convenience and necessity. I believe that the social scientists are right in their concern that the model today is centered on profits. The model is economically driven; a broadcaster is not going to create a show that may be educating and informative for the public unless that can create some type of profit off it. Broadcasters today believe that by offering multiple shows they are being diverse, while the social scientists would disagree. By competing with other broadcasters, the best shows will be created, which is one proponent to the capitalist society. In my opinion, diversity is understood by how you define it. If you define diversity in a certain way it will be easy to achieve your goal. Diversity is defined in its own way in terms of broadcasting.

The value of diversity is endless in media. With the goal of creating a diverse series of shows, and advocating a unique array and values and norms the broadcasters are achieving what they want to do. Consequently the shows they produce must still create profit. Some may say that broadcasters create the best shows due to competition and still must be diverse to create and original show to attract a new set of followers. Diverse Programming can only be beneficial in media terms. This may create a fragmented audience, with viewers only watching what they want to watch, but that is how the world is today. However diversity creates new shows, new buzz, and with the free market system behind broadcasters, new ideas will constantly be created. Diversity may be one of the most valuable tools in our media.