The impact of media on the shaping of public opinion in the thought of Benedict XVI

This article attempts to offer several keys to understand the process and considerable role of mass media in shaping public opinion. This analysis is based on core values which are very important in integral social development. These values e.g.: right to communicate, concern for human life, value of family, responsibility, society and peace, role of morality, religion and the Church and the consequences of natural law are independent of religion and confession. The article presents the factors that facilitate the correct process of shaping the public opinion. This article also introduces the role of elites and opinion leaders in shaping the public opinion based on the dialogue, competence, good values, and ethos. The text focuses on how mass media through their interpretation of the reality can use manipulation techniques, hindering access to truth and making it difficult to understand the news; they may distort the reality and negatively influence the public opinion – this issue is also briefly presented in the text