Paragraph Writing
Composition / Essay Writing
Power of Media: Mass Media and Politics
The word ‘media’ usually refers to newspaper, television, and radio which are used to communicate with the mass of the people. They are the most frequently and effectively used media devices for informing the public as a whole. In today’s world of rapid change and much activity, people need to be kept informed. And hence the need for the media is felt.
The press in America is sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate. This term dates back to 18th-century Britain. It was meant to suggest that the press was a force in society and government equal to the three recognized “estates” of the time—the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners. Today the term still signifies that the press plays a special role in our system of government.
That role, however, is both ambiguous and controversial. Journalists, after all, are not elected by the people. They are not even appointed or confirmed by elected officials. What gives these private citizens, working mostly for private corporations, the right to an influential role in how the country is governed? One answer some journalists like to give is that their profession is actually mentioned in the Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees “freedom of speech and of the press.” This freedom, they say, reflects the Founding Fathers’ recognition of the special role of the press.
These days the press is often referred to as the media. Like “Fourth Estate,” the term “media” reflects a certain understanding about the role of the press in society. Media, the plural of medium, literally means the various technologies that convey information—from ink on paper to telephones and television to the Internet.
Journalists themselves have contributed to this confusion by sometimes suggesting that they, unlike ordinary people, have a special duty and a special gift to draw no conclusions and have no opinions about the matters they cover. Of course they do not have such a gift—and therefore they cannot have such a duty. In many European countries, journalists and journalistic institutions have overt political labels. In a way, this is more honest. It doesn’t relieve the journalist of the duty to be fair and objective. But it does relieve him or her of the pretense of having no opinion. And it allows the reader or viewer to know what predisposition the journalist brings to the story.
Issues of press responsibility, bias, and invasion of privacy have all been sharpened by the arrival of the Internet as a new force in the media. The Internet has changed things in at least two ways. First, it has speeded up the so-called news cycle—the time it takes for new developments to be reported. Second, it has lowered the barriers to entry: anyone with a computer and a modem can be a media mogul.
These developments have increased competition in the press and, some argue, have lowered standards of reporting. Accuracy suffers from the rush to beat the competition, especially when beating the competition is a matter of minutes or seconds rather than hours or days. Increased competitive pressure also makes it harder for the media to maintain traditional taboos on subjects like the sex lives of politicians. New arrivals may not have the same standards of accuracy or discretion as traditional news media have had. Yet, once a piece of information is out on the Internet, it becomes hard for the media to ignore it. The Internet, as the newest powerful Fourth Estate in our society, is making information and argument more plentiful than ever.
Media plays the effective role in building awareness among people. Programmes on public health, family planning, and sanitation are covered on media for the betterment of the nation. In the modern age the media have a close connection with entertainment. Various cultural and recreational programmes covered on media are very entertaining to people of various classes and ages. Important information like weather forecast, news about business world can easily reach people through media. Media is also the most effective weapon of the government’s propaganda and circulations. Thus media plays a significant role in our every moment of life. In today’s world we cannot conceive of a day when we do not come in contact with a television or radio programme or read some columns of some newspapers.
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