WITH GREAT FREEDOM comes greater responsibility. But media in this country seems to overlook this idea. They have become the tools to amass wealth and power and it will continue to devoid the society of good governance.
The media barons act in the most irresponsible and unprofessional ways. The same newspaper that curses a rapist on the first page, prints offensive pictures and semi-nude models on the third. They generate their own content, create their own stereotypes and always intervene in state matters to gain more power and control.
Mass media are vital institutions that safeguard the basic human rights in any welfare state. The right to express freely, one’s opinion and creative expressions have been primeval and forms a key element for any democratic setup. It is that fundamental platform, an interface, which offers essential communication and coordination among the rest of the institutions.
Imagine how difficult it would be without daily news, without knowing what is happening around, what other people are doing and how other establishments are going. We will be driven into isolation, our awareness will be limited to our personal day-to-day dealings and the state, particularly, would face a lot of problem while delivering its services. Administration (state) won’t be able to function smoothly, rather be functional at all. It calls for an active participation, which is guaranteed by mass media only. It is because of its paramount importance and imperative role that mass media is accredited as the fourth estate, apart from judiciary, legislature and the executive.
The stated concepts of freedom of expression and the role of mass media are entwined in an equation, which determines the kind of democracy practised in any state. Take, for instance, the values and setup of any fascist regime. Media role in such cases is limited, rather controlled, and freedom of expression or, say speech, which is a derivative of the former, has many constraints. The iron curtainsdrawn upon by several states and regimes to cover up atrocities and abuses have been quite popular. It is one example that illustrates the defunct status of mass media when controlled by the state.
An equally detrimental occurring is when mass media tries to control the power within the state. Public opinion, as we all agree, is the vein that pours in life in the democratic government. Whether it is leadership acceptance, party acceptance, goals acceptance, acceptance of ideologies and objectives, or plain opposition – public opinion is the tool. It enjoys vast amount of power, as it is the message from constituents of the state. The message or public opinion is processed by the mass media and dispersed throughout. During processing the messages are subjected to additions and deletions and media is responsible for whatever comes as the final product. These then further shape the opinion and try to convalesce the differences.
To illustrate we may consider the important issues relating pre-poll and exit poll surveys. In pre-election period, many media organizations come up with pre-poll surveys that depict the public opinion in a certain selective region. As various media organizations bear alliances, they tend to prioritize the content. They become selective, emphasize the better elements and as such give a biased opinion. Nobody dares to cross-check the figures, give another version of the stories or stand against the prejudiced political campaigns that are propagated in the name of news and views. That is one great flaw with the unchecked and unregulated freedom enjoyed by media barons.
Media is supposed to be the watchdog and guard the society, the people behind the real enforcing agencies. Its role as such is more like an active monitor who restricts any undue consequences and disorder. The content as such comes from the society and then flows back. The media has to be like impartial reflectors of whatever comes to them. However, it is quite hurting to watch media generating its own content. Sex, rock ’n’ roll, violence are not as much prevalent in the society as the new-age media are portraying. More than once, journalists have been caught trying to generate their own scams and scandals for coverage. Ethics and laws are too meager to stop these culprits and the unregulated power continues to go unchecked.
There is one very important example that reveals the diabolic character of media perpetrators. The first page has the highest paid advertisements; advertisements on the remaining pages are equally paid. They are paid and all advertisements are paid because the graphic and text of the advertisement influences attitude and behaviour of the consumers, the public. It is because of this reason that clients pay for their advertisements. Other than ads and in news stories, contents may include a semi-nude model or a violent crime scene. How do these people justify that the picture or graphic in page 3 columns? The bleeding victims and semi-nude models will have no impact on the audiences. Are advertisements written in golden ink or the obscene pictures put in prisms, so that only selected audience can have access? Where is libel and how helpless are the laws to let such content go uncensored? For newspapers, there are no certifications like U or A as there are for films.
Before these barons run cartels and become the dictators of the state, we need to stand in unity against these crafty evils. They are defying us because they think without them we are isolated rather than separated. There is just one way of teaching them a lesson — ignore them. Don’t buy their stories, don’t believe their claims and put an end to their readership. They will get choked as the air stops reaching their evil abode.
Related links:
News channels: The mouthpiece of the rich
Journos: Call them promoters, not editors!
Reporting from 24 Seven
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