Ensuring Authenticity of Information - Essay Example

? Governments should control what kind of content reaches their populations through the Media because they are responsible for protecting their citizens "Every society has a right to preserve public peace and order, and therefore a good right to prohibit the propagation of opinions which have a dangerous tendency.” (Hachten, 2008, p. 16). Government controlled media can be simply defined as media that operates in a government controlled environment. There are three main concepts regarding the extent and nature of government control over media. Authoritarianism is seen to be the oldest and most pervasive concept that advocates implied control of the state over media and discourages diversity of views. The Communist concept proposed by Lenin states that mass media should aim at nation building by publishing news relating to the entire society's policies and goals as determined by the government. The third concept called Development concept is applied mainly to underdeveloped countries that are lacking in media and other technological resources. Whichever is the mode of control, the censoring mechanism by government acts as an effective control and monitoring for the media and is an indispensable component of a successful democracy. (Martin, 1983) Ensuring Authenticity of Information The media, sometimes, promotes and spreads lies, defamations and gossip. There are too many newspapers and news-channels that have made it their routine affair to gossip and spread rumours about persons who always tend to occupy the centre-stage of public’s attention - whether it's a sportsperson, a film star or a politician. The government should make it a point to ensure that every matter that is printed and circulated is actually newsworthy, as accurate as possible and not malicious or biased. Some of us might be of the view that a censored state would mean no free speech. But is the right to free speech synonymous to the right to publish lies? The answer would be a NO. Hence it is clearly necessary that whatever is published is sensible and non-offensive.Freedom of speech may apparently seem to be an issue at hand, but the more critical issue here is integrity. Censorship not only ensures that that the media activities adhere to the principles of humanity but also conceals the sensitive issues until it is the right time to reveal them. Currently, there are lots of irresponsible media agencies and journalists offering and spreading around their own interpretation of the situation, even though it is wrong. This often causes harm to reputation and even lives. But censorship enables the information to be verified before it is put in front of the masses. The government is needed to censor the media to protect the people, the media and the international community. Restricting Negative Impact on Children Children in the modern world grow up experiencing the impact of media in all spheres of their life. If the media conveys to them false notions and fabricated ideas regarding life and society, they will begin to expect something that society really isn't. They will go out to the world behaving like what they see their favourite characters doing on television, in video games and in movies. Our children could also begin to idolize the celebrities, more show than substance, whom the media figuratively worship and publicise for their own business gains. The acts of such celebrities on the big screen promote malpractices among the teenagers such as abusing drugs, spoiling relationships, committing crimes and getting involved in unethical and immoral activities. Hence, some selective content should be filtered before it is passed down to be viewed by general public as not only children, but a lot of adults are also not able to steer their own opinions and end up getting negatively influenced by the media. Children are the building blocks of a nation. But children growing up under the influence of misleading media will lead to demotion of the society rather than promoting and contributing to the success of society. So it is imperative that the government supervises the working of the media in order to safeguard the moral fabric of the children of the society. Safeguarding Privacy Many people featured in everyday news more than likely would rather have their privacy. Just because on the surface, it seems like some good news story does not mean people would not be negatively affected by it. Nobody wants his or her private life to be exposed to millions because of a family shooting, political violence, etc. Most of the people feel that their life is not a toy to be tumbled and tossed around by the media and that paparazzi should not follow each and every move of theirs. Privacy is a key quality in life. People need privacy when it comes to their personal and family affairs. Every person should mind his or her own business and not others. This is where comes the role of the government in controlling the extent of media trespassing into the personal lives of people. The personal life of a person should not be made subject of news just for the sake of media publicity or TRP gain by the media houses. It should be brought into picture only and only if it conveys information essential for the welfare or protection of the society. Any unnecessary invasion of media in persons’ private life should be strictly prohibited and severely punished. Preventing Breach of National Security The safety of a nation is aided by the government being able to censor the media, even if that means they do not release all the truth. While I agree that as national citizens we have the right to information through free press, news and media), I believe that the government adds to our welfare by using censorship to protect us in a time of trouble. For an example, the American government did not allow the citizens to know what was happening before they killed Osama Bin Laden. If the media had known, and released it to the public, Bin Laden could have found out and escaped. But thanks to censorship protecting the media, we do not have to live in the fear of a horrible terrorist. As another instance, during the Cold War media censorship was very effective in keeping the calm even though there was a constant threat of thermonuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union. So we can say that censorship is synonymous to Safety. The media sometimes goes too far in taking the position that they have the right to know and report everything that is going on. I believe that there are times that national security may be dependent upon some things remaining confidential. The media should never report anything that would compromise our national security and the government should have the right to intervene in those cases. Eliminating Misuse of Social Media The misuse of social media to spread objectionable content and hatred among communities recently came into picture against the backdrop of recent communal riots in Muzaffarnagar. The recent cases of communal violence have brought to the government’s notice circulation of fake videos aimed at inciting the feeling of hatred in one community towards the other. Social media is a great source of new information and new thought for the new-age youngsters. However one should ensure that it is used in promoting positive ideas of universal brotherhood and communal harmony. As has been rightly said by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a recent NIC meeting- "It is necessary to maintain independence of giving opinion and views by people in social media. But at the same time, it is also important that we do not let miscreants and troublemakers to misuse social media.” (Press Trust of India, 2013) Conclusion The media is, no doubt, a blessing for the society. But nonetheless, it is a double-edged sword. While a judicious use of the power of media can bring about growth and prosperity, its misuse can lead to an equal amount of devastation. So the government’s intervention in the functioning of the media is not only desirable but also essential for the well-being of the citizens of a nation. References Hachten, W.A., (2008), The Troubles of Journalism, New Jersey: Taylor and Francis Indian Social Media Needs Stricter Control, (2013), Press Trust of India, retrieved on November 7, 2013 from: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/news/indian-social-media-needs-stricter-control-say-government-officials-at-nic-422652 Martin, L. J. (1983), Comparative Mass Media Systems, New York: Longman Read More