Media and Political Affairs - Coursework Example

Media and Political Affairs Affiliation: Political affairs have become critically embedded and integrated into the contemporary society. Many systems of governance are, by greater extent, driven by politics across the globe. National, regional, and international relations have also moved swiftly to encompass politics as a form of relational tool. All these activities have not been overlooked by the media. Political affairs and media have become essentially intertwined, thus acting and reacting upon each other. In the process, political affairs have had their positive and negative effects on the media. The contemporary media has notably become a fundamental information tool. The global society continues to be highly dependent on the media for local, national, regional, and international information relative to politics among other important undertakings (Cogan & Kelso, 2009). In the process, the media has had to understand its role, duty, and responsibility in the societal setting. Important to note is that political trends hardly go unnoticed by the media. For this reason, the connection between political affairs and the media remains critical. Topics related to media and politics have been explored for the longest time. The underlying media-politics issues, concerns, and trends are diverse and dynamic over time. In this respect, new insights keep emerging as time goes by and political affairs take their changing toll. There are many and differentiated factors that inform this diversity and dynamism, thus the need to assess and evaluate media-politics relationship in order to be at par with the contemporary trends in both media and politics. The action-reaction factor between media and politics shapes the influence that the two exhibits in the social and political context. A critical point of concern in this process is whether or not there exists media bias. Media bias can result in societal divisions that in one way or another may threaten coherence among the people. Whilst it is expected of media houses to be politically unbiased, this expectation cannot be guaranteed. The extent to which media biasness is realized depends on the actual effects that political affairs have on the media. These effects, as earlier mentioned, could be negative or positive in nature. One of the primary roles played by media is communication (Louw, 2010). Communication encompasses sending and receiving of information for variant purposes, commonly from the sender to the recipient. For this to happen, communication channels are needed, for which media serves an aiding tool. This process covers more than just political affairs, but politics constitute the central focus in this paper. In order to determine, assess, and evaluate trends in media-political affairs relationship, it is vital to account for the underlying effects that political affairs have on the media. Ekstrom and Patrona (2011) contend that the effectiveness and efficiency of the media is highly influenced by political affairs. This is due to the power that politics holds relative to media rights and freedoms. Political affairs inform the overall legal structuring of any given society. In so doing, political affairs can essentially enhance or cripple media operations. In other words, political undertakings can in one way or another affect media freedom through the legal structure. The integration of politics into systems of governance provide for this realization. A streamlined political system is aligned with the needs, concerns, and preferences of the people served by that political system. This implies that such a political system will uphold the people’s rights and freedoms relative information access. In this case, the media is a fundamental driver of information access to the people. In the light of political power and media freedom, political affairs can essentially foster media growth and development, or ground media operations altogether (Harfoush, 2009). This situation varies within and across democratic, dictatorial, and totalitarian societies. Reporting of progressive political affairs is an activity that media platforms continuously undertake. This is done through observation of what is happening on the ground and relaying the observed phenomena to the people. In so doing, political affairs enhance the role, duty, and responsibility of media platforms. The people are the ultimate recipients of all the activities undertaken by the media. When the media reports political affairs to the people, it essentially serves its purpose of informing the people. Over and above informing the people about political events, the media assists political players in mobilizing the people about their social, economic, and political policies (Cogan & Kelso, 2009). In this respect, the media acts as the medium through which political affairs reach the people. This complementary factor between media and political affairs allows political players to criticize the media relative to its performance or non-performance for that matter. The implication of this is that politics allow media platforms to operate as independent units for the purpose of fostering responsibility and accountability. The media-politics interaction further shapes the creation and development of media culture. Media culture across the globe exhibits diversity and dynamism relative to regulation and actual practice, either as controlled or free and independent platforms. Political affairs shape media culture through defining this culture in political terms. In other words, political culture could be embedded into media culture through variant political factors. In the process, media culture can portray aspects of its political role, thus reflecting a culture that is sensitive to the surrounding political environment. Amid the communication and informational role played by the media in the society, the fact that media platforms operate as business enterprises cannot be refuted (Campbell, Christopher, & Bettina, 2012). This means that media platforms are essentially out to make business profits in the line of their operations. The combination of the business factor with political affairs poses an integrity challenge to the media. This is because political affairs do not always reflect a positive notion. A number of studies have termed politics as a dirty game, one that worsens in the event of media bias (Louw, 2010). Media bias, business factors, and political affairs constitute a very critical mix. Political affairs can, in more ways than one, exploit media’s business needs to cause media bias that favors a specific political course of action. At this point, it is vital to remember that the media is immensely employed by political players as their main selling tool when it comes to reaching out to the masses. If necessary measures are not taken, media platforms are likely to be misused through the political affairs context. This could be catastrophic in the long-term relative to media regulation and monitoring. The business factor in the media and political affairs context does not always add up to a negative practice. Political affairs can actually make good use of the media, thus contributing to media’s business growth and development. It is right for political players to invest in the media when making their policies known to the people. This can be done in the absence of media bias in favor of specific political affairs. The integration of a business factor that emanates from political affairs should be flagged “advertiser’s announcement” to minimize negative societal reactions towards the media. The ultimate objective is to ensure that media operations are streamlined along integrity, accountability, and responsibility, while aligning operational goals with business aspects. Another point of political effect on media comes from political campaigns that are undertaken from time to time. These campaigns vary in scope and purpose, but the common denominator is that they are intended to capture the attention of some predetermined parties. Political campaigns influence the media to act as one of the targeted parties. In this respect, the media vets, assesses, and evaluates the basis of the campaigns. Subsequently, the media reacts over the matters raised; thereby allowing political parties to rethink, redesign, and reevaluate their respective stand on the campaign issue. In most cases, the campaign factor advances to constitute voting or polling after some time. Here, the media becomes the watchdog of the people relative to monitoring political progress in that regard. Given that campaigns and voting/polling are two critical activities for a democratic nation, political affairs with regard to campaigns and polling force the media to act responsibly, even in the event that the media could have chosen to act otherwise. This is because political parties could move to hold the media responsible for unfortunate events that would follow any platform’s political reports. The negative side of political affairs has been felt by media operating in societies that are governed through dictatorship or totalitarianism. Political picture in the eyes of the public is designed to reflect the positive side of political affairs. This means that the media presents to the people what political players approve. In this respect, the media is seen to have no choice as far as its operations are concerned. The ultimate beneficiaries with regard to that are the political players. The shortcomings of the political affairs undertaken are put on the side, while the perceived ‘political good’ is quick to be presented to the people within and across dictatorial and totalitarian societies. The rise of new and improved technologies has not overlooked the growth and development of the media. The media has essentially benefited from technological innovation, allowing it to broadcast globally within the shortest time possible. On the same token, political affairs and all the parties involved therein have moved swiftly to take advantage of this situation. Global political diversity has made it necessary for the media to redesign its operations and take note of what is happening around the globe. Global political diversity has informed the globalization of the media across national and international boundaries. The media has felt the urge to cover global political progress as globalization across cultural, social, economic, political, religious, and environmental factors persists. This has essentially been realized because global political affairs have proven to be critical for the international community (Bardes, Mack, & Steffen, 2011). In this regard, operational trends, changes, and shifts in media can be attributed to political affairs. Political affairs are highly diverse and dynamic, but the common denominator is that they always have a critical purpose to serve in the public domain. On the other hand, media operations are more or less similar, with their commonality being the platforms within which they undertake their operations. The high political activity in the public domain gives the media the freedom to choose what to air and what to present to the people. It is hardly possible for the media to account for every single political affair. For this reason, political affairs empower the media to choose the most important and critical aspects to cover. Media platforms understand that political affairs are extremely sensitive, and that the attention accorded to them influences the society in one way or another. In this respect, the media cannot allow itself to be used as a tool in the perpetration of societal conflicts/disputes. To avoid such situations, media platforms screen their content before making it available to the people. This further raises media prospects as far responsibility and accountability are concerned. The ultimate objective for the media is to be that platform that connects the people with the political environment. Essentially, political affairs enhance the realization of this ultimate objective. An analytical role is played by media in the political affairs context. This emanates from the fact that media platforms share political affairs as they emerge. For instance, once political news is aired on the television networks, it is highly expected that the same news will be spread on the internet; especially through the social media. Given that political affairs are spread through this means, they allow media to undertake analysis, evaluation, and assessment of the underlying political affairs. By undertaking political analysis, media enables the people to view political affairs from different points of view. Progressive political affairs are driven by this analytical factor that the media essentially undertakes. The implication here is that political affairs make use of the media to measure public response and reaction to matters of interest to both politicians and the people. In this respect, Davis (2010) argues that the realized effect of political affairs on the media encompass an interaction and relation that is designed to enhance political functionality as the media perceives to undertake its duty, role, and responsibility in the society. McKay (2009) notes that media informs, communicates, and entertains the people, while political affairs are executed to address issues and concerns in the society. In the light of media operations, entertainment is a fundamental component. Notably, political affairs can critically inform the entertainment factor of the media. Political affairs constitute a good deal of entertainment materials, and the politicians, media platforms, and the people know this. Political affairs shape media functions through the day today undertakings and happenings in the political arena. The effect is ultimately content provision that enables the media to thrive over time. Interestingly, contemporary political affairs have influenced the media to create, foster, and develop celebrity politics and celebrity politicians (Street, 2012). Trends in contemporary politics have taken a popular notion. Publicity has become vital and media has emerged as the driving factor towards popularity. In this respect, political affairs that are deeply rooted in celebrity politics and politicians have lured the media into acting as an advocate for their respective prospects. The celebrity factor is essentially spread by the media. The emerging effect relative to celebrity politics and celebrity politicians impacts on the media in diverse and dynamic ways. To start with, celebrity political affairs relatively receive much more media attention than political affairs which are undertaken outside the celebrity domain. In this respect, the media appears to be ‘manipulated’ by celebrity politics and celebrity politicians to some extent. On the same note, players in the political arena have become aware of what moves media attention towards them. Marsh and others (2010) claim that by becoming more oriented towards celebrity politics and celebrity politicians, political affairs design their exploitative strategies that target the media. Notably, broadcast and social media have fallen into the path of this political strategic plan. The basis upon which political affairs affect the media is diverse and dynamic. The ultimate objective in the media-political affairs interaction is which between the two critically informs the other. Many effects of media on politics have been presented over the years. Similarly, political affairs’ effects on the media are evident. However, the influential forces behind this critical interaction and relationship between media and political affairs need to be explored, assessed, and evaluated. The dynamics of political effects on media in the contemporary times need to be understood. As media grows and develops and politics persist, it will be interesting to know the progressive interaction, relationship, and the underlying effects relative to media and political affairs. References Bardes, B., Mack, S. & Steffen, S. (2011). American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials. New York: Cengage Learning. Campbell, R., Christopher, M. & Bettina, F. (2012). Media & culture: An introduction to mass communication (8th Ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Cogan, B. & Kelso, T. (2009). Encyclopedia of Politics, the Media, and Popular Culture. New York: ABC-CLIO. Davis, A. (2010). Political Communication and Social Theory. New York: Routledge. Ekstrom, M. & Patrona, M. (2011). Talking Politics in Broadcast Media: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Political Interviewing, Journalism and Accountability. New York: John Benjamins Publishing. Harfoush, R. (2009). Yes We Did: An Inside Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand. New York: New Riders. Louw, E. (2010). The Media and Political Process. New York: SAGE. Marsh, D., et al. (2010) “Celebrity politics: The politics of late modernity?” Political Studies Review, 8:3, 322–340. McKay, D. (2009). American Politics and Society. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Street, J. (2012). Do Celebrity Politics and Celebrity Politicians Matter? The British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 14(3), 346–356. Read More