Role of Media in the Society - Coursework Example

ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE SOCIETY Medium is anything that carries information and conveys it from the sender to a receiver. The ment would rather sound childish than a very solid definition. But to be true to self, any definition of medium or media wouldn’t sound more than an exaggeration to the given statement. The term media though is the plural of medium, accounts exclusively to mass media in the contemporary context. Popularly known as the ‘fourth estate’ after ‘clergy’, ‘nobility’ and ‘commoners’, ‘press’ has much to contribute to life today. Print media and electronic media have their unique influence on the society. Below listed are a few functions that the media perform in the world today. Information: Any significant (and sometimes insignificant) matter in the present day world is first and foremost dealt by the media and the common public receives any information only after the processing in the media industry. The function performed is most often biased, twisted or glorified realities. But undoubtedly information is the primary function of the media. Entertainment: Entertainment is yet another important function of media. Print media like newspapers, magazines and journals and electronic media like television and computer have their own methods and methodologies to entertain their respective readers and viewers. Knowledge: Providing knowledge is a pertinent function of media. Any media if perceived seriously is a good source of knowledge. Provided, the reader of viewer has the common sense to choose the quality of the medium. Awareness: Creating awareness about various issues in and around the world is a function of the media. It not only includes things to be noticed and followed but also stands for those things which provide the basic cautions to be taken in various matters like health, law and rights. Decision making: Media is the greatest power in any democracy. When media freedom is available, they can write or make news in such a way that the whole opinion of the common public coincides with their view. In this aspect the media can either turn the best friend of government or become the worst enemy of the same. Advertisement: Advertisement is an inevitable part of life today. They are the introducers of new products and services. As a thousand products come up to the market everyday, media act as the perfect platform for their introduction. On the other side, they act as the base of confusion to the consumers who get confused on what to buy and what not. In short, media is indeed one of the institutions of any nation that lets the people live their life in the frame set by them. This particular statement can be seen either positively or in a negative sense. All the journalists and media professionals take pledge to serve the people. But in the world of corruption and pre-decided dramas, the media role has gone so much down that true news is seldom published. It is always polished, twisted, glorified or even written to imagination. It is not only the case with news but the regular serials, reality shows or even movies are set to pre-determined agenda. Therefore, the true role that the media has to play is often gone unse In the above given context, it is very important to analyze the media before any statement could be finally stated. To analyze the media there are two simplified models which has varied approaches. Viz, market model and public sphere model. Market Model “Market model is that model of media which is completely market oriented. Here, the society’s needs are best met through unregulated supply and demand. The media are seen like all goods and services. They have no specialty than a normal market commodity. Private and unregulated ownership is considered the best in the market model. The market model promotes product differentiation, efficiency, competition and therefore better quality.” ( http://www.csupomona.edu/~jrballinger/com423/423lectures/423Market_Public_Sphere). But the model has an added disadvantage that here, the consideration of media as a product as such loots the fidelity of the news. Also, the over importance given to commercials add to the market approach and reduce the seriousness of the medium. Public Sphere Model “In public sphere model, the needs of the society are not entirely met based on supply and demand. Media is not considered like other products and profitability is not the sole interest. The government has a necessary role in the public sphere model. Public sphere model has a wider vision which considers media as the primary information centers. It sees media as a forum for social dialogue and people are seen as citizens prior to consideration as mere consumers.” ( http://www.csupomona.edu/~jrballinger/com423/423lectures/423Market_Public_Sphere). It would be difficult to substantiate any of these models without a proper example. It would be appropriate to consider BBC- British Broadcasting Corporation as a perfect example for this. British Broadcasting Corporation “The British Broadcasting Corporation is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world. The BBC is a nominally autonomous corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust (formerly the Board of Governors). General management of the organization is in the hands of a Director-General, who is appointed by the Trust; he is the BBCs Editor-in-Chief and chairs the Executive Board. The principal means of funding the BBC is through the television license, costing £142.50 per year per household (as of April 2009). Such a license is required to receive broadcast television within the UK, however no license is required to own a television used for other means. The cost of a television license is set by the government and enforced by the criminal law. “(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC) Therefore, it is understood that BBC is a broadcasting corporation under certain government regulations. BBC has been serving the world for a very long period and it has been known for its quality and fidelity from then. Competition with the BBC shows how even a well established and heavily funded medium also faces the same challenge as the comparatively lesser quality media. But when it comes to the regular print magazines and electronic media the competition and financial greed has often resulted in the degradation of the quality of the medium. Countless well known newspapers and electronic media have turned to mere gossip builders in the recent period. On the other hand, many newspapers that publish news with sensibility are ignored due to less exposure and publicity. As per human nature, there is an inborn interest to know others’ matters either personal or professional. But due to the very same fact there is a condition where true media and news are given lesser importance. That is, the gossip makers rule while the true news lies behind the curtain. Celebrity break ups given more importance than accidents or war is a genuine illustration of this factor. The role and function of media in the society Media as discussed above is the primary source of information, entertainment, knowledge, awareness, decision making and advertisement and that alone shows how important the media plays in the life today. Most often the information given by the media are not true. Information considered here may range from simple weather forecasts to complex war details. The duty of the media is to inform the people whatever the information may be. But it often twists the realities to protect the written interests of the owner of the medium, the government or even personal interests. The people have the right to information. They should be considered as citizens before they are considered as consumers of the media market. Entertainment is not just a thing to pass the time. The media has the responsibility to provide quality entertainment. The news papers and journals filled with bed room stories of stars and celebrities are voted number one. This is a false trend and the pseudo-standard of such tabloids must be pulled out of the society. There are better forms of entertainment that even serve educative. Such programmes are ignored or less marketed and the good for nothing reality shows and mega serials are promoted as if they are the best form of art on earth. The media today destroy the genuineness of art and culture. It is the people of a culture that it has to serve and it is their responsibility to preserve the culture and tradition of the particular ethnic group. Else, the media is nothing more than a toy that kills the emotion and intelligence of the population. Various types of knowledge are provided by the media. Newspapers, journals, magazines, radio, television and internet all provide the best of knowledge. But often they give emphasis to the less important details and the least important are glorified. This approach must change to make the society know what they should know. Awareness about the rights of a person and many other important issues are discussed over the mass media and that is how the people learn about them. AIDS control, learning of rights of a citizen in the country, various government programmes and the like are mainly through media. But most of the times, they lack interest in printing/broadcasting/telecasting such matters as they are not much interesting to the consumers. It is an extremely bad situation as social commitment is the basic principle of media and communication. Decision making is too much influenced by media these days. The media people have the steer ring of people’s decision making in their hands. Wars, elections and social issues are discussed in media. It is from these that the people learn the various particulars of the matter and they make decisions accordingly. The truth is that each of the media has their own propaganda and ideologies that the discussions are often inclined towards their ideology. It is seldom the transparent representation of the issue. In fact, the true version of the matter should be published and the rest should be left to public. Advertisement is not a major function of the media but as they have to survive financially, advertisements are inevitable in them. But there are a very few advertisements that speak truth. Most of them give fake promises and loot the consumers’ pockets. The heroism shown on them often mislead the children and youth. The media should be bold enough to filter the advertisements and they should stand on the side of the people to help them choose between right and wrong. The dream offers and magical effect products must be turned out forever. The decision is with the media or the media consumers will always remain a fool in terms of consumption. Factors inhibiting media freedom and efficiency There are a number of factors that inhibit the freedom and efficiency of the media. They are more or less inter-related and can be abolished with a bit of effort. The corporate media is very much profit oriented that often money overtakes ethics. The news, articles or programmes are set to pre-determined factors than truth. Pen is sharper than sword. But the power without responsibility creates senseless news or overemphasized stories. Therefore the press as such must become more responsible and sensible. Political interruption brings in corruption or biased stories. This is greatly a factor that affects the fidelity of the medium. No story should ever be to the taste of politics and party. Cheap publicity related stunts must be avoided from news. Standardization of news must be made compulsory and editors must look into that. Advertisements should be censored and they must stand towards truth than super-human features. Sincerity is a lacking factor in many of the media professionals. They should bear in mind the responsibility that they carry and must keep the element of sincerity in everything that they work upon. In short, the ‘fourth estate’ must undergo a root to tip revolution to bring and keep up the true commitment to their profession, citizens and nation. Else, the media will remain a scarecrow to many with nothing important to perform. Therefore, let the media open its eyes to its own ethics and the citizens they serve and then shall the ‘fourth estate’ make itself in the real sense. Reference: 1)BBC, accessed on 06th October 2009, available at URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC 2) Crouteau D, The Business of Media: Corporate Media the Public, 2006  3) Curran J & Seaton J, Power Without Responsibility 4) Market model and Public sphere model accessed on 06th October 2009, available at URL http://www.csupomona.edu/~jrballinger/com423/423lectures/423Market_Public_Sphere 5) Various magazines, news papers and television channels for reference of reporting style. Read More