The impacts of the Media on Various Forms of Political Activity in Britain - Coursework Example

Assess the impact of media on various forms of political activity in Britain Introduction The term “politics “has its genesis in the Greek word “Politikos” meaning citizen.  A citizenship of a nation or geographical location always ensures working in harmony with the other members present. Therefore, in a political body there should be group interactions and collective participation. This political unit deals with social relations and is headed by a person or group of persons. From here develops the concept of power in politics, whether religious bodies, academic institutions, governmental organizations or corporate offices. As we know, that power begets corruption and absolute power begets absolute corruption. In this respect, the Latin definition of the word “Politics “sounds appropriate as the words “Poli” meaning many and “tics” meaning bloodsucking creatures. The modern civilization is also experiencing this trauma called Politics. (Ghai, 2002, pp. 3-6) The media is often charged for taking bribes and the governments at various levels provide support to these news agencies. The freedom of press is worsening the situation at an accelerated rate.   In recent times media has been transformed into an unreliable source of information. In keeping with this view, we will discuss the influence of media on the various forms of political activity in Britain. Britain is a part of the international media and has a great history of politics. Therefore, in Britain media and politics are like two sides of a coin. It is said that the internationalization of the media has caused a threat to the nation. The multiple level of interpretation of the news has definitely benefited the readers and audience but it has also created confusion. (Negrine 1994) On account of multiple opinions the validity of the news disappears. The traditional media theories suggest media should operate on a national level and must be ethnocentric. The international news bodies like CNN are influencing the domestic perception. This has been the case during the Gulf War of 1991. However, there are multiple opinions regarding the impact of media on Britain. The post Second World War scenario has led to the emergence of many activities and these have touched the life of every citizen in Britain. People are concerned with the recent developments in social and political affairs, and like intelligent individuals they judge the validity of the news before drawing any conclusion. As observed by Negrine (1994) the ‘news value’ has the potentiality to curb the overgrowing power of ‘popular media’. The terms ‘media coverage’ and breaking news ‘are negatively used. In media, covering news recreates history by presenting those sides of the incidents like massacres, epidemics, natural disaster and war killing multitudes. This information creates a psychological imbalance. In matters of politics media coverage to a great extent, psychologically influences public opinion. To check the monopoly of media and in the year 1977 the Royal Commission was forced to admit the shortcomings of the liberal theories of the press accounted to the freedom of the proprietor. (Negrine, 1994, pp. 25-32) According to Negrine (1996) the role of mass media within the periphery of the political system has always been a debated issue.  The mass media and the process of democracy go simultaneously. It is true that the history of Great Britain has a monarchical regime but with the passing of time, the Crown plays a nominal role in the enactment of laws in politics. The rapid march of Globalization is further reducing the role and dominance of the government in politics. The Director General of the BBC in the 1970s was Charles Currant. According to him, the mass media communication has been phenomenal in the adoption of democratic measures by nation-states. The negations of mass media will accumulate to the collapse of the political bodies and the government. Media is the forum of communication between the government and the public. At the initial stage media was just believed to be a source of entertainment but the world has now realized its potentiality. Following the Reinforcement theory one can perceive how media sells information to its users or the common people in order to increase its appeal. Hence the existing traditions and practices are often stressed upon and further established by the media (Garnett & Lynch, 2009, p. 92). Power should come along with responsibility. The purpose of media is to create an ‘informed citizenry’. Every citizen has the right to information and media must provide appropriate information. Media is multi-faced and its operations are not bound by fixed rules. It is sometimes impartial and sometimes biased. The Intelligence and Security Committee in Britain seeks to ban the report of news, which are political in nature and might hamper national security (Sengupta, 2008). Another reason behind this might be explained by the agenda setting theory where the media itself set the priorities about the issues to be reported and arrange their stories in a sequential manner as per preference (Garnett & Lynch, 2009, pp.90-91). Exposure to the media is a common phenomenon nowadays. The readers may filter the messages they would like to consider. Deriving from reinforcement theory, one may say that the officials working at the head of the government are increasingly becoming powerless figures. There begins the story of “powerlessness”. (Negrine, 1996, pp. 1-10) For instance, Internet polling helped in decision making about the choice of the new emblem to adopt the Welsh dragon. The dragon with the sunglasses was chosen as the emblem of the Union flag by online polling (Moore, 2007). This shows the direct or e-democracy emerging in recent times. Direct effect theory of the media might be brought in to explain the impact of media broadcast of elections on the voters’ opinions and orientation. The theory states that media practically gives shape to the way a person thinks about politics. (Garnett & Lynch, 2009, p.90) However researches have shown that it does not exert much influence on the voters especially the strong followers. The impact lies mainly on the weak ones or the vote-switchers. Results of studies show: “As intended, watching a Labour PEB improved evaluations of Blair (significant at the p.10 level) and depressed evaluations of his main rivals. Watching a Liberal Democrat PEB also had the intended effect, by strongly boosting evaluations of Kennedy (by almost 0.5 points on a 10-point scale), while depressing feelings about his rivals” (Norris, 2006). It is quite important to understand the British media and the Commonwealth to throw a great deal of light on the development of press. It is true that media influences politics but it was the gradual democratization of media and the rise of independent press that empowered media. The impact of technology also accelerated the process and the world is introduced to the form of media known as the Internet. This genre of media influences the mind of the individual. (Holman, 1995) The use of Internet in the Election of 1997 in Britain was a new beginning in politics. Nevertheless, the electorate at time was not familiar with the use of Internet and seldom visited the web sites. Only 10 percent of the voters participated in the Internet election. In 1992 Election, Clinton tried to ensure that the objectives of their party are not distorted through the Internet. However, Britain too cannot resist the glitz of the world of media. The minor parties could not participate in the game of power politics by making use of media but the major parties influenced the mass through the Internet. (Crewe, Gosschalk, & Bartle, 1998, pp. 93-97) The ideas related to mass media are crucial in understanding the fundamentals that shape the media theories. Media theories are formed and are still evolving keeping in tune with the society. Media cannot perform without society. The media exercises power on the people. (McQuail, 2010, pp. 2-5) Media use is a way out for the individuals to escape from their personal problems and to seek required information. But most of the time it is found that the individuals are prone to watch and hear news that excites the nerves. Is it that they try to escape from the dilemma by mere verbal participation? This is perhaps a controversial issue and it has a multi- dimensional approach. The Expectancy Value Theory is also very important in understanding the media audience. (Perry, 2002, pp. 71-81) In present time to be a “good citizen” one has to understand the media and its workings. The democratic pattern of some nations allow for every person to be educated regarding the institution of media. (Inglis, 1990, pp.1-20) The works of Garnett and Lynch in “Exploring British Politics” speaks about the ‘mother of parliaments” - The Westminster Parliament. It is the ground of political activities. The “Westminster Village” is a part of the media that gave a new direction to the political discussions. It is a network where people share their views regarding politics. Then we find the collapse of this model. This has definitely been taken as blow but with time, new conventions regarding media and politics have emerged in Britain. Contemporary issues like Blair’s legacy have affected the British politics. It has given media the chance to propagate their views; rather, to narrate the exact incident. Politics is the execution of power in the society. The groups of people work together and are headed by a few persons. The concept of power is bound to generate conflict and various opinions. The politics of mass media and the government has affected common people deeply. (Garnett and Lynch, 2009, pp. 89-100) Conclusion Politics and history are closely linked with one another. The Imperial Regime of Britain gives birth to politics. As Freeman has said, “history is past politics and politics is present history” (Turner, 2008).  Britain’s history and her politics complement and supplement each other and on this ground, the media of Britain plays its power game. Each institution has its negative and positive aspects and the power holding bodies are bound to get corrupt. However, measures should be taken to check the monopoly of the media. The citizens should be alert and be aware about judging the validity of the news.   References Ghai, K.K., (2002), Political Science, Ludhiana, Kalyani Publishers, Negrine, R.M., (1994), Politics and the Mass Media in Britain, place, Routledge Negrine, R.M.,(1996),The Communication of Politics, London, Sage Publication Holman, M., Apr95), “British Media and the Commonwealth”., Round Table, The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 84, No. 334, pp.179 – 185. Crewe, I.,Gosschalk, B. and J. Bartle, (1998), Political Communication: Why Labour Won the General Election of 1997? Place, Routledge McQuail, D., (2010), McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory, London, Sage Publication Perry, D.,(2002),Theory and Research in Mass Communication, place, Routledge Turner, F.J. (2008), “The Significance of History”, Teaching American History, available at: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1429 (accessed on November 27, 2010) Moores, S. (2005) Media/Theory-Thinking about Media And Communications, London, Taylor and Francis Moore, M. (2007), “The new face of Britain? Flag poll results”, The Telegraph, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572168/The-new-face-of-Britain-Flag-poll-results.html (accessed on November 30, 2010) Norris, P. (2006), “Did the Media Matter? Agenda-Setting, Persuasion and Mobilization Effects in the British General Election Campaign”, British Politics, Vol1, No.2, pp. 195-221, available at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/bp/journal/v1/n2/full/4200022a.html (accessed on November 30, 2010) Inglis, F., (1990), Media Theory: An Introduction, London, Bucknell Publisher Garnett, M., and P. Lynch, (2009), Exploring British Politics, London, Longman  Sengupta, K. (2008), “MPs seek to censor the media”, The Independent, available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-seek-to-censor-the-media-1006607.html (accessed on November 30 2010) Read More