Media and Liberal Democracy - Coursework Example

Media and Liberal Democracy Student Name Course Institution Tutor Date Media and Liberal Democracy Introduction The role of the media is considered as essential in individual’s life. This is due to the fact that the media acts as tool through which an individual is able to access events and happenings throughout the world. The media in this case encompasses the traditional media tools such as newspapers, radio and television. In this case for effective democracy to flourish it is essential that the population engage in the access of sources of information so as to open forums for debate. The media therefore plays a fundamental role in stimulating various forms of debates in regards to issues within the society. The media is important in presenting actualities, news reporting, exposing all forms corruption and misconduct among other issue. The essay will therefore discuss media in relation to liberal democracy in the context of Australia (Parkin, 2010, pp.11-15). Media and Liberal Democracy Australia is considered as one of the states whereby democracy is highly practiced. In addition Australia has a prolonged history whereby there is a set of rules that are mainly designed for protection and promotion of the media diversity. This is attributed to the fact that within a democratic state there is great importance in the existence of variety in relation to programs, news and other contemporary affairs. This is essential as it will greatly assist the population in the formation of opinions and viewpoints (Curran & Gurevitch 2005). Just as a liberal democratic type of government should be accountable to its citizens the media too should engage in the process of upholding accountability in relation to what is being reported. Thus, failure of the media in being accountable involves deficit within a democracy as it will result in the failure of the media to hold accountability of those in power. In a liberal type of democracy for instance Australia the media should therefore strife to strike a balance between economic interest and political philosophies (Errington & Miragliotta 2011). The media should exercise accountability and reporting of news and other information with the respect of the democratic values that is practiced in a country. The role of the media in a liberal democratic state like Australia is evident. This involves holding the government of the day accountable and responsible to its citizens. The media too should engage in the process of responsible journalism in its reporting process. Thus within the media the interests of the citizens must always be put first (Parkin, 2010 pp.22). In Australia for the purposes of protecting liberal democracy newspapers have a code of conduct that they need to adhere to. Hence The Australian Press Council has the responsibility of supporting the good standards of media practice. It allows the society to access information for the sake of public interest, allows for freedom of expression with the use of the media while at the same time handle complaints against various media tools (Young, 2010 pp.346). Despite a proper link between liberal democracy and media in Australia there is the existence of media indifference. For instance the mode of reporting and journalism in ABC’s media is considered as being deceptive. This therefore has a negative influence in terms of exercising power in deficiency of responsibility that pose a great threat to liberal democracy practices. As a result of liberal democracy in Australia the media enjoys various privileges that involve the role of the media and their responsibility in their practices. In case of a legal proceeding the media is not required to disclose the identity of their source unless if it is in the interest of the public in disclosing the source of information (Malcolm, 2011 pp.432). Figure 1: Views of the effectiveness of the Australian Press Council Source: R. Emmerson The role of the media is critical in the democratic process especially through the election process. During the process of elections the media are engaged in the process of upholding the democratic rights of individual. For instance during the recent elections in Australia the media provided an important insight in ensuring the process was democratic and the citizens were able to exercise their rights full. In addition the media plays an important role in ensuring the such a democratic/political process such as an election are conducted with such transparency and accountability that it deserves (Schudson, 2008 pp.11). Hence the role of the media in politics is evident as various campaigns are also conducted through the use of the media tools. For instance in the context of United States of America recent elections the campaigns engaged the use of media and other social media networks for the purposes of reaching out to prospective voters and sell their political ideologies (Mayer & Cornfield 2008, pp. 320-331). Within the context of Australia traditional forms of media tools such as newspapers, radio and television have greatly evolved due to advent in new technology. Hence the new media involves the use of internet tools for the purposes of accessing various forms of information. Therefore with the use of internet and the easy accessibility of the internet tools the media has a great role to play as far as Australian politics is concerned. New media involves the transmission of the content through the use of internet. The new media has proven to be accompanied by various limitations that threaten the liberal democracy process. In Australia the use of internet as a form of new media tool is considered as most popular among the younger generation as compared to the older generation. A survey conducted between 2010-2011 indicated the fact that internet usage was most popular among individuals of age bracket between 18-24 years (Hallin & Mancini 2004). In addition, there is the existence of economic divide in the sense that higher income individuals are able to access the new media tools as compared to the lower income individuals. This form of disparity is therefore considered as a threat to the liberal democracy that provides the role of the media in checking the performance of the government and relying the same information to the citizens who are regarded as the main audience of the media. Thus, these forms of disparity among the population will undermine the efforts of the role of the media within a democratic process (Jenkins & Thorburn 2003, pp.5-12). Additionally, another limiting factor to the democratic aspect of the new media in Australia involves the element of isolationism among the desired audience. This is a situation whereby individuals engage in a form of isolation form their fellow citizens in respect to the forms of ideologies that are not agreeable with theirs. In such a scenario whereby individuals engage in isolation there is the erosion of liberal democratic process. This is due to the result that the isolation of individuals lose the capability to engage each other respectfully in political issues. More focus is therefore put on personal concerns as opposed to the common good of the entire population (Tiffen, 2004, pp.210). Conclusion In conclusion, the role of the media is essential in any democratic process as evident in the context of Australia. It is therefore through the media that the process of liberal democracy is sustained. This is attributed to the fact that the media acts as a watchdog to election process and the government of the day. The media through its reporting ensures that the government is fully accountable in its action and uncovers various forms of corrupt deals in the government. The media disseminates information to the citizens in order to uphold the democratic process. List of References Australian Broadcasting Corporation., 2011, Transcript of Q&A, Monday 9 May [Online], Available: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3205559.htm [2012, Feb 15]. Jenkins, H & Thorburn, D., 2003, 'Introduction: the digital revolution, the informed citizen, and the culture of democracy', in Jenkins, H & Thorburn, D (eds), Democracy and new media, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 1-17. Errington, W & Miragliotta, N 2011, Media & politics: an introduction, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. Mayer, JD & Cornfield, M 2008, 'The Internet and the future of media politics', in Rozell, MJ & Mayer, JD (eds), Media power, media politics, 2nd edn., Rowman & Littlefield, London, pp. 319-37. Malcolm D., 2011, Democracy Under Attack: How the Media Distort Policy and Politics, Polity Press, Bristol, (432 pp). Young Sally, 2010,How Australia Decides: Election Reporting and the Media, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, (346 pp). Tiffen, R 2004, 'The news media and Australian politics' [2.7MB], in P Boreham, G Stokes & R Hall (eds), The politics of Australian society, 2nd edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp. 201-19. Schudson, M 2008, 'Six or seven things news can do for democracy' [900KB], Why democracies need an unlovable press, Polity, Cambridge, UK, pp. 11–26. Hallin, DC & Mancini, P 2004, Comparing media systems: three models of media and politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Curran, J & Gurevitch, M 2005, Mass media and society, 4th edn, Hodder Arnold, London. Parkin, A 2010, 'Understanding liberal-democratic politics' [1.3MB], in D Woodward, A Parkin & J Summers (eds), Government, politics, power and policy in Australia, 9th edn, Pearson Custom Publishing, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp. 3-24. Read More