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MASS MEDIA AND SOCIETY
The two faces of it!
By K.Asif
“Media and society share a common denominator, what
former proffers is simultaneously reflected in the latter”
Right from the early journalistic efforts of world’s first
newspaper ‘Acta Diurna’ (Daily Events) of ancient Rome to
present day plethora of dailies, Press or better-called
Media has come a long way. Undoubtedly, Media or the
profession of Journalism has played an important role for
any society. With due course, this role has explicitly
expanded into various areas. Many changes have found their
place in this profession but it remains as the ‘best
profession in world’.
Back in 18th century, the press came to be known as
“Fourth Estate.” The term originated in Britain. It meant
to suggest that the press was a force in society and
government equal to the three recognized “estates” of the
time—the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners. Today
the term is still significant and implies that the press
plays a special role in any system of government. However,
the role varies from country to country and place to
place. A journalist is so, primarily because of his
conscience and that inkling in him of being the ‘Prime
Mover’ of his society. Therefore, what is that makes media
have such a latent power, enough even to wage a war
without real arms? One of the weapons undoubtedly is that
usually comes to the rescue of a journalist is his Pen.
However, the power of pen can never be so manifest but it
is effective and rather most powerful of all the weapons.
Having said that, Journalists as prime movers of society
and communicators of respective medium can put the social
milieu on movers or shakers because of the fact that Media
is being watched, scrutinized, and believed. Therefore,
this means a lot depends upon media. It should have been
absolutely a reliable institution with everything being
sieved and scrutinized so as not to delude the innocent
audience. Media knowingly or unknowingly is but
responsible for all the vibrations in our society.
Noam Chomsky’s media model says that “what is really being
sold is not information or newspapers; it’s the selling of
audiences to advertisers”. Whether that is what it really
is or it is just a ramification of present media ecology?
That would essentially mean the subservient attitude of
media to capital.
Nowadays, the notion of public journalism has been very
controversial. It is painted as advocacy of control of the
news to the community’s concerns. Journalists felt/feel
that their job was to give the news audience what they
need rather than what they want. However, this idea of
embracing community reporting is something different. This
is recognizing that the new intermediary role will be a
facilitation role, easing passage into and through the
news space, not a gatekeeper barring news infidels from
the doors. Let us analyze the following queries …
What is Mass Media and how does it function in a
society?
Mass Media means: all forms of public information systems,
i.e. Newspaper, Magazines, Radio, TV, and Internet.
News organizations assume the responsibility of
representing the public interest. To gain public trust and
confidence, journalists traditionally operate within the
parameters of ethical and responsible news reporting. In
preparing stories for print, broadcast or the Internet,
journalists apply standards outlined by their news
organizations (though the standards may vary widely,
particularly when it comes to a newer medium like the
Internet.)
How does it influence our society?
Today, the Media is everywhere around us. Public or
private TV screens which supply us with over a fifty
different channels of all kinds of information or trivia;
the radio in our homes, at work do the same. We read
newspapers, magazines –etc and there is the Internet,
which reaches the whole planet, and has whole life spans
full of information. Most people, however, do not count
the Internet in with the rest of "Establishment Mass
Media.”
Modern society is conceptualized as information society
where mass media plays a critical role in social
processes, mobilization for change and development. The
process is central to the creation of community and
building associations. The role of mass media in social
awareness and political mobilization can never be
overlooked. Very aptly, the present society is called the
“information society” and the effect is from the
subsequent super highway nature of our world. Mass media
is what is called the power resource of a society. They
are means of control, management, and innovation in a
society. Generally mediating between objective social
reality and personal experience!
Whereas maybe as little as ten years ago the whole Media
sector had a lot less to say in actual life, in the recent
years, and with the growing popularity of the "Information
Super-highway", the influence media has on us has reached
a frightening rate. In recent years, every aspect of life
has been changed radically, to accommodate the media's eye
on things; be it Clinton vs. Lewinsky Trial or the Gitmo
maltreatment of Prisoners or the Abu Ghraib case, being
good examples of how Media influences our thinking to
change the outcome of a presumably dangerous political or
social decision.
The other side of the same story! But as we analyze that,
a common man understands a journalist at work as one
single angel from the sky, to clear his doubts and to
provide him with the “Gospel of Everyday Truth”. Now the
question is how far does a Journalist justify his / her
stand? Is he what he really is? A prime mover of the
society…a muckraker!
Often journalists impose a preconceived "spin" upon a
story instead of carefully examining the facts. Whether it
is deliberately misrepresenting an issue for the sake of
producing a sensationalistic story, no one can say that
the establishment mass media does a creditable job of
informing the public of what it needs to know.
There are many examples of how major news media mishandle
stories in which all of the pertinent facts are available
and yet nothing close to the truth is told. In addition to
stories, which are distorted, there is news, which is not
reported at all. But people are so media-orientated, so
completely influenced by what they are told by the media,
that they can no longer think clearly for themselves, and
accept that what they are told; regurgitated opinions from
a society that can't accept the truths any more.
Why is it that there is such a large interest in the
so-called "gutter press" these days, all over the world,
where the news stories reach ever more shocking heights,
by picturing things in gorier, more brilliant or richer
detail from one day to the next? What is shocking to our
eyes today; (e.g. the photos of a dead child in war-torn
Iraq), is hardly noticed tomorrow where it needs a photo
of a dead child with gory open wounds to satisfy the
curiosity of our society.
It is reaching a frightening stage, and nothing can stop
it. Pictures of the utmost cruelty, of the rich and famous
people, make it into our heads, and get replaced by
pictures of even crueler details, richer or more famous.
Nothing else gets past the stream of petty information
that our heads are stuffed with all day long. The Media
tells us where to eat, what to drive, what to do, how to
live, what to think. What do we need our heads for? In a
few years, nothing - they can be replaced by machines that
receive information via satellite, and transform it into
action!
Media can affect lightly held attitudes and channelize
stronger attitudes. It can enforce social norms. By being
the mediating factor, it can very easily change the
political, social face of any society. It all depends on
how the industry of media is controlled and redirected,
the people at the helm of affairs and the way their
ideologies are set. If they are honest, sincere and have
the zeal of changing the things for good, then the result
would be a perfect society without a single malefactor.
Let us hope that we maintain and procure the truer face of
information, ready to compromise anything but truth. Let
truth prevail in better sense to better our society.
Horace Greeley once remarked…
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“Then hail to the press
Chosen guardian of freedom,
Strong sword – arm of justice
Bright sunbeam of truth.”
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