The Views of the News: The Role of Media in a Changing Landscape

175 Years of Media in Assam and Beyond

PRAYASEE BARUAH

The Views of the News: The Role of Media in a Changing Landscape

In 1906, when Mark Twain had said “There are only two forces that can carry light to all corners of the globe…the sun in the heavens and the associated press down here”, little would he have realised that the fundamental tenets of the media would change significantly after all the decades that passed in between; as would the society over which it hovers.

Long before technology had taken over the leisurely, simple pleasures of life, there was a time when mornings would start with the anticipation of the newspaper. Grandpa would sit in the sunshine with his cup of tea while he pored over the affairs, good and bad, plaguing various regions of the world.

With no other means of accessibility, the newspaper and some occasional magazines were the only sources of information and opinion in his prime. Fast forwarding to a few years thereafter, my father would wait for the 7 am news in the television, the representative of the dominant news media of his time, providing an edge over print media in providing a more detailed and elaborate picture of current affairs.

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With the changing of times however, the daily newspaper now faces an immediate necessity to make a strategic need for survival and even the television now no longer remains the prima facie source of news. Increasing internet penetration and the unprecedented rise of social media has entirely revolutionised the role and functioning of the media.

In rural areas with massive cultural and linguistic variations, majority of population still rely on regional print media for information.

However, in this era of mobile phones and slowly growing easy internet accessibility even in remote areas, the press too has embraced the power of digital media and have started exploring the usage of online mediums for efficient transfer of news and communication.

With the advent of internet, the world is witnessing an unfathomable connectivity where the transfer of news now no longer remains at the sole discretion of journalists.

Within the span of a single human generation, people’s access to information has witnessed a massive paradigm shift, shifting from relative scarcity to surfeit.

In this scenario, the media too has been compelled to enter a rat race to sustain themselves. In a democracy like India, with so much power vested in the media, they now serve as the main vehicles for forming opinions and steering the socio-political climate of the country. New media has changed the way people perceive, reflect, react and interact with each other.

In this scenario where public opinion fluctuates ever so easily, the immense power vested in the media has given rise to misuse and misinterpretation. In a bid to garner viewership, unbiased reporting of events that impact the socio-political-economic climate of the general public has given way to more sensationalized reporting of people’s private lives.

Propaganda disguised as news is flourishing wherein news channels have now become stooges of particular politicians and parties. While one sentence taken out of context from a speech suffice to ruin the image of an individual, the media has become vehicles to make or break the image of individuals and organisations.

Media needs to act as the watchdog of society, keep a check on the governmental policies and give reasonable power to the public. Media is the fourth pillar of democracy. It needs to act as a mirror of society.

With the leverage of manipulating information and deciding how much, and in what form the news reaches the people, the responsibility of the media is immense in upholding a smooth functioning of governance and keeping public outrage in check.

Media needs to act as an outlet of public voice and opinion, further propagate ideas, policies and reforms suggested by and for the betterment of the common man.

It needs to honestly reflect upon and present the needs, demands, opinions and solutions of various problems faced by majority and the underprivileged sections of the society.

Today, social media is also a powerful tool that is utilized fully for expressing thoughts, views and disagreements. In this era of connectivity and accessibility where news gets viral on social media before digital and print media and many people circulate fake news and photoshopped images in a bid to increase the market value of their individual avenues, media needs to act as a genuine source of not only circulating but also fact-checking news.

Today, when the crime rates are at an all-time high, media has the power to expose every crime and highlight its far-reaching effects, putting pressure on authorities to implement laws and to do justice to suffering people.

If functioned in all earnest honesty, media can be called the guardian angel of the liberties that human race possesses.

By arming the common man with the armaments of knowledge and awareness, it can help in building a peaceful law governed just society. This is a role whose necessity is now greater than ever before.

There are contradictory views on the status of press and media freedom in India. External observers consider the Indian news media to be in an enviable position in the developing world while media insiders believe that their freedom of expression is greatly curbed both by orthodox governance and its supporters.

The present Indian ethos is in a desperate need of cries an independent and comprehensive look into the law, practices, and ethics of the media and on what kind of regulatory and governance mechanisms need to be put in place.

The ultimate objective of the media must be the same as the vision Mark Twain had seen decades ago: to sustain the integrity and freedom of the media while ensuring the highest ethical standards and practices.

[Prayasee Baruah is a research scholar at NEHU and a writer]

This article is published in the Mahabahu‘s historical book 175 Years of media in Assam & Beyond

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