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The 4th Pillar
-In search of responsible media-
What comes to your mind when we talk about the press or media? It is about the people who are there in the place of action, – be it a war field, a natural disaster, a communal riot, or a political arena running around with cameras, struggling hard to capture photos, videos, and interviews, to present the situation to the masses. The role of the media is so significant, without whom we will have no idea of what is happening in different parts of the country or the globe. A common man gets first-hand information of what is happening in the world, through media. He later forms his opinion or impression based on the news he consumes. So, it is important for the media to give an accurate report of what actually happened.
The question
is, “Is the first-hand information received from the media accurate or is it
manipulated?
3rd
May is celebrated as International Press Freedom Day. This led to a discussion
in a WhatsApp forum, I am a part of, as to “What was the current situation of
press and media?
Most members were of the opinion that none of the media today is totally free from bias or some sort of favoritism. Be it Newspapers, TV Channels, or Web-based Channels, everyone has some hidden agenda, which might be politically motivated or funded by someone or some organization, seeking to seed their pet ideologies, in the mind of future generations.
When the
source of the news itself is inaccurate, how can we expect the common man to
have a fair idea about what is really happening?
When what we
hear or see is not the true representation of what really happened, how can we make
the right judgments? There is already a great amount of polarized views
existing among people and by adding fuel to the fire, they are doing more harm.
It disturbs the social fabric of peaceful co-existence.
There is so
much negativity, which is blown beyond proportion. Nothing catches attention
more than negativity and the media faithfully keeps pumping in negative and
threatening news, to its readers/viewer in the form of FLASH NEWS. Everything is FLASH NEWS. The moment fresh
flash news appears, the old flash news seems to lose significance. When they
want to sabotage the importance of one burning issue, they can come out with
another sensational news, of lesser significance, which will make people forget
the old and start talking about the new.
The business
of media survives by creating a sensation. It is also common to see that they
exaggerate small things, but don’t give enough coverage for significant things.
Media has the unique ability to make small things sound big and big things
sound small.
This is an ironic
situation, where the guardians of truth are playing second fiddle to people in
power.
The media
should have the courage to expose the truth, even if it will provoke the people
who are in power. As the famous Tamil line goes, “Netrikan thirappinum kuttram kutrame” which means, “A fault is a
fault, no matter how powerful the defaulter is”.
In India, Media
has been given the respectful position of being called the 4th
pillar of democracy, which means they need to play the role of a watchdog and
inform the citizens, of what is happening in the country. It will help the
common man to know the truth and not just get swayed away by some popular
opinion. Are the people in the media business behaving responsibly? Why are
they not just able to just give the facts and figures, and let the common man
decide what is right and wrong? Why do they have to spice up the news with
emotionally provoking words?
A famous quote by Spiderman goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”. It is time for the media to act more responsibly. It is time for the media to become more ethical.
D. Senthil Kannan,
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