Mass media

1. Mass media Prof. Dr. N. PrabhudevVice-ChancellorBANGALORE UNIVERSITYWebsite: www.vcbunprabhudev.inEmail: vcbunprabhudev@gmail.comBlog: http://www.vcbunprabhudev.blogspot.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/VCBU 16th April 2010

2. The principle of modern journalism can be understood from this saying:"When a dog bites a man it is no news, but when a man bites a dog, it is news”. Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” Freedom of expression should never forsake the unwritten law of responsibility.

3. Media empowerment is a sign of true democracy, a medium to communicate with the youth and the entire world.. People have blind faith in the media and they are convinced that what they hear or what the media has declared is correct.. The Jessica Lal case ended on a comparatively positive note than could have ever been expected. Thanks to the media

4. One cannot ignore anymore the ever present scope for an alarming possibility of the media developing some sort of a vested interest in catastrophe. Take the case of Aarushi murder. The media decided that they can sit in judgment. Media declared that twelve year old Aarushi was murdered as she was a witness to her father’s extra marital affair. Another said she had an illicit relationship with 50 year old servant so on and so forth. Imagine the agony of the Thalvar parents. Worse the police took all the stories lock stock and barrel without much of even application of mind. This is a major setback to the Media.

5. There is a worrisome disconnect between the political power of poorer, traditionally marginalized communities and their consumption of media. Not only are these citizens unlikely to have meaningful access to the media, and if the media is not covering issues that matter to them, then how valuable is it to the process of political and social change .For example in UP elections the BSP did not advertise, nor did its candidates or events receive much media attention. Despite predictions the BSP still won dramatically. The coverage of the media, which virtually ignored the party, did not matter to its largely economically marginalized supporters.

6. After 61 years of india’s independence. The benefits of independence have reached only a few, thus creating islands of few ultra rich people -The URBAN Indians surrounded by vast sea of utterly poor rural people of Bharath. . The rich INDIA people in nexus with those in power are getting favorable laws enacted to suit their ends. Those in power are shamelessly enjoying star luxuries all at tax payer’s expense, while more than 50 million are starving to death.

7. There was a time when the press was the strongest guardian of free expression in this democracy. Stories and celebrations of intrepid and courageous reporters are many within the press corps. Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on. principles of — truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public Journalism ethics include the principle of "limitation of harm."

8. The Preamble to its Code of Ethics states:...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

9. One of the main causes of origin of naxalism , separatist movements is the rampant corruption & unaccountability of public servants in India.The four main pillars of democratic setup in India are legislature, judiciary, executive & the media. Now, one pillar after the other has started to crumble down paving the way for anarchy. The one remaining pillar of democracy in India is the INDIAN JUDICIARY. It was thought to be an angel who provides justice to the commoners. Now, the tentacles of corruption have started engulfing the Indian judiciary also. It is only due to the pioneering efforts of media these scandals have come to light.

10. MobileMobile phones were introduced in Japan in 1979 but became a mass media only in 1998 when the first downloadable ringing tones were introduced in Finland. Soon most forms of media content were introduced on mobile phones, and today the total value of media consumed on mobile towers over that of internet content, and was worth over 31 billion dollars in 2007.Similar to the internet, mobile is also an interactive media, but has far wider reach, with 3.3 billion mobile phone users at the end of 2007 to 1.3 billion internet users (source ITU). Like email on the internet, the top application on mobile is also a personal messaging service, but SMS text messaging is used by over 2.4 billion people

11. Anglophone bias in the world mediaIt has been observed that the world's principal suppliers of news, the news agencies, and the main buyers of news are Anglophone corporations and this gives an Anglophone bias to the selection and depiction of events. Anglophone definitions of what constitutes news are paramount; the news provided originates in Anglophone capitals and responds first to their own rich domestic marketsReporting the truth is almost never libel, which makes accuracy very important.

12. Abraham Lincoln articulated most succinctly when he said: "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe." The implication of those words is that self-governance is more essential than governance itself. Not so absurd, perhaps, if you had just fought a war against an oppressive government. The people, in turn, could only hold the government accountable if they knew what it was doing and could intercede as necessary, using their ballot, for example. This role of public "watchdog" was thus assumed by a citizen press, and as a consequence, the government in the United States has been kept out of the news business

13. Thomas Jefferson felt so strongly about the principle of free expression he said something that non-democrats must regard as an absurdity: "If it were left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter

14. The American press has always been influential, often powerful and sometimes feared, but it has seldom been loved. As a matter of fact, journalists today rank in the lower echelons of public popularity. They are seen as too powerful on the one hand, and not trustworthy on the other The question is whether the truth always serves the public. At times, the truth can do harm. If the truthful report of a small communal conflict say, leads to more civil unrest, is the public really being served? The journalistic purists - often those sitting in comfortable chairs far from conflict - say it is not their job to "play God" in such matters, and that one should not "shoot the messenger for the message."

15. If, however, one takes the rigid view that the truth always needs to be controlled -- or Lenin's dictum that truth is partisan -- the door is wide open for enormous abuse, as history has demonstrated time and again. It is this realization (and fear) that prompted Jefferson to utter that absurdity about the supreme importance of an uncensored press. Where is the relevance of all this to the emerging democracies around the world? Certainly the American experience, for all its messiness, provides a useful precedent, if not always a model. For example, when one talks about an independent media, it is necessary to include financial independence as a prerequisite, in addition to political independence.

16. The problem in many new democracies is that journalists who once had to toe the single-party line equate independence with opposition. Because they speak out against the government, they say they are independent. But haven't they just traded one affiliation for another? There is little room for unvarnished truth in a partisan press. Democracy requires the public to make choices and decisions. This editor wanted to prepare citizens for that responsibility with articles that inform but do not pass judgment

17. Last, and most effective, is libel law. In the United States, a citizen can win a substantial monetary award from a news organization if libel is proven in a court of law. It is much harder for a public official or celebrity than an ordinary citizen to win a libel case against the press, because the courts have ruled that notoriety comes with being in the limelight. In most cases, the complaining noble must prove "malice aforethought." There is nothing in the American constitution that says the press must be responsible and accountable. Those requirements were reserved for government.

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