“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Malcolm X.
The media, being the fourth pillar of democracy has a very big responsibility and liability towards society. It has the power to construct and destroy anyone’s apprehensions and premonitions.
Since we live in a global world, the media is considered as the lens through which we get to know what’s happening worldwide. We have no other way to get to the essence of the events occurring comprehensively. So we extensively rely on our media.
The media too should discern and decipher its responsibility towards society. It cannot afford to be biased and unethical in any way. Because the first and foremost duty of media is to carry out the truth of the story and present as it is to the viewers. The duty is to present the truth, not to bring any judgement on any ground. The media does not have any right to adjudicate the rights and the wrongs.
Indian media has been creaking under the burden of unethical practices. When our country is going through such a difficult period fighting coronavirus, falling GDP, farmers sufferings, unemployment etc., our media is busy covering obvious, filthy, and futile stories day in and day out.
Couldn’t they realize what harm they are causing to the country via their misleading attitude and demeanour? Have they completely forgotten their “code of ethics” and the “canon of journalism” for the sake of some extra bucks, power, and privileges?
At the time when they should be asking crucial questions to the government, they are lauding and defending them for their shortcomings and deficiencies. They are trying to divert people’s attention from the real issues of the country by engaging them in other puerile talks.
India is doubly victimized by the nonchalant attitude of its media. It is painful to see that hardly any voices were raised for the farmers, who were allegedly brutally attacked and booked for protesting against the centre’s ordinances.
At the same time, the whole country was busy watching the media’s farcical mummeries. Many of the Indian media houses do not pay any attention to the guidelines and ethics that journalism is supposed to follow.
In order to bring more TRPs to their respective channels, they rush to anything and everything, without even getting to know the real matter of the fact. They air blatant falsehoods without knowing the veracity of the story, and often as we learn the truth, we realize things were not the same as shown on the news channels.
In the year 2018, the Supreme Court of India criticized the Indian media for being irresponsible, and said that they cannot write anything they imagine and behave as if they are “sitting in some pulpit.”
So that distinctly proves that there is obviously something wrong with the media these days, and that needs to be taken seriously. Corruption in media and journalism is having a lethal effect on the country’s development.
The media should be accountable for whatever content they bring to the viewers. The facts need to be properly checked before they are aired, and news should be scrutinized before it is transmitted. As the fourth pillar of democracy, the media should work to strengthen democracy because it has enormous power to influence society.