Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Role of Journalism in the Society


Siddharth G. Desai
Roll no. - 07
SEM - IV
Paper no.E-C-404
Year – 2012
Topic: “The Role of Journalism in the Society”



























Submitted to Dr. Dilip Barad
Department of English,
Bhavnagar University.
           



Journalism is one of the most efficacious mediums which play a very vital role in the society. Anyone can have question, “What is journalism?” The words like, ‘Journalist’, ‘journal’ and ‘journalism’ are derived from the French word ‘journal’, which in its turn comes from the Latin term ‘diurnalis’ or ‘daily’. ‘The Act Diurna’ was perhaps the world’s first newspaper which was a hand written bulletin put up daily in the forum, the main public square in ancient Rome. Later, pamphlets, tracts, reviews, periodicals, gazettes, news books, newssheets and letters came to be called as ‘newspaper’. The persons who wrote for news were first called ‘news writers’ or ‘essayists’ and later on the term ‘journalist’ came to appear.
          Today, a journalist is anyone who contributes in some way to the gathering, selection, and processing of news and current affairs for the press, radio, film, television, cable and the internet; and journalism is the profession to which they belong. The persons like, editors, correspondents, assistant editors, reporters, sub-editors, proof-readers, cartoonists, photographers are journalist; so are camera crew audio and video editors, news readers, producers, directors and managing editors. ‘Stringers’ are part-time journalists, while ‘free-lance’ journalists are those who are occasional contributors where news is used primarily for publicity of an organization or a product or of a particular perspective on issues national and international, the kind of journalism that results may be termed “public relations”. The chief objective is not the reaping of profits but in advancing causes and perspectives’ or in fighting a ‘cold war’. Most verses broadcast like; the Voice of America, the BBC World Service, Radio Deutsche Welle, and AIR’s external service are examples of the use of broadcasting for public relations. Governments and corporate groups the world over spend millions of dollars to do public relations under the cover of journalism. They present views and perspectives as ‘facts’ in the form of news stories. Newspapers in India, especially the local and business sections, are packed with reports and features that have their source in ‘press releases’ and ‘backgrounders’ issued by social, political and business groups who wish to publicise their activities.
          In recent years, newspapers and magazines have begun publishing glossy sections which are interesting termed ‘response features’ or ‘space marketing’ supplements. Several journalists too write for such supplements; however they do not equate this with journalism, but rather with public relations and publicity.
          Now let us see the print media in which journalism has the pivotal significance and it affects the people very much in both ways positive and negative. Prior to independence, the press in India had a clear-cut role to play in the nation’s struggle against British rule. It had put up a brave fight in its heroic effort to expose the brutality of the regime, particularly in its suppression of the freedom movement. Many editors of the Indian language press defied censorship regulations to keep the nation informed about the progress of the movement.
          With the goal of Independence being achieved at long last, the Indian press seems to have lost its moorings. It was in a quandary. Should it play the role of an adversary to the government in power- the role it had played with remarkable success- or should it transform itself into and ally, and support the government in its effort at national development? The quandary of the press has yet to be resolved.
          According to the first press commission the press should help secure and protect a social order in which justice would prevail. But the role of the press in India need not be that of adversary or of an ally of the government. The press should be a ‘watch-dog’ and act as a catalytic agent to hasten the process of social and economic change. The perspective of an adversary role for the press derives from the assumption that the press is the voice of the public, is above corruption and that the government though deriving power from the people, might misuse it. It must be noted that the press is part of the political process, craves for power, is made up of people with personal ambitions and aversions, preferences and prejudices. As perhaps the largest advertiser, the government supports and strengthens the press. Both the government and the press represent the ‘power elites’, and therefore reflect their interests. This is why the interest of the poor is surely on the agenda of public discussion.
          Journalists present the news of the current happenings in the simplest language so that even a lay man can understand and read the happenings around the world. Both the print media and broadcast present the news of every field in a comprehensible way that satisfies all the readers of the society. The press is so obsessed with politics that even a petty matter becomes the headline of the front page. The press immediately need what it is called creative, investigative and development reporting chiefly on non-political themes like, unemployment, malnutrition, exploitation of the poor, miscarriage of justice, political atrocities, development schemes and the like.
          The exposure of the building incidents at Bhagalpur, which would have never come to light but for the alert press, is just one example of the heights the Indian Press can sometimes scale. Credibility is indeed the very life-blood of the press, no matter which government is in power. The period of the Emergency shows how the credibility of the press could suffer. There are other reasons why credibility suffers, the chief being the unduly heavy dependence on official press handouts by business and government. When, for example, there is a strike or riot, the police department’s handout is printed without comment. On-the-spot investigative reports are few and far between. Further, journalists are inclined to accept favors from government such as subsidized housing and medical facilities and it is therefore not surprising that they rush to the same government when they have differences with editors, with management or when they demand higher salaries and better working conditions. However, the press is much too important in a democracy to be entrusted entirely to journalists; a vigilant public, the courts and the press council is needed to keep a watchful eye on it.
The ‘Power’ of the press to bring about social and political change or economic development is extremely limited. In capitalist society, the press is primarily like any other business or industry. It exists to raise advertising revenue and circulation with the aim of making profits. ‘Public Service’ and public interest’ are not the main concerns. This is not to suggest that the press does not make attempts to exercise its ‘power’ in favour of one political or economic ideology over another, or of one group or classes or caste over another. These attempts, it must be acknowledge, are sometimes successful and at other times disastrous failure.
          At most times, however the attempts are not paid much heed to, unless it affects some group’s interest in a radical manner. In the ultimate analysis, the power of the press depends on its credibility among readers, as well as on how the news reported is understood and interpreted. Different group ‘read’ the same news is read is not entirely in the hands of journalists. Indeed, the press often succeeds only in reinforcing widely held beliefs and the status quo rather than bringing about change and development.
          There is no doubt that the press keeps us informed about selected events, issues and people. The public has interests, belies, and expectations that are created to by the press. While the press tells us what to think about, it has little power to change our ideas, beliefs and attitudes even when it attempts to do so. But when the press changes our ideas or thoughts, it brings a vast revolution or awareness. The prime function of journalism is to make aware people about the fact.

1 comment:

  1. Good writing Siddharth, even apart from ethics study in Journalism it is all about India's main stream Income producing industry. One can say that corruption is the second income of India that is just the profit out of Public. Sometimes, it does not stress on the public service and their good life. Somehow, they fail to succeed their function of informing the day-to-day happenings of the world.

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