Role of media

Mass media is communication—whether written, broadcast, or spoken—that reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines,

. Three main sociological perspectives on the role of media exist:

the limited‐effects theory, the class‐dominant theory, and the culturalist theory.

Limited-effects theory

The limited‐effects theory argues that because people generally choose what to watch or read based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence. This theory originated and was tested in the 1940s and 1950s. Studies that examined the ability of media to influence voting found that well‐informed people relied more on personal experience, prior knowledge, and their own reasoning.

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Critics point to two problems with this perspective.

limited‐effects theory ignores the media's role in framing and limiting the discussion and debate of issues. How media frames the debate and what questions members of the media ask change the outcome of the discussion and the possible conclusions people may draw.

Second, this theory came into existence when the availability and dominance of media was far less widespread.

The class‐dominant theory argues that the media reflects and projects the view of a minority elite, which controls it. Those people who own and control the corporations that produce media comprise this elite.

Their concern is that when ownership is restricted, to a few people then have the ability to manipulate what people can see or hear.

For example, owners can easily avoid or silence stories that expose unethical corporate behavior or hold corporations responsible for their actions.

Class-dominant theory

Television networks receiving millions of dollars in advertising from companies like Nike and other textile manufacturers were slow to run stories on their news shows about possible human‐rights violations by these companies in foreign countries.

Critics of this theory counter these arguments by saying that local control of news media largely lies beyond the reach of large corporate offices elsewhere, and that the quality of news depends upon good journalists.

corporate elite controls media, a variation on this approach argues that a politically “liberal” elite controls media. journalists, being more highly educated than the general population, hold more liberal political views, consider themselves “left of center,”

The culturalist theory, developed in the 1980s and 1990s, combines the other two theories and claims that people interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they receive.

This theory sees audiences as playing an active rather than passive role in relation to mass media.

One strand of research focuses on the audiences and how they interact with media; the other strand of research focuses on those who produce the media, particularly the news

Culturalist theory

.Theorists emphasize that audiences choose what to watch among a wide range of options, choose how much to watch, and may choose the mute button or the VCR remote over the programming selected by the network or cable station.

People interpret that material based on their own knowledge and experience.

culturalist theorists claim that, while a few elite in large corporations may exert significant control over what information media produces and distributes, personal perspective plays a more powerful role in how the audience members interpret those messages.

Role of media

The government decides that the prices of petrol and diesel will either be increased or decreased. That decision needs to be conveyed to the people. This is done by the media. The media not only inform the people about it but also explain the effect of that decision taken by the government on the people

MASS MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY

The agriculture department of your state or the Indian Agricultural Research Institute develops a new improved, high yielding strain of wheat or rice. Farmers should be given information about the new variety, how it has to be used or what benefits they would get if they use it. Here again, it is the media that does this. But how does the media do this? Different forms of mass media such as print media, radio, television, traditional media and the internet are used to disseminate information

Mass Media Can Help in Change Using mass media, people’s attitudes and habits can be changed. For example, all of us have mistaken or wrong notions about various diseases like leprosy or HIV/AIDS.

Many of us think that by touching people suffering from these diseases we would be infected. You might have heard on radio or watched television programmes or read messages which tell us that by touching an HIV/AIDS patient we do not get infected

Mass media are used by the consumer industry to inform people about their products and services through advertising. Without advertising, the public will not know about various products which are available in the market as well as their prices. Thus mass media help the industries and consumers.

Mass Media Promotes Distribution of Goods

The Press Council of India is one of the organizations which issues guidelines on media ethics.

Accuracy: The information provided by media persons in the print media, radio, television and internet has to be accurate. If incorrect or baseless information is given, it can harm the interests of individuals, institutions and the country. the story.

Ethics

b) Confidentiality: A media person maintains confidentiality ofinformation revealed by various sources.

c) Protection of sources: A source which has provided confidential information should never be revealed. For example if a government official provides information pertaining to his department, media person should not reveal the name of the person in order to protect him from any harm.

d) Right to privacy: A journalist should respect the right of a person to have privacy. That would mean that a journalist should not write about the private life of ordinary citizens.

e) No incitement to violence: Mass media should not motivate or provoke people to indulge in violence or crime. Glorifying violence in writings should also be avoided.

f) No vulgarity or obscenity: Mass Media should not write, display or broadcast anything that is vulgar or obscene.

No Communal writing ; Our Constitution believes in secularism,

which means respect for all faiths and religions. It is easy for the media to create problems between sections with different faiths and religions by writing about them or broadcasting issues which can promote communal problems.

POSITIVE EFFECTS Media provide news and information required

by the people. Media can educate the public. Media helps a democracy function effectively. They inform the public about government

policies and programmes and how these programmes can be useful to them. This helps the people voice their feelings and helps the government to make necessary changes in their policies or programmes.

IMPACT OF MEDIA

NEGATIVE EFFECTS The traditional culture of a country is

adversely affected by mass media. Entertainment has become the main

component of mass media. This affects the primary objectives of media to inform and educate the people.

Media promote violence. Studies have proved