The Power of Media

I recently read a news article regarding army rule in Manipur and the suffering of people. It was a forwarded mail sourced from tehelka.com. Now there is no doubt what the people of the north east are going through. But the piece was a simple line of photographs, a stirring story, and a direct logical conclusion. By the end of the article, I became so convinced that I almost ignored the basic assumption of the whole article: Are the photos what they claim to be? This stirred me to think what is to be believed in a piece of news.

Today, with the rampant use of technology in every facet of our life has made the world accessible to us like never before. But conversely, it has also made us accessible to the world. The biggest leverage from this development has gone to the media- both the news and advertising media. Today, advertisements of everything ranging from corvettes to condoms reach right out to us, driving consumerism and creating niches and new markets. But that is another discussion altogether. What I want to concentrate on in this article is, the power that rests in hands of the news media, bringing to the common man, events from round the world; and more often than not, perspectives too.

The methods of persuasion through communication are as old as history itself. The power of communication is best highlighted in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar where Marc Antony, with a single speech, turned around public opinion to such an extent that the Roman masses became very angry with Caesar's murderers, burnt down their houses and made them flee from the city.

But there was always a limit to the reach of communication. There were gaps and misunderstandings. Today, technology and mass media ensure that the word reaches every individual of every village with the utmost clarity. This is a very powerful carrier to the spearhead that was there for centuries.

On one side, this has ushered the information age and empowered the masses. But on the other side, it has also handed a lot of power in few hands. And the most worrisome fact is the blatant use of that power. Today, we not only get news; we also get opinions, and perspectives- all sugarcoated and gift wrapped in a clever play of words. And there is no reason for the viewer to think that there can be other standpoints, from where things look different.

And the viewer couldn’t care less. He takes in a lot of it at its face value, unaware of the fact that each individual’s opinion makes up the public opinion; which in turn, makes or breaks governments, dictates share market and controls the democratic world.

Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Today, with the play of money and power involved in the news media and press, it is no surprise that powerful hands control them. Behind the screens and under the tables, there is a lot going on beyond the scope of public sight. And the common man is fed with what suits them.

This again boils down to the classical clash of the democratic-communist ideologies. One believes in the freedom and liberty while the other maintains that man is essentially greedy and deserves to be kept under tabs. So all said and done, I do not really see a way out of this deadlock. While we cannot do without giving power to media, we cannot check its misuse also. So here it stays in the society as another of the “necessary evils”. But how many can we handle?

Errata: The news article I talk about in the first paragraph was from a freelancer published and followed up by tehelka.com. Thanks Swati.