RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEDIA

Media and Its Responsibilities

Media and Its Responsibilities

Introduction

The term Media tends to derive its name from the word Medium, which is interpreted as a mean to transfer the information from one end to the other. The power, which today's, media tends to enjoy is much greater than the power enjoyed in the yester years. In the context of this paper we will be analyzing the Responsibilities of the Media in the Social Context. Today the media tends to shape up the opinions of the public relating to different issues. The people today tend to trust media irrespective of its nature, to an extent that they tend to buy the news on its face value. History has been witness to the fact that media has successfully molded the opinion of the public irrespective of the nature of the subject. The role of the media in the war of Iraq and Afghanistan has been exemplary in the context of the power possessed by today's media.

Irrespective of the fact that they successfully molded the facts to show only what tends to favor the government of that time. Since the media tends to enjoy great power, therefore, it is essential that media should understand its responsibilities. The media should realize, the effect, it can have on the mindset of the people; therefore, it should play its role in serving the people. Unfortunately, today the role of the media has been completely transformed to suit the needs of few individuals rather than serving the whole society. Media today possesses the power of destroying society by showing only the intended part of the whole picture (Alan & Ernest 1997).

In the context of this paper, we will be throwing light on the social responsibility of the media and analyze its performance. Whether the media over the recent past has been able to do justice with itself and with the people or not?

Hypothesis

The role of the media is to convey the information to the public, interpretation should be left on the public.

Discussion

Historical Context

In many countries, governments have tried to curtail the role of the media in order to pursue their agenda. Media is often cited as one of the pillars of the state with its job being to act as a watchdog. Irrespective of the nature of the development, every country has witnessed the era in which the government tries to pressurize the players who tend to matter in the media circles. Thus, there is always a love-hate relationship between the media and the government's. In my opinion, it is important to cite the names of the country where this relationship has seen many ups and downs. Pakistan is of the few countries where the media is extremely independent, yet the successive governments have tried to control the media. General Perez Musharaf who rose to the power by overthrowing the elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif banned different media channels including electronic media and print media.

The dictator accused the media of being a party and tends ...