This blog has been set up to enable interactive learning. To really understand Communication and Media theories, they should be ideally discussed and debated and generally thrashed about. None of the theories can be discussed in isolation and their interlinks have to be explored. This blog is an experiment which hopefully will help in gaining more knowledge and understanding the theories beyond the scope of the classroom.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Media + Kratos = Mediacracy?
Demos (People) + Kratos (Power) = Democracy Media + Kratos = Mediacracy Do we live in a 'mediacratic' world?
Consumers today use the media with a frequency far more than used by people in the past. This has inherently created a ‘dependency’ on the media to gratify various needs. On a normal day for instance, we start our day with the morning newspaper, tune into the radio on our way to work, we sync with twitter to know what issues are trending nationally and globally and facebook for knowing what our own peers have been up to. We watch TV, YouTube videos, stream music etc. for entertainment. We depend on various medias all day long, all year long. Our relationship with these various medias has become indispensable. And anything the we depend upon exerts substantial power over us. In a macro perspective, we develop opinions based on what the media tells us. Every source of legitimate information we have comes through some media. When particular issues are addressed more by the media, there is a salience transfer of the media agenda into the public’s agenda. As Bernard Cohen said, ‘the media may not tell us what to think, but it surely tells us what to think about’. Walter Lippmann takes this discourse further by asserting that our worldviews of reality is a media construct, we imagine an unseen environment based on what the media tells us. And something that has the means to control the direction of your thoughts (if not thoughts itself) becomes a powerful force by its mere existence. The 20th century was dominated by ‘people’s movements’ and a fight for democracy across nations. In the 21st century, social movements are largely media movements. The Arab Spring demonstrates that media’s power extends from merely directing thought to changing governments. Occupy Wall street was an on ground protest against economic inequality which went global because of the way the story was picked up by the media. To sum up, yes we do live in a mediacratic society and this is the society we built by our dependency on the media. It’s power to mobilize thoughts and action makes it the most influential institution in modern society whose power is at par with that of an elected government, if not more.
Yes! We do live in a Mediacratic world. Today, media has become the fourth leg of our democracy. Being the main source of knowledge dissemination, it constitutes a major role in maintaining the democracy as well. Media has been able to prepare many propaganda which has lead to an increase in the awareness about the problems prevalent around us. Everything from our Fashion to our stocks are now been by media. Occurrence of mass culture is a product of Media itself. Due to the increase in usage media, people have been able to communicate there ideas across the globe. Uncanny arguments portraying both the sides of the coin has allowed to understand the inequalities of every situation.
It is said “Pen is more powerful than a Sword” and today the media takes the individual or corporate life on the street for everyone to discuss. Be it the Late Princess Diana’s life or the latest Princess Kate topless photo on a magazine, or be the news on the IT fraud Satyam where the prices of share plunged to the lowest where no one believed it to be or the Aarushi murder case where even her parents never wants the media to follow them. The media works on day to day news except for the few which can make news for a long run. Media be it TV, Print or Digital has never left anyone alone. You be the news and every person is after you and few with you. Media can be importance to a level each wants to be. A Share broker will be more interested in the share market news and a sports person on the sports news. The media decides on whose day is a bad day or a good day. Media barons like Rupert Murdoch who with taping of the top government officials, top corporate individuals has brought the British Parliament with more issues and more hidden secrets. Top International media barons who have brought changes to people’s lives are Oscar Lopez of Forbes Magazine, Gilberto Duavit of GMA Network, Oprah Winfrey of Harpo Productions, and so on. Of the top Indian Media Barons Ronnie Screwvala of UTV, Prannoy and Radhika Roy of NDTV, Samir and Vinnet Jain of Times of India, Raghav Bahl of Network18 & TV18. Every Media corporate has been part of everyone life either by way of print or digital or TV media. So in a way we can say that we do live in a Mediacratic world, whether we like or love it or not.
Food, cloth ,shelter were the essential things for human to survive but the evolution of media over the years made men salves of mass communication to the extent that many if asked not to watch news , read paper or listen to radio or not to use social media can feel exile .The concept of connecting to others is became more dominant after emergence of social media. social media gave people power to connect with anyone from anywhere from anyplace what is need is just internet connection and availability of that person on the same social network. This social networking sites play significant role in democracy they give platform to many people who want to say something to the world but they cannot come in main stream mass media in this way many got connected addicted to these social networks are became media centric. In this way Media became virtual public sphere where due to peer pressure more people came and engaged themselves in virtual communication activity. In mass media due to globalization and liberalization number of mediums delivering message to audience increased, Mediums mould themselves according to advertisers and audience and came closer to them. After this process audience chose mediums which support their social , political , religious beliefs and give them enough matter to strengthen audience belief and perspective of life .Mediums are not only remain message delivering platforms they became friend , philosopher, guide and a thing without which they can’t socially survive .This maybe set agenda of mediums o go closer to their audience in which most of them are survived and rest who didn’t they are thrown out.
Yes, I completely agree that we live in a mediacratic world today. Media definitely played an important role way back during the pre-independence era, where the awareness was created through the newspapers. Today, media is the life-line of the nation, especially the common man. It not only informs the people about the happenings around the world but also keeps you updated. “If its in the media it has to be right is the attitude!” I would give a reference to the “Agenda Setting” theory to this question. Agenda setting theory in simple words mean the ability to influence the public. It also means that how people use media and are dependent on it today. A person may use media for various reasons, information, entertainment etc. but eventually also gets dependent on it and media hence becomes very important for him. It would be difficult for a common man to think a day without media. Media is of many types, broadcast media, newspapers, radio, and internet. Internet or the web is the most trending one this age, since people have become very techno-savvy. Facebook, twitter is now everyone’s cup of tea, and hence easy to convey the right message to the right person. Media today is easier to communicate, bridges up the gap, keeps you updated so why wouldn’t someone be dependent on it ? Our thoughts, opinions and stands have completely dependent on the media, today if the media talks good about Anna Hazare’s campaign, people walk for miles supporting his campaign and just one things against him and people criticize.. We definitely live in a mediacratic world where media influences and decides our action.
Media is subject to the wants of its viewers, but Mediacracy subjects the viewers to its own wants. In Mediacracy, the democratic government loses its self esteem to the superimposing media in a country. This especially is likely in a country which adheres to a liberal relation between the media and the government. The people living in a mediacratic country are regarding to be under a high influence of the media. There is another extremist view of the pseudo-word mediacracy, in that, it is that venomous power of the media to control the government to an extent that the government decides upon it plans of action depending upon what is shown to be of value in the media. The government is afraid of the media, more than standing up to it. Over the years the media takes up such a strong hold on the government that the latter tries to please the former and ends up as a puppet. Rise of mediacracy would mean collapse of democracy. As for our country, with regards to these two different views, we can say that the Indian public is governed by the media to a large extent. The influence of the media is not a separate entity but very much a part of all the actions we do in our daily lives. The government too plans its propaganda in a way that will be best brought out through the available media. However, it has not yet completely gone into the hands of the media. The government and the opposing parties use the media to throw allegations at each other as well as the media. The media, on the other hand throws allegations at both. Today, our government and the media are both in par with each other, both equally afraid of one another. Therefore, our country can be regarded as the soon-to-be mediacratic country. But as of today, it still remains democratic.
"Media exposure develops a capacity for empathy,without which participation in the thought life of a geographically extended society would be severely limited".-Daniel lerner.A statement said by daniel which stands very true today.we live in a media world,we depend on it completely. Media system is ruled by the people and for the people directly or indirectly hence a democracy or simply mediacracy.in other words our existence without media is impossible.media not only gives us information but also solve problem,its a stage with many voices being heard by a vast extended crowd. Media has a very powerful influence.it influences our perceptions to a larger extent wether emotionally,logicaly or say credibily.in other words or lastly I would sayyes v do live in a mediacratic world.there is actlually no doubt about it. Shalini shreedharan
As democracy means the freedom of a particular nation, ‘mediacracy’ would mean freedom of the media. Media today has become an essential phenomenon in our lives. It would be impossible for all of us to survive without media or different forms of media. In today’s era, media is an essential tool that determines everything. Media determines how happy we are, it determines what we need to do for the entire weekend, how lucky can a number be for us, how is our heath this week and all of that stuff. Also the most interesting part being on social networking sites is that, the applications there can determine how happy you are!! Strange! The consumption of media today is more than what it used to be in the past. Agenda setting here plays an important part in determining what has to be seen and what not. The agenda of media is set not on what people want but on what the news organizations want to show! More precisely we see what they want us to see... Certainly, it is us, the common man who are dominated by the media today which was not the case a decade before. We are so engrossed with the television sets that we see what the media wants us to see. In short, we don’t have a choice. We live in a mediacratic world where we have no time to sit back and ponder on what is being shown by media. In our busy schedule we hardly get time to analyze things. So we are bound to follow whatever the media says or does! On the other hand, media is becoming violent too and that could be seen in Anna Hazare’s movement, IAC campaign, etc. News is what the media desires for! Media needs something that it would show for hours together. We can figure it out by the news that was shown in past and the news that is shown today! Earlier there were no advertisements but today it’s vice versa. In my opinion I feel “Strike when the iron is hot” is the proverb that media houses follow. This is the way media works! So yes! We live in a Mediacratic world!
As media is the fourth pillar of our democracy Media has the power to strengthen the changes in our social, cultural, and political values. The improvement of media has increased the spread of ideas and has made communication more convenient.who's primary objectives are to inform, be open, independent and be accountable. media is one of the most powerful entity on earth. media have the power to make innocent-guilty and make a guilty-innocent and that's power because they control the minds of the masses. media is very independent, the advancement of media provides individuals with a chance to form new ideas by allowing them to share their thoughts. Television, Facebook, and Twitter helps people generate their ideas in order to motivate. Electronic media is taking the shine away from the print media as it has become a major source of entertainment along with the other news and information disseminated through it. A click of a button opens up a variety of channels catering to all age groups and choices. It is a treasure house of knowledge, news, education, and pure entertainment -a means of fighting boredom. From just being the watchdog of public institutions of the general public, it is today a very effective medium to mould public opinion and garner mass support for issues that touch society at large. Similarly Fashion trends are driven by features in magazines and clothes worn by stars in serials and movies. Ramola's bindi or Madhuri Dixit's purple saree became style statements without actually intending to become so, people get home decor ideas from features of magazines, Using darker shades on walls at home has been legitimised..all thanks to media, This proves that from our daily neccesties till luxury, media is playing a vital role to make us choose amogst the options. Not only commercially but media force us to believe what media want us to. The presentation and the confidence by which media potray it convince general people to believe .The Impact of media, be it print or electronic, on our lives, cannot be ignored.
Yes we do live in a ‘medicratic’ world. We have a little time to interact within a public sphere so we depend on the infotainment provided to us by the media. The media sets our agenda and we instead of much thinking about it follow it. The media feeds us the stuff what we want and not what we need. So the role of media acting as a fourth pillar in a democracy comes into question? The social responsibility theory applies here on the media working in a democracy.
In this commercialized world media has came down to the business of selling a product to us, their consumers. And we are using it to gratify ourselves. The uses and gratification theory applies here which states that we use media for our uses and needs. The media is a medium for the advertisers to sell their product. The media at many times has used sleeper effect theory to sell us certain products. Also the media sets our agenda too about someone if we are a heavy user of the media which leads us too priming as we start deciding on the information provided by the media is it good or bad.
Thus it would not be wrong to say that we are ruled by ‘mediacracy’. Cultivation theory by George Gerbner indicates that media has long term effect on a television user. The heavy users are affected the most by using media. Thus we see that media has a very strong role in current time. We can say that it controls most of our thoughts and is guiding us in a limited manner in its own terms and condition without bothering what we need.
Media has always played a crucial role in our country. Mediacracy is the outcome when the government uses media to enhance their role and media starts representing ‘the people’. Since time immemorial media has being making us aware of political, social, economic activities in our country, but today they along with awareness are telling us how to think. The media today is no longer informative, it has become confirmative. It no longer wants to know what you think; it wants to tell you how too. Media today has got tired of telling you how many people have died in a natural calamity instead it is telling and convincing you how it is your fault since you don’t ride to work. And yes, we agree to everything we hear. The right that is shown to us is the right we believe, that itself proves how mediacatic we are! And that also explains the cultivation theory that states people get conditioned and formulate opinions by prolonged exposure to media. Media was like a mirror but now has become a dictator, it used to show us what was wrong and now it tells us what is wrong. Knowingly or unknowingly we have succumbed to this, because with every passing day our relationship with media keeps growing stronger and all we know is because of media, everything we say and do is directly proportional to what we've heard and seen, thus media has become and inevitable part of our existence.
In the past there were times when we used the media, and then there came a time when the media used us, now we live in a time when we are simply abused by the media a classic example is the media manipulation during the Indian emergency. We live in a mediacratic society where they often portray non issues as real issues, while real issues are sidelined. The impact that media has on our country is noteworthy. There have been instances in the past when excessive coverage has lead to communal riots. But we must remember constant repetition and excessive exposure breeds apathy and insensitivity. An insensitive nation is a delusional nation, because it thinks it can solve problems from the surface.
In a society where a balanced debate is never offered, rounded information is not made available, where each media outlet carries out its own personal agenda based on their vested interests - an informed decision can never be made. We live in a mediacratic world because we run not on honest policy but popularity. Not on priority but privilege.
Medicratic world is one where all the powers are in media’s hand. Due to 24*7 news channels, n number of news papers, internet media I think we do live in medicratic world.
People having so much of media intake with no other option tend to believe the media. Agenda setting, persuasion, & Sleeper effect use by media are some of the most common theories which work in medicartic society.
Gate keepers decide what people should watch & what they should not. Even though we called media a democratic pillar in true sense its opposite of that in today’s world. Technological development helps the media to reach the masses with low cost. So right from what we should eat to what should we think on everything is decided by media. Media governs us in many ways like attractive presentation, persuasion.
People are the product which media seals to advertisers. Media is giving what they want to show us not what we want to see. In today’s marketing world every media house has the power to set agenda against any issue. So there are very less section who talks against the media. The law has very less control over media under the term freedom of speech. There no punishment in Indian constitution which affect the media content. No proper regulatory system to control the internet media flow, all this factors helps to growth of media beyond the expectation & now they have unnecessary power. Today media consumption is very high with development & people having the money to spend on media. Media also produces content at high rates but seals it at very low rate as they get most of the revenue from advertisers & not by the people.
Common people never ask a question to big media houses & they tend to believe that what media is showing is most important in recent time. eg. When allegation was made against Rajendra Darda, Lokmat group had not shown the story. As no one will ask them why you had done this? They have full power to show what favor owner as media is business today & not a social work.
Today’s world is powered & controlled by the media. Otherwise we are not capable to know the things which happen far away from us. Media Agenda is most important ideology which ultimately decides what picture they want to project about particular issue. & it is not practically possible for use to go to ground zero to verify the facts. e.g. at time of 2nd Gulf war American Media created the picture that there are mass destruction weapons with Saddam Husain & he will be a real threat to the world peace. But nothing was found as such.
So we are living in Medicratic society as media has all the power to decide what to show & how to show according to their target audience. & the changing society trends are the result of this powerful media influence.
I doubt if we even live in a democratic world! Democracy is defined as for the people, by the people and of the people but, in a country like India it should be defined as for the politicians, by the politicians and of the politicians. However, coming to Mediacracy, its a sheer no too! Media on its own does not rule its people or can exercise its power. It is in fact just used as a mere tool to exercise power. Sometimes, it becomes the tool of politics or sometimes the higher society. I agree to the fact that today we see media being more attentive, revealing a lot of scams, is wide spread, etc. But at the end, we should not forget the fact that each media, be it print or electronic has someone who is ruling it. For eg. Like we believe TOI is pro Congress. It is true that Media changes opinions, flags propaganda, and is a very essential tool in the society but, media is no longer left accurate n unbiased. Our constitution calls media to be the fourth pillar but, now it seems the fourth pillar has become a joystick in the hand of the powerful. I agree to the fact that even today, people blindly believe what media says. They think that is the only truth possible irrespective of the fact that each media has its own truth to offer. Media sells truth and the common man buys it. But this is not the case with the higher society. In fact, they make the media sell truth. For eg. Talk of Actors using media to promote their films or a politician making some statement against someone to promote himself or his party or a high corporate company stopping media from publishing something wrong about their organization. My point here of saying all this is, if we talk of Mediacracy on the entire Indian society, its false. Mediacracy applies only to the common man who is a media's believer and not to the higher class and the powerful who is media's ruler.
Yes we live in 'mediacratic' world or society specially to crosscheck the information I got from the people. In today’s world people do not have sufficient time to interact with each other (public sphere), so many of the media users depend on the media to get the information. In this corporate world media become a tool for selling product and earn huge amount as in early days media do social work we have great example of media during the time of independence. In today’s time media itself set agenda for its viewers or consumers and provide content to its viewers or consumers what it thing would be worth for them and also for the business purpose. The media is a medium for the advertisers to sell their product. Today consumers use the media with a frequency far more than used by people in the past. Social networking sites play important role in the today’s world. Today we heavily depend on media and here dependency theory can be apply. Sometime we believe in media what it produce for example if we use media continuously we do believe it whether it good or bad. We also use media for our requirement and here uses and gratification theory comes in picture. Due to globalization number of media increase and their effect too increase. Yes we do live in the media wodld or mediacratic society and we influence by media many a time. Today media has power to change anyone opinion or view on any topic or issue.
Media is the forth pillar of democracy . Mediacracy means the freedom of media. We can say that situation in which the media dominates or controls the populace . We are leaving in meadiacratic world where media have much power. Media has complete our demand according to our requirement . Government usually indirectly by the popular media often a result of democracy going awry . A system in which politicians stop thinking and begin listening exclusively to the media regarding what the important issues are and what they should do about them. Mediocracy is a condition in which culture is subordinated to pseudo egalitarian ideology. Mediacracry is a key weapon of the mediocratic agenda is the Orwellian redefinition of words and ideas. In a mediocracy the views of the elite dictate every area of life . Culture is redefined to be whatever receives approval from those licensed by the state apparatus. It is required to promote the ideology be reductionist about the individual and support intervention. Mediocracy is a situation in the society in which mediocre people prevail. The society is subordinated to a quasi egalitarian ideology. Media always helps to develop society because media always informs to audience about new thing . So definitely we live in a mediacratic world.
Media in today’s world has power to transform the society by changing the decision making and thinking process of the masses as this describes ‘Agenda Setting Theory’. Media has power to strongly influence the opinion of the audience, is the Agenda Setting role of media. Media not just informs the masses, it orders, gives warning, media commands. This can be explained with the help of ‘illocutionary Act of Speech Act’. The advancement of media provides individuals to form new ideas by allowing them to share their thoughts. Mass media directly targets or manipulates the minds of opinion leader. The media directly or indirectly tries to persuade the decision making process of these individual, it can be explained with reference to ‘Two Step Flow Theory’. Media has an impact on society not only through the content of the message but also through the process. The way the media represent society can affect our opinion and the way we view the world. Media often represent something negatively (e.g. comment of political leaders) which may lead us to thinking in the same bias manner as the media but the media doesn’t portray what is real, it portrays what people want to watch .Media, at times, shows just one side of the story to sensationalize the story which is ethically incorrect. Hence it won’t be wrong to say that we live in Mediacratic world!
Yes, we now live in a world where everything around is controlled and influenced by the media as rightly explained by “Framing Theory “. This includes our eating habits to clothing style etc. Media has a huge impact on us, on our thought process, on our day to day life highlighting the “Cultivation Theory”. We are influenced, manipulated, and to some extent, controlled by the media, directly or indirectly. This is because media has acted as a tool of change, a tool to highlight all the issues of masses; good or bad. Media has acted as a “magic wand” for the developing Indian society. Media has also bought in lots of exposure in every field from education to fashion to business to science and technology. Well, media has more impact on the masses because it bluntly comes up the issues which really matter to the nation or the world. From big corruption scams like 2G and commonwealth scam to live 26/11 telecast footages which wouldn’t have been seen without the media .This kind of exposure shook the nation and made every Indian aware of such it. It also highlighted movements like India against corruption etc .Not only such incidents but it also acts as a high source of information .Today , we just don’t turn on television , we tune into a source of information and entertainment 24/7 , it proves the theory of “Uses and Gratification” in action. Media is supposed to act as an unbiased tool to provide with plain information with facts but this aspect of media has changed as people today look up to media as an opinion leader. And of course we live in a mediacratic world because media itself is the fourth pillar of our democracy.
In a society fed by information, the media is exploiting its corporate control over the airwaves and its deep pockets to consolidate control over the national conversation in order to control the political process. This is a blow aimed at the very heart of democracy and if it is allowed to continue, it will lead to a Mediacracy where major media corporations act as the Praetorian Guard for the country. The media’s attempt to impose its Mediacracy has completely destroyed its credibility with the public. Very few people trust the media anymore. Viewership ratings have dropped badly. Newspapers are going out of business and newscasts are going unwatched… but that hasn’t halted the Mediacracy’s power grab. The media is destroying its own business model and its traditional role in American life in the hopes of carving out the Mediacracy. A free society with open elections is most vulnerable at the interface between the voting public and the political candidates. That is where the Mediacracy has attempted to cut democracy’s throat by controlling that interface. The internet has lessened its power, but it still has the inside track and it no longer has even the pretense of professional ethics. Journalism is dead. Mediacracy is the new model. Mediacracy is not interested in truth or facts, only in power. It is not interested in providing a service to readers, but in controlling them. Mediacracy is strangling democracy and restoring a healthy democracy and the integrity of the political process requires confronting the threat of Mediacracy head on.
Media, in today’s times, surely holds a very important place in our lives. One reason for it is that we always need some or the other form of media to complete the communication process (be it ‘Harold Lasswell’s Model of Communication’ or the ‘Shannon-Weaver Model’). Hence, it wouldn’t be wrong in saying that we have ‘always’ lived in a ‘mediacratic’ world. However, the fact that media has grown leaps & bounds over the past few decades can’t be denied. The intensity & the reach of media, in today’s times, is much more than it was ever before. Also, when the title of being the ‘fourth pillar’ of democracy has been conferred upon media, it isn’t a difficult decision to make as to whether we live in a ‘mediacratic’ world or no. In addition, the dependence on media has grown enormously over the past few decades. Be it getting information or getting aware about an issue, we ultimately, depend on the media for it. We don’t know much (one reason for the lack of information is that we don’t have enough time to indulge in a ‘Public Sphere’) & this is where the ‘Agenda-Setting’ Theory comes into action. Media decides which news is worthy of being ‘on-air’ & because we don’t know much, we tend to believe only the things we see on our TVs or read in our newspapers. This is also the time when the ‘Uses & Gratification’ Theory comes into effect. Also, it is the media which is used to bring the ‘Propaganda’, ‘Persuasion’ or the ‘Sleeper Effect’ into action. The biggest & the most expensive media plans may eventually turn out to be a ‘flop’ show if the media is not used effectively. Add to it, the ‘mouthpieces’ of the Political Parties & we have an example of a totally ‘biased’ form of media. These ‘mouthpieces’ are a classic example of the ‘Framing Theory’. They shape our beliefs (or at least, try to) according to their whims & fancies. And the growing popularity of these ‘mouthpieces’ is an example that they are succeeding in their endeavours. However, like I stated before, I would still say that, “It is not only now but we have ‘always’ lived in a ‘mediacratic’ world.”
According to Marshall McLuhan Media is the message. Now a days media has more impact on our minds, body and life than anything else. Whenever and whatever news we get, Its our tendency to get access to different types of media and check the creditability of it(ETHOS). AS RIGHTLY SAID BY AKHILA YES more has everything else we do depend upon the media for any kind of entertainment, information, sometimes to give information. Whatever comes in the media we do tend to follow it blindly. MEDIA IS THE EXTENSION OF MAN. It has become the voice of common man(not always, but sometimes yes!) Media is been used commercially as well. Many politicians use it to promote them and their party to reach the ruler population that remains aloof otherwise. Harold Innis gave the bias of communication to define the role and power of the media. Here media has monopolist power and uses it to manipulate our thoughts and beliefs. Any media acts according to their principles and style of conveying a news. Framing theory is used by media to cultivate a thought and gives the audience the base to think. As we know audience are polysemic in nature. But media gives that base and trains your thinking according to it.. Media has more manipulating power than anyone else. It has the ability to reach maximum audience. That is why propaganda through media has become very powerful. Common man does not have direct access to information.He always receives information through various media .i.e. a channel, newspaper, twitter, facebook etc... Media even uses agenda setting theory and yes tells us what issues are important. The importance of news varies from organisation to organisation. Media most of the time plays with feeling and this makes us not only fall them but emotionally believe them leaving the understanding aspect behind.(prelocutionary act.) In the process of communication as well media acts the medium through which the sender sends the message. It is responsible for shaping the thoughts and ideas of people in the society. Media helps in creating public opinion. It helps in connecting the ruler population to the urban. We are information hungry people which is satisfied by media. We are too influenced by media and blindly follow it many a times. Media has helped us in getting to know many people which would have been difficult otherwise. It has reduced the barrier which was there before. Now we know our politicians and celebrities and can easily comment on them is because of media completely.(UNCERTAIN REDUCTION THEORY- passive strategy.)
I would conclude saying we have so much access to media that sitting at one place we can have world tour of information. This has led to developing of thoughts, idea, culture, tradition etc. We are more open to new the west now. YES we do live in a mediacratic world where we exchange information on a regular basis
Yes, we do leave in mediacracy world. We are surrounded by this. Technology played crucial role for mediacracy being part of our life. But here I want to make differentiate as our media (Press & electronic). We had more experience how electronic media do for TRP’s. Let’s back to the topic, we have communication medium like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ & applications in smart phones kept us stick to the world. In past we didn’t have “media”. Newspapers in past time encourage movement for public sphere. Bal Tilak who started gathering people at British Era. In 1975, by banned on newspapers Indira Gandhi tried to stop print newspapers but she failed. A. R. Antule former Chief Minister of Maharashtra had to resign in Cement Scam. All this power comes from newspaper. Electronic media is more different than newspapers or press. That’s why we have good quality & in-depth content of news. In the race “Sabse Aage” electronic media lost their credibility. But they do give proper news. We have news apps on our Smartphone. We say media is fourth pillar of democracy. Is this that pillar that runs entertainment, advertorials all day? It’s all up to their editorial policy. What we saw on TV that rubbish. Media want an exclusive coverage that runs their channel for 24/7. Like 26/11 Mumbai blast, Anna Hajare’s fast at Ramlila, Cricket match, any scam or RTI Activist who digs scam from one clue. Best example is Arvind Kejriwal who knows how to use media & vice versa. Media sets the agenda for public what to see. Even we don’t want any particular programme we have to watch because they boomerang our mind for this commodity.
Television is one of the most common and accessible thing used by everyone in India. The power of the media is incredible and the responsibility attached to it the job is more crucial than a normal citizen. The accessibility of a media person to different places and different people itself demonstrates the power of media. The credibility and large audience connected to it makes it more powerful. Due to large audience and credibility factor, the content produced by media creates a huge impact.
The impact of media can be noticeably seen in many news instances for e.g. Prince: A five-year-old boy fell into a 250-300 feet deep borewell in Jaipur in 2009. This news received so much attention in a day that lakhs of SMS were received as part of wishing the child good luck and many people started ‘mannats’ and other rituals for his long life. Such small news made such a big impact and the people started following it blindly. These itself shows that media has a huge impact on the perception of the people. The people now must not even remember about that incident and many same incidents after that were not given much news value. This is where media uses the theory of sleeper effect perfectly.
The way media can change the perception of people can be seen in Bombay riots held in 92. In that incident there was a general bias against the Muslims in the minds of the average policemen. The reason for the biasness according to a survey was found that majority of the police officers read Marathi newspaper Samna during that period. The law makers were partial to a particular community because of being influenced from media. This itself shows the extent to which media can have its impact on minds of the people. Media makes use of agenda setting theory very well that the thinking or ideology of a person is changed drastically.
Media shows us what they want because they are the one having control over gate keeping of the news. They publish it or show it through different medium, which makes us believe that yes this is important event happening. We do not even come to know about the news which is killed by gatekeepers. So they even have a control on what to be seen by the audience.
All this shows that media definitely has a lot of power and the influence of it on viewers shows that we are living in a 'mediacratic' world? Whether this situation is good or bad can be debatable!
Consumers today use the media with a frequency far more than used by people in the past. This has inherently created a ‘dependency’ on the media to gratify various needs. On a normal day for instance, we start our day with the morning newspaper, tune into the radio on our way to work, we sync with twitter to know what issues are trending nationally and globally and facebook for knowing what our own peers have been up to. We watch TV, YouTube videos, stream music etc. for entertainment. We depend on various medias all day long, all year long. Our relationship with these various medias has become indispensable. And anything the we depend upon exerts substantial power over us.
ReplyDeleteIn a macro perspective, we develop opinions based on what the media tells us. Every source of legitimate information we have comes through some media. When particular issues are addressed more by the media, there is a salience transfer of the media agenda into the public’s agenda. As Bernard Cohen said, ‘the media may not tell us what to think, but it surely tells us what to think about’. Walter Lippmann takes this discourse further by asserting that our worldviews of reality is a media construct, we imagine an unseen environment based on what the media tells us. And something that has the means to control the direction of your thoughts (if not thoughts itself) becomes a powerful force by its mere existence.
The 20th century was dominated by ‘people’s movements’ and a fight for democracy across nations. In the 21st century, social movements are largely media movements. The Arab Spring demonstrates that media’s power extends from merely directing thought to changing governments. Occupy Wall street was an on ground protest against economic inequality which went global because of the way the story was picked up by the media.
To sum up, yes we do live in a mediacratic society and this is the society we built by our dependency on the media. It’s power to mobilize thoughts and action makes it the most influential institution in modern society whose power is at par with that of an elected government, if not more.
Yes! We do live in a Mediacratic world. Today, media has become the fourth leg of our democracy. Being the main source of knowledge dissemination, it constitutes a major role in maintaining the democracy as well. Media has been able to prepare many propaganda which has lead to an increase in the awareness about the problems prevalent around us. Everything from our Fashion to our stocks are now been by media. Occurrence of mass culture is a product of Media itself. Due to the increase in usage media, people have been able to communicate there ideas across the globe. Uncanny arguments portraying both the sides of the coin has allowed to understand the inequalities of every situation.
ReplyDeleteIt is said “Pen is more powerful than a Sword” and today the media takes the individual or corporate life on the street for everyone to discuss. Be it the Late Princess Diana’s life or the latest Princess Kate topless photo on a magazine, or be the news on the IT fraud Satyam where the prices of share plunged to the lowest where no one believed it to be or the Aarushi murder case where even her parents never wants the media to follow them. The media works on day to day news except for the few which can make news for a long run. Media be it TV, Print or Digital has never left anyone alone. You be the news and every person is after you and few with you. Media can be importance to a level each wants to be. A Share broker will be more interested in the share market news and a sports person on the sports news. The media decides on whose day is a bad day or a good day. Media barons like Rupert Murdoch who with taping of the top government officials, top corporate individuals has brought the British Parliament with more issues and more hidden secrets. Top International media barons who have brought changes to people’s lives are Oscar Lopez of Forbes Magazine, Gilberto Duavit of GMA Network, Oprah Winfrey of Harpo Productions, and so on. Of the top Indian Media Barons Ronnie Screwvala of UTV, Prannoy and Radhika Roy of NDTV, Samir and Vinnet Jain of Times of India, Raghav Bahl of Network18 & TV18. Every Media corporate has been part of everyone life either by way of print or digital or TV media. So in a way we can say that we do live in a Mediacratic world, whether we like or love it or not.
ReplyDeleteFood, cloth ,shelter were the essential things for human to survive but the evolution of media over the years made men salves of mass communication to the extent that many if asked not to watch news , read paper or listen to radio or not to use social media can feel exile .The concept of connecting to others is became more dominant after emergence of social media. social media gave people power to connect with anyone from anywhere from anyplace what is need is just internet connection and availability of that person on the same social network. This social networking sites play significant role in democracy they give platform to many people who want to say something to the world but they cannot come in main stream mass media in this way many got connected addicted to these social networks are became media centric. In this way Media became virtual public sphere where due to peer pressure more people came and engaged themselves in virtual communication activity.
ReplyDeleteIn mass media due to globalization and liberalization number of mediums delivering message to audience increased, Mediums mould themselves according to advertisers and audience and came closer to them. After this process audience chose mediums which support their social , political , religious beliefs and give them enough matter to strengthen audience belief and perspective of life .Mediums are not only remain message delivering platforms they became friend , philosopher, guide and a thing without which they can’t socially survive .This maybe set agenda of mediums o go closer to their audience in which most of them are survived and rest who didn’t they are thrown out.
Yes, I completely agree that we live in a mediacratic world today. Media definitely played an important role way back during the pre-independence era, where the awareness was created through the newspapers. Today, media is the life-line of the nation, especially the common man. It not only informs the people about the happenings around the world but also keeps you updated. “If its in the media it has to be right is the attitude!” I would give a reference to the “Agenda Setting” theory to this question. Agenda setting theory in simple words mean the ability to influence the public. It also means that how people use media and are dependent on it today. A person may use media for various reasons, information, entertainment etc. but eventually also gets dependent on it and media hence becomes very important for him. It would be difficult for a common man to think a day without media. Media is of many types, broadcast media, newspapers, radio, and internet. Internet or the web is the most trending one this age, since people have become very techno-savvy. Facebook, twitter is now everyone’s cup of tea, and hence easy to convey the right message to the right person. Media today is easier to communicate, bridges up the gap, keeps you updated so why wouldn’t someone be dependent on it ? Our thoughts, opinions and stands have completely dependent on the media, today if the media talks good about Anna Hazare’s campaign, people walk for miles supporting his campaign and just one things against him and people criticize.. We definitely live in a mediacratic world where media influences and decides our action.
ReplyDeleteMedia is subject to the wants of its viewers, but Mediacracy subjects the viewers to its own wants. In Mediacracy, the democratic government loses its self esteem to the superimposing media in a country. This especially is likely in a country which adheres to a liberal relation between the media and the government. The people living in a mediacratic country are regarding to be under a high influence of the media. There is another extremist view of the pseudo-word mediacracy, in that, it is that venomous power of the media to control the government to an extent that the government decides upon it plans of action depending upon what is shown to be of value in the media. The government is afraid of the media, more than standing up to it. Over the years the media takes up such a strong hold on the government that the latter tries to please the former and ends up as a puppet. Rise of mediacracy would mean collapse of democracy.
ReplyDeleteAs for our country, with regards to these two different views, we can say that the Indian public is governed by the media to a large extent. The influence of the media is not a separate entity but very much a part of all the actions we do in our daily lives. The government too plans its propaganda in a way that will be best brought out through the available media. However, it has not yet completely gone into the hands of the media. The government and the opposing parties use the media to throw allegations at each other as well as the media. The media, on the other hand throws allegations at both. Today, our government and the media are both in par with each other, both equally afraid of one another. Therefore, our country can be regarded as the soon-to-be mediacratic country. But as of today, it still remains democratic.
"Media exposure develops a capacity for empathy,without which participation in the thought life of a geographically extended society would be severely limited".-Daniel lerner.A statement said by daniel which stands very true today.we live in a media world,we depend on it completely.
ReplyDeleteMedia system is ruled by the people and for the people directly or indirectly hence a democracy or simply mediacracy.in other words our existence without media is impossible.media not only gives us information but also solve problem,its a stage with many voices being heard by a vast extended crowd.
Media has a very powerful influence.it influences our perceptions to a larger extent wether emotionally,logicaly or say credibily.in other words or lastly I would sayyes v do live in a mediacratic world.there is actlually no doubt about it.
Shalini shreedharan
As democracy means the freedom of a particular nation, ‘mediacracy’ would mean freedom of the media. Media today has become an essential phenomenon in our lives. It would be impossible for all of us to survive without media or different forms of media. In today’s era, media is an essential tool that determines everything. Media determines how happy we are, it determines what we need to do for the entire weekend, how lucky can a number be for us, how is our heath this week and all of that stuff.
ReplyDeleteAlso the most interesting part being on social networking sites is that, the applications there can determine how happy you are!! Strange! The consumption of media today is more than what it used to be in the past. Agenda setting here plays an important part in determining what has to be seen and what not. The agenda of media is set not on what people want but on what the news organizations want to show! More precisely we see what they want us to see... Certainly, it is us, the common man who are dominated by the media today which was not the case a decade before. We are so engrossed with the television sets that we see what the media wants us to see. In short, we don’t have a choice. We live in a mediacratic world where we have no time to sit back and ponder on what is being shown by media. In our busy schedule we hardly get time to analyze things. So we are bound to follow whatever the media says or does! On the other hand, media is becoming violent too and that could be seen in Anna Hazare’s movement, IAC campaign, etc. News is what the media desires for! Media needs something that it would show for hours together. We can figure it out by the news that was shown in past and the news that is shown today! Earlier there were no advertisements but today it’s vice versa.
In my opinion I feel “Strike when the iron is hot” is the proverb that media houses follow. This is the way media works!
So yes! We live in a Mediacratic world!
As media is the fourth pillar of our democracy Media has the power to strengthen the changes in our social, cultural, and political values. The improvement of media has increased the spread of ideas and has made communication more convenient.who's primary objectives are to inform, be open, independent and be accountable. media is one of the most powerful entity on earth. media have the power to make innocent-guilty and make a guilty-innocent and that's power because they control the minds of the masses. media is very independent, the advancement of media provides individuals with a chance to form new ideas by allowing them to share their thoughts. Television, Facebook, and Twitter helps people generate their ideas in order to motivate. Electronic media is taking the shine away from the print media as it has become a major source of entertainment along with the other news and information disseminated through it. A click of a button opens up a variety of channels catering to all age groups and choices. It is a treasure house of knowledge, news, education, and pure entertainment -a means of fighting boredom. From just being the watchdog of public institutions of the general public, it is today a very effective medium to mould public opinion and garner mass support for issues that touch society at large. Similarly Fashion trends are driven by features in magazines and clothes worn by stars in serials and movies. Ramola's bindi or Madhuri Dixit's purple saree became style statements without actually intending to become so, people get home decor ideas from features of magazines, Using darker shades on walls at home has been legitimised..all thanks to media,
ReplyDeleteThis proves that from our daily neccesties till luxury, media is playing a vital role to make us choose amogst the options. Not only commercially but media force us to believe what media want us to. The presentation and the confidence by which media potray it convince general people to believe .The Impact of media, be it print or electronic, on our lives, cannot be ignored.
Yes we do live in a ‘medicratic’ world. We have a little time to interact within a public sphere so we depend on the infotainment provided to us by the media. The media sets our agenda and we instead of much thinking about it follow it. The media feeds us the stuff what we want and not what we need. So the role of media acting as a fourth pillar in a democracy comes into question? The social responsibility theory applies here on the media working in a democracy.
ReplyDeleteIn this commercialized world media has came down to the business of selling a product to us, their consumers. And we are using it to gratify ourselves. The uses and gratification theory applies here which states that we use media for our uses and needs. The media is a medium for the advertisers to sell their product. The media at many times has used sleeper effect theory to sell us certain products. Also the media sets our agenda too about someone if we are a heavy user of the media which leads us too priming as we start deciding on the information provided by the media is it good or bad.
Thus it would not be wrong to say that we are ruled by ‘mediacracy’. Cultivation theory by George Gerbner indicates that media has long term effect on a television user. The heavy users are affected the most by using media. Thus we see that media has a very strong role in current time. We can say that it controls most of our thoughts and is guiding us in a limited manner in its own terms and condition without bothering what we need.
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ReplyDeleteMedia has always played a crucial role in our country. Mediacracy is the outcome when the government uses media to enhance their role and media starts representing ‘the people’. Since time immemorial media has being making us aware of political, social, economic activities in our country, but today they along with awareness are telling us how to think. The media today is no longer informative, it has become confirmative. It no longer wants to know what you think; it wants to tell you how too. Media today has got tired of telling you how many people have died in a natural calamity instead it is telling and convincing you how it is your fault since you don’t ride to work. And yes, we agree to everything we hear. The right that is shown to us is the right we believe, that itself proves how mediacatic we are! And that also explains the cultivation theory that states people get conditioned and formulate opinions by prolonged exposure to media. Media was like a mirror but now has become a dictator, it used to show us what was wrong and now it tells us what is wrong. Knowingly or unknowingly we have succumbed to this, because with every passing day our relationship with media keeps growing stronger and all we know is because of media, everything we say and do is directly proportional to what we've heard and seen, thus media has become and inevitable part of our existence.
ReplyDeleteIn the past there were times when we used the media, and then there came a time when the media used us, now we live in a time when we are simply abused by the media a classic example is the media manipulation during the Indian emergency. We live in a mediacratic society where they often portray non issues as real issues, while real issues are sidelined. The impact that media has on our country is noteworthy. There have been instances in the past when excessive coverage has lead to communal riots. But we must remember constant repetition and excessive exposure breeds apathy and insensitivity. An insensitive nation is a delusional nation, because it thinks it can solve problems from the surface.
In a society where a balanced debate is never offered, rounded information is not made available, where each media outlet carries out its own personal agenda based on their vested interests - an informed decision can never be made. We live in a mediacratic world because we run not on honest policy but popularity. Not on priority but privilege.
Medicratic world is one where all the powers are in media’s hand. Due to 24*7 news channels, n number of news papers, internet media I think we do live in medicratic world.
ReplyDeletePeople having so much of media intake with no other option tend to believe the media. Agenda setting, persuasion, & Sleeper effect use by media are some of the most common theories which work in medicartic society.
Gate keepers decide what people should watch & what they should not. Even though we called media a democratic pillar in true sense its opposite of that in today’s world. Technological development helps the media to reach the masses with low cost. So right from what we should eat to what should we think on everything is decided by media. Media governs us in many ways like attractive presentation, persuasion.
People are the product which media seals to advertisers. Media is giving what they want to show us not what we want to see. In today’s marketing world every media house has the power to set agenda against any issue. So there are very less section who talks against the media. The law has very less control over media under the term freedom of speech. There no punishment in Indian constitution which affect the media content. No proper regulatory system to control the internet media flow, all this factors helps to growth of media beyond the expectation & now they have unnecessary power. Today media consumption is very high with development & people having the money to spend on media. Media also produces content at high rates but seals it at very low rate as they get most of the revenue from advertisers & not by the people.
Common people never ask a question to big media houses & they tend to believe that what media is showing is most important in recent time. eg. When allegation was made against Rajendra Darda, Lokmat group had not shown the story. As no one will ask them why you had done this? They have full power to show what favor owner as media is business today & not a social work.
Today’s world is powered & controlled by the media. Otherwise we are not capable to know the things which happen far away from us. Media Agenda is most important ideology which ultimately decides what picture they want to project about particular issue. & it is not practically possible for use to go to ground zero to verify the facts.
e.g. at time of 2nd Gulf war American Media created the picture that there are mass destruction weapons with Saddam Husain & he will be a real threat to the world peace. But nothing was found as such.
So we are living in Medicratic society as media has all the power to decide what to show & how to show according to their target audience. & the changing society trends are the result of this powerful media influence.
I doubt if we even live in a democratic world! Democracy is defined as for the people, by the people and of the people but, in a country like India it should be defined as for the politicians, by the politicians and of the politicians.
ReplyDeleteHowever, coming to Mediacracy, its a sheer no too! Media on its own does not rule its people or can exercise its power. It is in fact just used as a mere tool to exercise power. Sometimes, it becomes the tool of politics or sometimes the higher society. I agree to the fact that today we see media being more attentive, revealing a lot of scams, is wide spread, etc. But at the end, we should not forget the fact that each media, be it print or electronic has someone who is ruling it. For eg. Like we believe TOI is pro Congress. It is true that Media changes opinions, flags propaganda, and is a very essential tool in the society but, media is no longer left accurate n unbiased. Our constitution calls media to be the fourth pillar but, now it seems the fourth pillar has become a joystick in the hand of the powerful.
I agree to the fact that even today, people blindly believe what media says. They think that is the only truth possible irrespective of the fact that each media has its own truth to offer. Media sells truth and the common man buys it. But this is not the case with the higher society. In fact, they make the media sell truth. For eg. Talk of Actors using media to promote their films or a politician making some statement against someone to promote himself or his party or a high corporate company stopping media from publishing something wrong about their organization.
My point here of saying all this is, if we talk of Mediacracy on the entire Indian society, its false. Mediacracy applies only to the common man who is a media's believer and not to the higher class and the powerful who is media's ruler.
Yes we live in 'mediacratic' world or society specially to crosscheck the information I got from the people. In today’s world people do not have sufficient time to interact with each other (public sphere), so many of the media users depend on the media to get the information. In this corporate world media become a tool for selling product and earn huge amount as in early days media do social work we have great example of media during the time of independence.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s time media itself set agenda for its viewers or consumers and provide content to its viewers or consumers what it thing would be worth for them and also for the business purpose. The media is a medium for the advertisers to sell their product. Today consumers use the media with a frequency far more than used by people in the past. Social networking sites play important role in the today’s world. Today we heavily depend on media and here dependency theory can be apply. Sometime we believe in media what it produce for example if we use media continuously we do believe it whether it good or bad.
We also use media for our requirement and here uses and gratification theory comes in picture. Due to globalization number of media increase and their effect too increase. Yes we do live in the media wodld or mediacratic society and we influence by media many a time. Today media has power to change anyone opinion or view on any topic or issue.
Media is the forth pillar of democracy . Mediacracy means the freedom of media. We can say that situation in which the media dominates or controls the populace .
ReplyDeleteWe are leaving in meadiacratic world where media have much power.
Media has complete our demand according to our requirement . Government usually indirectly by the popular media often a result of democracy going awry . A system in which politicians stop thinking and begin listening exclusively to the media regarding what the important issues are and what they should do about them. Mediocracy is a condition in which culture is subordinated to pseudo egalitarian ideology. Mediacracry is a key weapon of the mediocratic agenda is the Orwellian redefinition of words and ideas. In a mediocracy the views of the elite dictate every area of life . Culture is redefined to be whatever receives approval from those licensed by the state apparatus. It is required to promote the ideology be reductionist about the individual and support intervention.
Mediocracy is a situation in the society in which mediocre people prevail. The society is subordinated to a quasi egalitarian ideology. Media always helps to develop society because media always informs to audience about new thing . So definitely we live in a mediacratic world.
Media in today’s world has power to transform the society by changing the decision making and thinking process of the masses as this describes ‘Agenda Setting Theory’. Media has power to strongly influence the opinion of the audience, is the Agenda Setting role of media. Media not just informs the masses, it orders, gives warning, media commands. This can be explained with the help of ‘illocutionary Act of Speech Act’. The advancement of media provides individuals to form new ideas by allowing them to share their thoughts. Mass media directly targets or manipulates the minds of opinion leader. The media directly or indirectly tries to persuade the decision making process of these individual, it can be explained with reference to ‘Two Step Flow Theory’. Media has an impact on society not only through the content of the message but also through the process.
ReplyDeleteThe way the media represent society can affect our opinion and the way we view the world. Media often represent something negatively (e.g. comment of political leaders) which may lead us to thinking in the same bias manner as the media but the media doesn’t portray what is real, it portrays what people want to watch .Media, at times, shows just one side of the story to sensationalize the story which is ethically incorrect. Hence it won’t be wrong to say that we live in Mediacratic world!
Yes, we now live in a world where everything around is controlled and influenced by the media as rightly explained by “Framing Theory “. This includes our eating habits to clothing style etc. Media has a huge impact on us, on our thought process, on our day to day life highlighting the “Cultivation Theory”. We are influenced, manipulated, and to some extent, controlled by the media, directly or indirectly. This is because media has acted as a tool of change, a tool to highlight all the issues of masses; good or bad. Media has acted as a “magic wand” for the developing Indian society. Media has also bought in lots of exposure in every field from education to fashion to business to science and technology. Well, media has more impact on the masses because it bluntly comes up the issues which really matter to the nation or the world. From big corruption scams like 2G and commonwealth scam to live 26/11 telecast footages which wouldn’t have been seen without the media .This kind of exposure shook the nation and made every Indian aware of such it. It also highlighted movements like India against corruption etc .Not only such incidents but it also acts as a high source of information .Today , we just don’t turn on television , we tune into a source of information and entertainment 24/7 , it proves the theory of “Uses and Gratification” in action. Media is supposed to act as an unbiased tool to provide with plain information with facts but this aspect of media has changed as people today look up to media as an opinion leader. And of course we live in a mediacratic world because media itself is the fourth pillar of our democracy.
ReplyDeleteIn a society fed by information, the media is exploiting its corporate control over the airwaves and its deep pockets to consolidate control over the national conversation in order to control the political process. This is a blow aimed at the very heart of democracy and if it is allowed to continue, it will lead to a Mediacracy where major media corporations act as the Praetorian Guard for the country.
ReplyDeleteThe media’s attempt to impose its Mediacracy has completely destroyed its credibility with the public. Very few people trust the media anymore. Viewership ratings have dropped badly. Newspapers are going out of business and newscasts are going unwatched… but that hasn’t halted the Mediacracy’s power grab. The media is destroying its own business model and its traditional role in American life in the hopes of carving out the Mediacracy.
A free society with open elections is most vulnerable at the interface between the voting public and the political candidates. That is where the Mediacracy has attempted to cut democracy’s throat by controlling that interface. The internet has lessened its power, but it still has the inside track and it no longer has even the pretense of professional ethics.
Journalism is dead. Mediacracy is the new model. Mediacracy is not interested in truth or facts, only in power. It is not interested in providing a service to readers, but in controlling them. Mediacracy is strangling democracy and restoring a healthy democracy and the integrity of the political process requires confronting the threat of Mediacracy head on.
Media, in today’s times, surely holds a very important place in our lives. One reason for it is that we always need some or the other form of media to complete the communication process (be it ‘Harold Lasswell’s Model of Communication’ or the ‘Shannon-Weaver Model’). Hence, it wouldn’t be wrong in saying that we have ‘always’ lived in a ‘mediacratic’ world. However, the fact that media has grown leaps & bounds over the past few decades can’t be denied. The intensity & the reach of media, in today’s times, is much more than it was ever before. Also, when the title of being the ‘fourth pillar’ of democracy has been conferred upon media, it isn’t a difficult decision to make as to whether we live in a ‘mediacratic’ world or no. In addition, the dependence on media has grown enormously over the past few decades. Be it getting information or getting aware about an issue, we ultimately, depend on the media for it. We don’t know much (one reason for the lack of information is that we don’t have enough time to indulge in a ‘Public Sphere’) & this is where the ‘Agenda-Setting’ Theory comes into action. Media decides which news is worthy of being ‘on-air’ & because we don’t know much, we tend to believe only the things we see on our TVs or read in our newspapers. This is also the time when the ‘Uses & Gratification’ Theory comes into effect. Also, it is the media which is used to bring the ‘Propaganda’, ‘Persuasion’ or the ‘Sleeper Effect’ into action. The biggest & the most expensive media plans may eventually turn out to be a ‘flop’ show if the media is not used effectively. Add to it, the ‘mouthpieces’ of the Political Parties & we have an example of a totally ‘biased’ form of media. These ‘mouthpieces’ are a classic example of the ‘Framing Theory’. They shape our beliefs (or at least, try to) according to their whims & fancies. And the growing popularity of these ‘mouthpieces’ is an example that they are succeeding in their endeavours. However, like I stated before, I would still say that, “It is not only now but we have ‘always’ lived in a ‘mediacratic’ world.”
ReplyDeleteAccording to Marshall McLuhan Media is the message. Now a days media has more impact on our minds, body and life than anything else. Whenever and whatever news we get, Its our tendency to get access to different types of media and check the creditability of it(ETHOS). AS RIGHTLY SAID BY AKHILA YES more has everything else we do depend upon the media for any kind of entertainment, information, sometimes to give information. Whatever comes in the media we do tend to follow it blindly. MEDIA IS THE EXTENSION OF MAN. It has become the voice of common man(not always, but sometimes yes!)
ReplyDeleteMedia is been used commercially as well. Many politicians use it to promote them and their party to reach the ruler population that remains aloof otherwise. Harold Innis gave the bias of communication to define the role and power of the media. Here media has monopolist power and uses it to manipulate our thoughts and beliefs. Any media acts according to their principles and style of conveying a news. Framing theory is used by media to cultivate a thought and gives the audience the base to think. As we know audience are polysemic in nature. But media gives that base and trains your thinking according to it..
Media has more manipulating power than anyone else. It has the ability to reach maximum audience. That is why propaganda through media has become very powerful. Common man does not have direct access to information.He always receives information through various media .i.e. a channel, newspaper, twitter, facebook etc... Media even uses agenda setting theory and yes tells us what issues are important. The importance of news varies from organisation to organisation. Media most of the time plays with feeling and this makes us not only fall them but emotionally believe them leaving the understanding aspect behind.(prelocutionary act.)
In the process of communication as well media acts the medium through which the sender sends the message. It is responsible for shaping the thoughts and ideas of people in the society. Media helps in creating public opinion. It helps in connecting the ruler population to the urban. We are information hungry people which is satisfied by media. We are too influenced by media and blindly follow it many a times. Media has helped us in getting to know many people which would have been difficult otherwise. It has reduced the barrier which was there before. Now we know our politicians and celebrities and can easily comment on them is because of media completely.(UNCERTAIN REDUCTION THEORY- passive strategy.)
I would conclude saying we have so much access to media that sitting at one place we can have world tour of information. This has led to developing of thoughts, idea, culture, tradition etc. We are more open to new the west now. YES we do live in a mediacratic world where we exchange information on a regular basis
Yes, we do leave in mediacracy world. We are surrounded by this. Technology played crucial role for mediacracy being part of our life. But here I want to make differentiate as our media (Press & electronic). We had more experience how electronic media do for TRP’s. Let’s back to the topic, we have communication medium like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ & applications in smart phones kept us stick to the world.
ReplyDeleteIn past we didn’t have “media”. Newspapers in past time encourage movement for public sphere. Bal Tilak who started gathering people at British Era. In 1975, by banned on newspapers Indira Gandhi tried to stop print newspapers but she failed. A. R. Antule former Chief Minister of Maharashtra had to resign in Cement Scam. All this power comes from newspaper.
Electronic media is more different than newspapers or press. That’s why we have good quality & in-depth content of news. In the race “Sabse Aage” electronic media lost their credibility. But they do give proper news. We have news apps on our Smartphone. We say media is fourth pillar of democracy. Is this that pillar that runs entertainment, advertorials all day? It’s all up to their editorial policy. What we saw on TV that rubbish.
Media want an exclusive coverage that runs their channel for 24/7. Like 26/11 Mumbai blast, Anna Hajare’s fast at Ramlila, Cricket match, any scam or RTI Activist who digs scam from one clue. Best example is Arvind Kejriwal who knows how to use media & vice versa.
Media sets the agenda for public what to see. Even we don’t want any particular programme we have to watch because they boomerang our mind for this commodity.
Television is one of the most common and accessible thing used by everyone in India. The power of the media is incredible and the responsibility attached to it the job is more crucial than a normal citizen. The accessibility of a media person to different places and different people itself demonstrates the power of media. The credibility and large audience connected to it makes it more powerful. Due to large audience and credibility factor, the content produced by media creates a huge impact.
ReplyDeleteThe impact of media can be noticeably seen in many news instances for e.g. Prince: A five-year-old boy fell into a 250-300 feet deep borewell in Jaipur in 2009. This news received so much attention in a day that lakhs of SMS were received as part of wishing the child good luck and many people started ‘mannats’ and other rituals for his long life. Such small news made such a big impact and the people started following it blindly. These itself shows that media has a huge impact on the perception of the people. The people now must not even remember about that incident and many same incidents after that were not given much news value. This is where media uses the theory of sleeper effect perfectly.
The way media can change the perception of people can be seen in Bombay riots held in 92. In that incident there was a general bias against the Muslims in the minds of the average policemen. The reason for the biasness according to a survey was found that majority of the police officers read Marathi newspaper Samna during that period. The law makers were partial to a particular community because of being influenced from media. This itself shows the extent to which media can have its impact on minds of the people. Media makes use of agenda setting theory very well that the thinking or ideology of a person is changed drastically.
Media shows us what they want because they are the one having control over gate keeping of the news. They publish it or show it through different medium, which makes us believe that yes this is important event happening. We do not even come to know about the news which is killed by gatekeepers. So they even have a control on what to be seen by the audience.
All this shows that media definitely has a lot of power and the influence of it on viewers shows that we are living in a 'mediacratic' world? Whether this situation is good or bad can be debatable!