Role of media in the development of a Society

The current world equates the term media to the mass communication industry including newspaper, television, radio, journalists and other related professionals. In effect media is a tool people can use to provide a forum or platform for the subjects of public debate. Thus, media can play a great role in selecting this subject of public debate. So, we can say that Media retains power to guide and misguide the collective mindset of the society. The question thus arises is, whether the media guide us positively or negatively? Is the media biased and is it possible for a biased media to guide a society in a positive manner?

A few months back, I have read an article written by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, the ex-President of India, in which he had written his experience about his visit to Israel. The entire front page of Israel’s local news paper pictured a farmer who made some notable achievements in agriculture. The news was written in a way that everyone who reads it get motivated by the experience of this farmer.  I could not believe this as Israel is a land of sensational news. Every day the country faces at least one bomb blast and war movements.  Doctor Kalam continued writing that all such news of violence and crime are being given in very small columns in the inner pages. 

Think of India, here media is more prompt to sell the sensations than the reality. We read the news about scams, wars, corruptions and crimes in the front page of each and every news paper. Television channels are even ready to go to the bed rooms of sensational people. The real motivating stories are sometimes finding it difficult to get at least a small column in the news paper.  What is wrong here? Why the media guides the society to go after such irrelevant things when we have tons of development criteria are there to focus.

Suppose if agriculture is the life sustaining activity of a region, will they let their seeds to loss its quality? I know that your answer is a big no. The region will invest its one hundred percentages to maintain the quality of its seeds and further harvest. Only a good seed can yield the best harvest. Now let’s consider our nation. When we compare the frequency of population with landmass, our country holds the position of the most populated land on earth leaving behind China and also it is the largest democracy in the world. Thus human resources are our asset. How can we let to lose the quality of our asset?

Don’t you think that the biased media, who think that our people do like only this kind of news, misguide us? Even the film makers are biased and mistakenly made a mindset that the society does not have a quality to understand standard movies and produce only Masala movies. Do any of these media add any value to the growth of our nation? Are they not making us debate on gossips and silly things when there are a lot of real issues? Now, I would like to make a humble request to Media personnel’s. Dear friends, we are not against you, we understand the value of service you are providing. But, we want you to understand our quality, we are not silly illiterates, we are a society of esteem and so please provide us something worth to be debate, in other words- the reality!!

We must realize that the media has a very constructive role to play in the development of any society. Instead of celebrating politricks, scams, crimes against women and other destructive concerns, our media must put forward a constructive debate. It must act as a unifying agent. A common opinion is the key for the development of the nation. Let's come together and make this campaign a great success. I am sure we can do it....The revelations in Egypt and other nations are an example for this. Here we are in democracy....but actually lives in a virtual anarchy. Thus media must demonstrate its active role to bring the country back from the virtual anarchy.