WHETHER GOOD OR BAD: MEDIA IS THE SAVIOR

Media is playing a great role today in our lives. They make our voice reach everywhere, highlight problems, disclose the work of the government, making them alert of their duties & responsibilities. Thank God for the media. Would Priyadarshini Mattoo and Jessica Lal's murderers ever have got convicted if there would not have the media pressure? Gujarat encounter murders - the media exposes every attempt by the Gujrat Govt to interfere in the investigation? The DGP Mohanty shielding his convicted rapist son? String operation by media to bring corruption in to a picture? Media build up public opinion in right direction and work as social conscious, Last but not the least the very latest, whole big malfunctioning in the CWG and the truth of a big corrupt congress person Mr. Kalmadi. All that is one part of media which we see and appreciate.

There is another part of media which we feel as an unwanted, undesirable but due to tight competition the media is using techniques like, the news channels prefer to show a celebrity's activities more instead of social activities and various uncovered issue of India. Total people killed instead of total people saved, having headlines of matter which do not concern us directly or indirectly. Sometimes these popularity gimmicks create a bad image amongst the learned section of the society. Even the popular news channel in order to have sponsors and promoters; do some unnecessary stuff, which are not at all acceptable. Sometimes they make the issue of any incident whether it’s relevant with their status or not, and what is more frustrating these days is the repeat telecasts of few programs and repetition of the news. Oh my god it feels like, What has happen to them? In a country of billion populations, with same no of problems they don’t have something relevant to show and research on?

Messages about tobacco and alcohol are everywhere in media. Kids see characters on screen smoking and drinking. They see signs for tobacco and alcohol products at concerts and sporting events. Advertising and movies send kids the message that smoking and drinking make a person sexy or cool and that "everyone does it." Advertising also sways teens to smoke and drink. Teens who see a lot of ads for beer, wine, liquor, and cigarettes admit that it influences them to want to drink and smoke. It is not by chance that the three most advertised cigarette brands are also the most popular ones smoked by teens.

Advertisers of tobacco and alcohol purposely leave out the negative information about their products. As a result, young people often do not know what the health risks are when they use these products.

From media violence, children learn to behave aggressively toward others. They are taught to use violence instead of self-control to take care of problems or conflicts.

Children learn their attitudes about violence at a very young age and these attitudes tend to last. Although TV violence has been studied the most, researchers are finding that violence in other media impacts children and teens in many of the same harmful ways.

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the mind of the masses. ~

Even if sometimes the media overdoses on celebrities or violence or advertisements, But overall if we see the are doing they are doing an excellent job in exposing corruption and other misdeeds by people in high positions, who would otherwise have got away scot free. Making people aware about their fundamental rights and duties, The attitude, approach and behavior of the common people will also change, when exposed to media.  The media conducts polls and let public to take part in social issues. Through blogging in the internet and writing letters to the editor in newspapers, many people give voice about their opinion in different political and social matters.  Hence as said long back there will always be two sides of the coin, But in the end mostly people believe that the media is our savior.

Anshul Dhingra

21 st October 11.59 PM