Introduction:
The word “Media” comes from the word “medium,” which means the transmission of information from one part of a state to another part (Dyck & Zingales, 2002). Even the ballpoint pen is faster in comparison to the sword. In today’s world, this ancient aphorism appears to be right because the media gives the impression of significant advancement in our modern society. Media includes mass media, including television, newscasts, stations, the press, radio sets, journals, and most importantly, online networks and electronic mail. These days, the scope of media has become larger day by day because it reports small pieces of news in a very broad manner. Moreover, the media appears to act as an expediter towards the growth of this advanced culture and serves as an excellent source of information and also as a mediator of revolution. Today, the media is regarded as the fourth pillar of the nation all over the globe, and this is most likely to be true in the case of the largest republics such as India (Dyck & Zingales, 2002).
In today’s world, media plays an active role by enhancing the nation’s consciousness and gathering people’s opinions, information, and approaches to a particular issue. Media provides an excellent source of valid information by connecting the world to boost the nation’s awareness and express the real face of society.
Objective:
The primary purpose of this research paper is to describe the role of media in good governance.
The Role of Media in Good Governance:
In old times, good governance was considered to be very important, but in today’s time, media has taken its place in comparison to a new production (Dyck & Zingales, 2002). The old Roman Empire that was created about 2000 years ago was only set up in a smaller context using good corporate governance and diverse nations. Meanwhile, regardless of whether the government is democratic or despotic, good governance is a fundamental need to operate civilization. Leaders have the highest and a considerable level of power and have a responsibility to ensure proper corporate governance. But if governance is poor in quality and does not fulfill the requirements of the nation, then countries can challenge these authorities by gaining trustworthy management (Castka, Castka, Corbett, & Corbett, 2016).
Media commonly represents mass media through any medium that provides information about all the current matters of any region on a large scale, and media is free from biased reporting of facts through the Internet, print, and TV.
Conventionally, there is no defined role for media in governance because it does not have any powers to influence or change the decisions made by different authorities of government, i.e., the governing bodies, policymakers, and the courts. However, the media appears to play a great role in operating civilization by providing assistance to the expressions of the nation and transferring people’s views to the legislators (Liu & McConnell, 2013). Pundit Nehru described media as the watchdog of our republic, and his saying gave the media a significant duty to make society efficient through its functioning (Liu & McConnell, 2013).
Nehru’s perceptions are correct about the media in the world context because previously, the “Protector” and the “New York Times” were discovering the secret communications of USA regulators by tapping their communications with other states, and in this way, the media violated privacy laws. Likewise, in India, it is the primary responsibility of the media to reveal corruption in the telecommunication sector, coal industries, and environmental sectors. Hence, the media adopts unlawful practices to bring issues to the notice of the people. The vital element for the press is to ensure good governance (Peters, 2016).
It is the responsibility of the media to protect the rights of the nation, particularly those who are poor and whose voices are always disregarded. The media helps different countries to bring different sorts of incidents that were previously ignored to the notice of lawmakers where the judiciary is exploited.
As in India, the incident of the IAS officer Durga Nagpal, who was suspended without any reason, and Jessica Lall’s murder case appear to show us how the media plays an active role in protecting the nation to ensure that fairness is done in the republic. Radio stations and reporters also assisted India’s independence struggle and continued to perform a significant role in government and community movements that were considered beneficial to different populations and subgroups. The Narmada Andolan (social movement of India) is an ideal or prime example of this role (Camaj, 2013).
To perform efficiently, an organization needs some mechanism through which it can obtain positive feedback. Similarly, the media also represents a feedback mechanism for each country running a society by rating the performance of these nations and their opponents regarding all rules shaped and laws passed. It is the responsibility of the media to bring resistance to all adverse established societies and also to assist zones affected by natural disasters, such as those that occurred after the tsunami of 2004 that distressed zones near the Indian Ocean (Dyck & Zingales, 2002; Peters, 2016).
The apparent and real role of media is to provide information only regarding the matter under concern. In this way, it also ensures the efficient running of society by inspiring the people who are responsible for good governance. Societies that do not have media seem difficult to visualize and will also be limited in terms of good governance. Therefore, media is not an ordinary production, but it is mandatory for the efficient running of society and good governance. Practically, the media performs a sound check on governance; however, it has been blamed for not accomplishing its duties (Liu & McConnell, 2013).
Nowadays, it is observable that the media is biased by some national parties and runs some promotional campaigns. There is another issue that media corporations take money for publishing wrong articles, resulting in news becoming hidden from the nation’s people. In short, in India, wealthy companies are running the media in the direction that they want. All the above-discussed problems raise questions about the ability of media and its contribution to running society efficiently.
If we consider the Kargil War of 1999, the media news channels were suspected of revealing strategic facts about the deaths of Indian soldiers. So, the media must be responsible for presenting real or ethical statements within its jurisdiction (Castka et al., 2016).
Conclusion:
The role of media is not only limited to the functioning of society, but it also has principles or beliefs, figures or norms, and fields of importance in particular matters regarding regionalization for the formation of a culturally diversified community. In the establishment of those countries that have extensive poverty and unethical governance, such as India, the media has a unique responsibility to contribute positively.
In India, there are a lot of issues regarding media worthiness. In some regions of India, the media only works for influential political parties rather than for good governance due to their pressure, resulting in fake news being widely spread around the world. Therefore, these problems need to be addressed so that media plays a sound role in every place in order to make the country a multicultural society. It is also our responsibility to contribute positively to our society to become a prosperous and wealthy country. This role also has a positive effect on the media in fulfilling its objectives and goals.
References:
Camaj, L. (2013). The media’s role in fighting corruption: Media effects on governmental accountability. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(1), 21–42.
Castka, P., Castka, P., Corbett, C., & Corbett, C. (2016). Adoption and diffusion of environmental and social standards: The effect of stringency, governance, and media coverage. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36(11), 1504–1529.
Dyck, A., & Zingales, L. (2002). The corporate governance role of the media. The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development, 107–37.
Liu, B., & McConnell, J. J. (2013). The role of the media in corporate governance: Do the media influence managers’ capital allocation decisions? Journal of Financial Economics, 110(1), 1–17.
Peters, B. G. (2016). Governance and the media: Exploring the linkages. Policy & Politics, 44(1), 9–22.
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