BIASED MEDIA IS A REAL THREAT TO INDIAN(2) (1).pptx

yes

1. BIASED MEDIA IS A REAL THREAT TO INDIAN DEMOCRACY BY : Michelle Xavier

2. biased media Media bias is the  bias  of  journalists  and  news producers  within the  mass media  in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of the stand ards of journalism , rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed. Practical limitations to  media neutrality  include the inability of journalists to report all available stories and facts, and the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent  narrative. Government  influence, including overt and covert  censorship , biases the media in some countries, for example  China ,  North Korea ,  Syria  and  Myanmar .  Market  forces may also cause bias. Examples include bias introduced by the ownership of media, including a  concentration of media ownership , the subjective selection of  staff , or the perceived  preferences  of an intended  audience .

3. ABSTRACT Since democracy is defined as by the people, for the people and for the people, media plays a very crucial role in maintaining this institution. The media which reports and interprets the government policies, decisions and other information objectively is unbiased media. However, that media which reports and interprets information in a certain way to bring about browny points for the vested interests of certain sections are termed as biased media. In the mass media era, the role of the media was universally regarded as fundamental to the proper functioning of the democratic state: the media’s capacity to provide information freely to all citizens ensured they had equal access to the democratic process. Media is being considered as the fourth pillar of democracy. It is easy to demonstrate how the flow of information could be manipulated and the power of the media abused. The modern era seems to be the of media.

4. Media has played a significant role in establishing democracy throughout the world including India. Since 18th century the media has been instrumental in generating awareness and in spreading knowledge across the masses especially in the American Independence movement and the French Revolution. Media did the same work for India also. Media has played a very critical role even in colonial India. Media is like an eye of an eagle which keeps an eye on the activities of a state. In our Independence media did the same work. The fallacies of British ruled government being good for the growth and development of colonial India were shattered by means of the media. Media has proved to be the sole source of information for our citizens (i.e., our Indian brothers) of colonial India to become aware of the arbitrariness and brutality of the British Colonial rule. Media played very significant role in communicating the non- humanitarian acts to the people of India. Media is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy along with Executive, legislation and Judiciary and rightly, so Media was not only used after independence but before independence also. From pre- independence India where Mahatma Gandhi used journals “Young India” and “Harijan” to communicate is message to the people of his country and to organize National Movement in the country at the wider level.

5. WHAT DOES DEMOCRACY MEAN The world democracy has been conveniently interpreted as the right to vote. The origin of the word democracy is Greek word, a combination of Demos (the people) and kratos (power), thus meaning “the power of the people” which, in turn, means “majority rule” by the people or their elected representatives. It is generally construed as the power to vote and elect a government. It is the power to be able to participate in the democratic process of a country, and not just power to vote a popular government to power. In democracy, every citizen has a right to freedom of expression. This also means that one can express in without the fear of any repercussion and without the fear of authority, and that the citizen and the authority are on an equal platform during the changes. In short, in a democracy all citizens have equal right to voice their concerns, and to speak their mind. Every political party use media selflessly to promote their policies agenda and eliciting support for their campaign. Social media also become a platform to glorify political leaders prior to elections. With no proper regulatory Framework in place for social media, this avenue is often violated to spread fake news, a tool for propaganda as well as foreign interference in domestic election. Social media sometime prove to be adda of some religious people as they are staunch followers of some group because of these views' violence in society is there.

6. EFFECTS OF MEDIA BIAS In social structure, media has distinct place to form image about significant political and social issues. Media coverage has major impact on public when it characterizes the whole event and provide reliable information about numerous issues such as environment, technology and risk. Media is considered as a potent source of information and opinion for readers through newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the internet. Various studies have exposed that the public increases their knowledge base about science from the mass media. Therefore, it is important to scrutinize the injustice and misrepresentation of media coverage of serious issues. Around the world, mass media has an influence on civilization and an in depth look at its most popular forms today would most certainly reveal numerous blatant injustices in the way TV networks, print media, and internet websites spread information. It has been seen that millions of citizens watch their television to know what is happening in their surroundings. They form opinions on certain issues based on news broadcast in TV or other news media. The media's role in political matters is especially significant when they have the power to make or break a candidate. They can criticize a candidate or make him/her likeable. News media networks affect the public's interest in politics by presenting the people what they want them to see. Even if there are many issues in a crusade, the media will focus on the one they consider to be the most important, and other issues are overlooked. It is well known that public make impression to what they watch in news media. But on public policy issues if the news on which they rely is deformed, it is obviously crucial that TV news broadcasts and other media must be unbiased. Nonetheless, there has always heated debate about media bias.

7. M edia bias is "more news coverage and more favorable coverage" of one candidate or party over the other candidate or party. The main objective of media bias to distort the stories to attract attention of viewers and it is flashed constantly in prejudiced way. The media can be prejudiced towards both liberals and traditionalists. Some traditionalists claimed that liberal journalists are more attributed to their own liberal principles in the news they report, while liberal journalists assert that they stay neutral and report news without any bias. Others proclaimed that conservative reporters take minor things, exaggerate it, or blow it to mythological proportions. The media often displays its bias. Their extensive exposure facilitates them to communicate their ideas to the public, irrespective of the public's reaction. In general, common of forms of bias arise when the media support or bout a particular political party, candidate, or philosophy; however, other types of bias exist such as advertising bias, corporate bias, mainstream bias, sensationalism, and concision bias. Advertising bias occurs when stories are selected or slanted to please advertisers; corporate bias refers to when stories are selected or slanted to satisfy corporate possessors of media; mainstream bias denotes to a propensity to report what everyone else is reporting, and to evade stories that will upset anyone.

8. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages out of control in India, many are rightly focusing on the content of stories on the death toll and months of lockdown. The lack of journalistic integrity behind some of the stories deepens this grim situation. In April,  reports emerged   that, at the request of the Indian government, Twitter censored 52 tweets criticizing the government’s handling of the pandemic. Meanwhile, pro-government TV channels  blamed  the farmers’ protests for limited oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients, though supplies were  scarce  due to poor public health infrastructure. This reporting is not only misleading and traumatic to those affected by the pandemic, but also poses a major threat to India’s vibrant democracy. Even before the pandemic, media bias in India existed across the largest newspapers throughout the country, and political forces shape this bias. For example, funds from the government are critical to many newspapers’ operations and budgets, and the current Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government has previously  refused to advertise  with newspapers that do not support its initiatives. This pressure leads media to endorse government policies, creating unbalanced reporting where media bias can affect political behavior in favor of the incumbent. Many media outlets enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the government, in turn receiving attention, funding, and prominence. These trends damage India’s democracy and also put journalists critical of the government in danger, threatening their right to physical safety.

9. Bias versus Democracy This ability of media bias to influence political support in India can contribute significantly to democratic backsliding by harming journalists, preventing freedom of expression and government accountability, and influencing voters. Media bias causes democratic backsliding because the media neither holding the government accountable nor informing the public about policies that strengthen the incumbent’s power can increase authoritarian practices. In addition, government efforts to constrain the media harms journalists, undemocratically violating citizens’ rights and physical safety. Freedom House  rates  India as only two on a four-point scale for whether there is a “free and independent media,” because of “attacks on press freedom…under the Modi government.” In fact, the government   imprisoned several journalists in 2020 who reported critically on Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s response to the pandemic. The crackdown on journalists engendered an unsafe environment for free reporting, a feature of many authoritarian states. A biased media also prevents citizens from receiving information that might be essential to public wellbeing by filtering information through a lens that supports government interests first. When the BJP cracked down on coverage of COVID-19 last year, journalists were  unable to disseminate   critical information to Indians. This included where migrants suffering from the sudden lockdown could receive necessities—information that could save lives. Notably, these crackdowns also meant an absence of reporting criticizing the government’s response to the pandemic. In a democratic society, a critical press is essential for holding the government accountable for its actions and motivating it to change its practices.  

10. Finally, media bias plays an influencing role at the voting booth as propaganda can skew voter decisions and perceptions of what is true. During India’s 2014 general elections, the BJP advertised more than the Congress Party and voters exposed to more media were  likelier  to vote for the BJP. To influence voters, media bias often utilizes inflammatory messaging to convince more people to vote, selective information to bias what voters believe about the efficacy of the candidates, and appeasement to convince voters that they will personally benefit from voting a certain way. 

11. CONCLUSION It is therefore not surprising that powerful people wish to control the media to manipulate the thoughts of the people. Though, there are others methods to control the minds of the people like religion, philosophy or literature, nothing can beat the power of media to influence the thoughts of people. American singer and poet Jim Morrison said this aptly, “ Whoever controls the media, controls the   mind. ”   There is no doubt that a vibrant democracy needs a free press. When press is free, people trust the press to reveal the truth. Hence, when the journalists are doing their job honestly, they are widely respected in the society and enjoy tremendous power. However, when press is not free, it loses respect of the people. “ A free press needs to be a   respected press ”. If the media becomes corrupt or biased, people are given wrong information and fed with false propaganda of the political parties which can misguide them to choose the wrong candidates in power leading to destruction of democracy. Media has been undergoing its evolution for a long time. Only a few decades ago, press was the most powerful media and people relied upon the newspapers and magazine for authentic information. Their power was however, limited to educated people only. Once radio was invented, it reached every home and gradually became a powerful tool in the hands of the leaders to propagate their views. With the advent of electronic media and satellite television, the business houses that owned the private media became quite powerful. However, soon, the popularity of the social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, was to democratize the power of media as the common man became not only a recipient of the news, but also the creator of the news.   Today, media has become extremely powerful all around the world. Its power is even more in democracies where it can freely influence the masses. In a vibrant democracy, people must have correct information about the public servants like the ministers and the civil servants. These public servants enjoy real powers in a democracy while the role of the people often remains limited to voting once in five years to elect their MP or MLA. These elected representatives once in power, often forget the people who voted them to power and use their stint to secure illegal benefits for themselves and their supporters. Instead of being transparent, public officials often tend to follow the culture of secrecy and red- tape. Instead of working for the welfare of the people, they often misuse the power to further self- interest. Media alone can make them accountable to the public by exposing their misdeeds to the public so that they can elect the right candidates in the next elections.

12. There are many reasons for the media to get biased in India. India is a land of diversity and the people are divided on the basis of caste, religion, language, culture and region. Instead of harnessing our power of unity in diversity to our advantage, politicians often exploit the diversities by dividing people to rule them. When businessmen run the media, their sole interest is to maximize their profits. They can’t afford to annoy the government, which can harm their business interest. They may be threatened by the government, if they dare to go against them. Hence, instead of exposing the inefficiency and corruption of government, they find it more convenient to praise them to get government favours including lucrative advertisements from them. In order to maximize their revenue from corporate advertisements, they focus on increasing their TRPs by broadcasting sensational and even fake news. Some media houses and journalists misuse the power of media to even blackmail the corrupt and powerful politicians as well as civil servants. They often extract heavy ransom for suppressing the truth about their misadventures.   A biased media is thus a great threat to democracy. India surely needs a free and fair media. There is an urgent need to regulate the media by framing stricter laws to make it more transparent and accountable. We need to develop stronger codes of conduct for the media, which can be enforced by an independent agency free from the government control. There has to be stricter and quicker punishments for fake and paid news. The IT cells and political parties should be made accountable if they misuse the power of the social media to spread hatred and divide in the society. It is important to realize that only an unbiased media can uphold true democracy in India.