Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
The skilled and bold personality of anchor person raises peoples voice and clearly
asks the real point of the crisis.
They analyze government actions, either in favor or against the masses and develop
the opinions of the experts.
Media is serving as true democratic notion of peoples participation. The general
peoples criticism, analysis, and comments are added. which also act as a catharsis.
The ruling feel shame while speaking bluff in live shows before the millions of the
citizens.
Media successfully informs the whole world against any injustice and shows world
criticism which compel the government to change its autocratic orders.
Economic Debate
Shows governments projects internationally to get foreign investment by projecting
the benefits of the enterprise.
Advertising to maintain competition among various companies which facilitates the
public. Like mobile phones and their lowering prices.
It represents new business trends going in the world and offering the new
opportunities for the investors.
Performance of stock exchange keeps update the investors.
Spreads technical education to learn the working of the machinery.
Social Awareness
Bring the world at doorstep with its various trends, colors and life styles.
Changes moods and behavior of people from conservative to liberal.
Bold topics through dramas and talk shows to purify the society from superstitions,
evils and fake stories.
New household styles to upgrade the living standards.
Guides the youth for new opportunities and to compete with the world in all fields of
life.
Creates civic sense.
Religion Clarifications
Authentic information by the competent scholars instead of narrow minded and
ignorant clerics who have changed the world into hell.
2
influenced by the role of media. We believe in what media projects to us. We change our
minds according to the information provided through it.
In the past when the media was not so strong we were quite ignorant about what is happening
around us. But today we come to know very quickly what is happening around us. We have
the access to all the international news channels that provide us the facts and figures.
Considering this fact that media has the power to influence society, it should know its
responsibility towards society. It should feel its responsibility to educate the society in a
positive way. It should be giving us fair analysis and factual information
Media plays a vital role in every one's life. In today's modern society media has become a
part and parcel of our life. Its duty is to inform, educate and entertain. It is considered as the
4th pillar of our society.
Research has revealed that media is responsible for influencing a major part of our daily life.
Media contribute to a transformation in the cultural and social values of the masses. Media
can bring about a change in the attitudes and beliefs of the common man. The persuasive
nature of the content presented over media influences the thoughts and behavior of the
general public. Media has a direct impact over the lifestyle of society.
The recent advent of blogging in the media world and practices like public polls and citizen
journalism, have led to the achievement of a social control. These concepts have strengthened
the relationship between the media and the common man. They have brought the general
masses closer to their society.
Media has brought about a major transformation in the way people think. Media has given
them an excellent platform to present themselves before the world and contribute in their own
way to the changing world scenario. Media has been responsible for making the world a
smaller place to live.
changing the way they are perceived by the audience. Media highlights controversies and
scandals in the lives of celebrities. The masses fall for this being-in-the-news and end up
imitating celebrities without much thought. Those at a vulnerable age, especially children and
teenagers, are highly influenced by anything that is put before them in a jazzy way. At that
age, they are attracted to anything that's flashy and anything that can make news.
Wrong Message: The negatives in society are highlighted with the purpose of awakening
people about them. For example, the negative effects of addiction are portrayed through
advertisements. Newspapers, television and the Internet are used to convey social messages.
But unfortunately sometimes, the message is misconstrued. The 'awakening' does not reach
everyone or it reaches the masses in the wrong way. So there is a section positively
influenced by the media while there are others who take the wrong message from it. Media
influences them negatively. What is shown with an intent to 'spread a message' ends up
becoming a bombardment of the bad, the ugly. The bad is overinflated and the good goes
unnoticed. Depiction of the bad has a negative impact on kids not mature enough to interpret
what they are being shown. It's not just media to be blamed in this case. Parents and teachers
have a big role to play in selecting what the young should see and what they should not.
Negativity: To some extent, media is responsible for generating negative feelings among
those exposed to it. An early exposure to bold or violent films, books publishing adult content
and news portraying ugly social practices has a deep impact on young minds. If children are
bombarded with fight sequences, stunt work, sex and rape scenes, suicides and murders
through books or movies, they are bound to leave a scar on these impressionable minds. And
not just children, the unpleasant can impact even an adult's mind. Adults may have the
maturity to distinguish between the good and the bad, but bombarding only the bad can affect
anyone at least at the subconscious level. Haven't you had experiences of a bad dream after
watching a violent movie? Or of imagining something scary happening to you after watching
a horror film? Or a sudden fear gripping your mind after reading about a murder in your city?
The reality should be depicted but not so gaudily that it'll have a lasting impact on people's
minds.
Unhealthy Lifestyle: Media is held responsible for the change in eating habits of teenagers
and the unhealthy lifestyle they are adopting. You ask me why? Well, because there are these
junk food advertisements everywhere. There's no one advertising the benefits of eating fresh
fruit everyday, no one's promoting drinking 8 glasses of water daily. The benefits of
following a balanced diet are not being hyped anywhere. Media is exposing the masses to fast
5
food products, canned food, fad diets, and energy drinks. This is leading teenagers to adopt
unhealthy eating habits. No one's propagating the importance of exercising to keep fit. But
there are advertisements of expensive exercise equipment, and weight and fat loss programs.
Watching TV or browsing the web late night is spoiling the sleeping habits of many.
Information Overload: The media in itself is so addictive that once glued to it, you tend to
forget everything else. When you are not watching TV, you are surfing the Internet, when you
are not on the web, you are reading newspapers, when you are not reading anything, you are
listening to something. Thus, all the time, you are glued to some form of media. It is
bombarding you with content, news, information, gossip, rumors - it is exposing you to
everything it has, some things necessary, some not; some things important, some not, some
things you want to ignore, some things you cannot. Media is everywhere, affecting every
aspect of life.
Media Addiction: The negative effects of media on children are manifested in terms of their
changing mental setup and the declining quality of their lifestyle. Children should invest
more time reading good books, studying, playing outdoors and exercising. Due to the oh-soalluring media, most of their time is spent glued to the television, reading celebrity gossip,
listening to something sensational or wandering aimlessly on the Internet. With a 'world' of
information and entertainment waiting on the other side of a computer or TV screen, it's not
unnatural for anyone to spend hours exploring it; it's addictive. This affects kids and
teenagers the most, as they are exposed to things they might interpret wrongly or may not
even understand at that age.
Self-hatred: Women with petite bodies and girls with a barbie figure are always shown to be
more popular or attractive while the overweight are portrayed as less popular, having less
friends and being bullied. This leads to a notion that thin is sexy and fat is not. When this
thought grips the minds of youngsters, they take to fad diets or turn to cosmetic surgeries to
get that so-called perfect body. The craze for models or actors and actresses, makes teenagers
want bodies and facial features like theirs. To get rid of a big nose or to get those big pouty
lips, teenagers are ready to go under the knife.
Health Problems: Media has negative effects on the physical and psychological well-being
of society. People spending hours in front of a television or surfing the Internet experience
eye problems. Lack of physical activity leads to obesity problems. Media influences public
6
opinion and impacts the choices that people make. The media does play a role in portraying
thin as beautiful and fat as ugly. It has led to a general opinion that size-zero is the in thing
and fat and chubby are out. This makes the overweight feel out of place. They are ready to
starve themselves to lose weight. This can, and has led to increasing cases of anorexia. An
inferiority complex and lowered confidence in people with not-so-perfect bodies can lead to
eating disorders. In a survey done on fifth graders by the National Institute on Media and the
Family, it was found that kids had become dissatisfied with their bodies after watching a
video of a certain very popular artiste and a certain scene from a popular TV show (names
omitted on purpose).
Changed Outlook: The media has, in its own way, changed people's outlook towards life.
Media is the interface through which millions look at the world outside. Media claims to
depict the 'today', but not all types of media show only the truth. With the intent of stressing
their point or for grabbing greater attention from the masses, media hypes or exaggerates
things to a certain degree. Not everyone is able to filter that element. Most believe everything
to be real, especially kids and teenagers.
Fact-Fantasy Confusion: Vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts - where did they come
from? Fairies, superheroes, angels - where did they come from? It's not only media to be
blamed, as these characters belong to folklore. But media did play a role in propagating these
characters and making them seem real. Aren't there ghost and vampire stories that media
claims as real? These characters enter our world through books and movies. There is no
denying their amusement value or entertainment quotient. But isn't it too much to blindly
believe that they exist? Fiction is amusing only till the distinction between fact and fiction is
clear. The reel entertains only till its difference from the real is understood. When the two
worlds mix, life becomes difficult.
Right-or-Wrong Dilemma: The media is so overwhelming that the masses end up believing
everything it says/shows. Media sources are so many in number and all of them so
convincingly make their point, that it is hard to distinguish between right and wrong. The
media is constantly bombarding us with information. How far do we go to check its
authenticity? How deep do we dig to get to the root of something that's making news? How
critically do we judge the reality of reality shows and the truth behind true stories? We don't
think, we believe. We don't judge, we get influenced. And that's how impactive media is.
While a certain amount of exposure to media is essential for introducing ourselves to the
world outside, excessive exposure, uncontrolled access and belief without thought won't lead
us anywhere. They will only make the negative influence of media more obvious.
2. Interpreters/surveillance guys
Media workers are in essence interpreters of information. All of us at some point have been to the
library to do research for a paper or report, sifting through piles and piles of information to support
a thesis in 1,000 words or more, or to simply explain an event, situation, or person.
Journalists in the media do much the same. They dont just provide pages of facts and statistics that
the average person might not understand. Instead, they weed out the important issues and points,
putting them in a context that the average reader and listener can make sense of in order to form
their own opinions.
How terrible would it be if we all had to sift through piles of documentation and statistics, or sit
through press conferences, just to find out that the price of rice in China has risen?
Journalists provide the six basic areas of information: Who, what, where, why, and how. Most of
the time, thats all we need to know.
In this way, the media keeps us focussed on the issues that matter in a surveillance-type way.
Some aspects of media surveillance include the latest stock report, sports scores, entertainment
news, progress and results of an election, and so forth.
3. Watchdogs
8
While the media has historically been viewed as being overly aggressive and insatiable in their
plight for the latest and hottest news, their watchdog-type function is essential in a democratic
society where people MUST know what their governments are doing.
The media has the capacity to hold governments accountable, forcing them to explain their actions
and decisions, all of which affect the people they represent.
In a democratic society, people should know all their options if they are to govern themselves, and
the media is a vehicle for the dissemination of such information.
The assumption in some societies is that the press speaks for the people, thus the Freedom of
Speech and Freedom of the Press Acts in the United States and in many other countries. The reason
for Freedom of the Press is to ensure that democracy is able to function, so it is important to
understand that such legislation does not only protect the functions of the press.
With press freedom we then know what the differing views in society are, opening the floor
to debate, and discussion, all of which are healthy functions of a democratic society.
disrepute the society. In my opinion a large section of the Pakistani media does not serve the
interest of the people, in fact some of it is positively anti-people. It often divides the people.
The people, who watch these channels in foreign countries, are for sure constrained to think
that Pakistan is full of ill-cultured, fraudulent and dishonest people who always involve in
crimes etc. The media has totally ignored the important role it should play in this transition
period we are passing through. However, I am not saying that there are no good journalists at
all in the media. There are many excellent journalists too who work for the country, but they
are always under multiple threats.
Some of the channels and media anchors are working for particular political parties. For
instance, the real issues in Pakistan are socio-economic, the terrible poverty in which about
80% of our people are living, the massive unemployment, unbearable load-shedding, the
abnormal price rise, lack of medical care, education, the ruin of institutions, breakage of fiber
of the society, unaffordable higher education, backward social practices like honor killing and
caste oppression, religious fundamentalism and so on never highlighted during the last
regime. Instead of devoting most of its coverage to these vital issues the media focused on
non issues like film stars, fashion parades, individual rape and killing cases, repeated
entertainment programs and talk shows etc. Does a hungry or unemployed man wanted
entertainment or food and a job?
Media groups are owned by corporations that seek to profit, regardless of the consequences.
Major part of media is absolutely non-objective, complete lies, omission of fact; neglect to
report on real news and now false propaganda that could bring the incoming regime under
their pressure. The pressure to produce constant unimportant news, all day, every day, on
single issue tends to result in over representations of that news. For example, when there is
even a minor blast, most of the news channels report almost exclusively on this topic for
hours and ignore news with more significance to peoples lives. Each news station is
supportive more of one side; biased media. The news covers stories that are more interesting
for ratings and gives their opinions more siding with those who pay them more.
They often suppress facts while exaggerating and misleading. They are an extension of their
political partys campaign efforts while pretending to be objective journalists. They follow
distributed talking points and their views are extreme compared to that of the average
Pakistani. They act like they are the elite, and somehow more enlightened, looking down on
the average Pakistani with contempt. The media manipulates facts to distort truths and to
10
promote their own political agenda. For some money corrupt media anchors of different
channels are destroying our culture and misguiding the youth of country. Malik Riaz exchairman of Bahria Town continued bribing many TV anchors to hide his own and his
favorite PPPs corruption from the People of Pakistan. The same segment of media is now
creating a negative perception about incoming regime and propagating negatively just as
pressure tactics to get fulfilled their demands in coming days. Journalism in Pakistan is a
failure as well.
Media can play public accountability role by monitoring and investigating the actions of
those who are granted public trust and who may be tempted to abuse their office for private
gain. The media should work to educate the people, to help the people and to liberate the
people and to empower the people. There are times when they should put their personal
interests at the back of their mind and show things that could be beneficial for the country
and its people and please stop this race of breaking first news just be original. Media is a
source of information or communication but now it has been transformed to a source of mere
making money. This should stop. Media should act as a bridge between the governing bodies
and general public instead of being a tool for one class of politicians and falsely propagating
against others to bring them under pressure.
Conclusion
Finally, one of the most powerful strengths the media has in any society is
the ability to effect change, both on a social and governmental level.
11
While my focus in this presentation has been on the role of media in society,
it is also important to acknowledge the responsibility of the media in
society.
As journalists they all have the responsibility to report the unbiased,
accurate information as it is received from reliable sources. It is their
obligation to obtain all sides of a story, and to report on both the good and
bad stuff.
However, responsible journalism also requires a balance of the good and
bad stuff in newspapers and in broadcast reports.
12
Bibliography
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.answer.com
www.ask.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/
http://www.inprofiledaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=1276:what-are-thenegative-and-positive-effects-of-media-on-society&Itemid=75
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion+and+Analysis/Media+role+in+society+very+cr
ucial/-/539548/1670426/-/u3y3sbz/-/index.html
http://www.ankitrajvanshi.in/2012/05/csr-essay-contest-role-of-media-in.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_influence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media
http://www.ahwatukee.com/opinion/article_05fc1196-0f44-11e3-8e7b-001a4bcf887a.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/role-of-media-in-society
http://cssexam2013.blogspot.com/2013/01/essay-role-of-media.html
http://www.publishyourarticles.net/eng/articles/an-essay-on-the-role-of-media.html
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=208929
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-influences-of-media.html
13