The following article does not intend to hurt the feelings of any individual. It is an independent writer's viewpoint of where the nation is heading.
Not all journalists/media houses are biased.
Malcolm X once said, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that’s the real power. Because they control minds of the masses.”
India is the world’s largest democracy with a population of over 1.36 billion, with over 868 television broadcasting stations, with a total of around 403 news and current affairs channels in different languages, more than 118,000 registered newspapers, and 755 million active internet users. The data clearly shows that media, as a source of news, entertainment, and knowledge, has flourished a lot in the country. Media is referred to as the ‘fourth pillar of democracy'. Journalism, as an occupation, has become quite popular and has influenced a lot of young minds to consider it as their career. Objectives of journalism, according to Stanford University, include: Detecting or exposing crime or a serious misdemeanour; protecting public health and safety; And most importantly, preventing the public from being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation. Being objective and unbiased has always been the key to journalism.
However, in this age of digital media, these objectives are being ignored by some ‘Journalists’. Our country has completed more than 70 years of independence, but do we have free and fair media?
The content that we see on various media platforms, many times, spreads misinformation that is false regardless of whether there is intent to mislead; and disinformation that is deliberately misleading or biased information, manipulated narrative or facts, or propaganda. Amidst the pandemic, media, irrespective of platforms has continued to be biased and spreading disinformation. Such content either questions the relevance of the government,
or the opposition parties in a highly demeaning manner. Many leading news channels that boast of high TRPs cannot claim this crucial touchstone of credibility. A spark is enough to cause a forest fire. Similarly, one disinformative statement is enough to guide the mindsets of the people in the wrong direction, which further proves to be destructive.
In the present day where social media has become a powerful means of expressing opinions, what is feared is how it is slowly programming users’ behaviour.
Fake news and questionable claims routinely find a place on such platforms. Even eminent personalities don’t refrain from being biased on the basis of false information and often invoke separatist feelings. The manipulative portrayal of their views can easily influence their followers.
A misleading article can create a lot of confusion in the minds of those who read them.
Media prefers sharing news whose headlines are eye-catching and could earn them high TRPs. Of course, making money and being popular at the same time is important for a certain media organization, but there’s a thin line of difference between popularity and
credibility, and a media organization must be known by their credibility.
People don’t know who should they trust and what actually is the truth, giving birth to confusion in their minds.
Every piece of disinformation is a nail in the coffin of truth, and every biased media organization is a threat to the spirit of democracy. If media is not able to mirror our democracy, it is its biggest failure, making journalism and media a bleeding business in which journalists can’t openly take a stance to communicate with their audience.
What is out of the question is that people are changing, global trends are changing, business opportunities are changing, thus media needs to adapt in order to survive and preserve its societal relevance.
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