​Amantika Sarkar ; Roll no.

: 4003 
First Year Bachelor of Multimedia and Mass Communication 
St. Andrews College ; University of Mumbai 
 
 
 
WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MEDIA IN A DEMOCRACY?  
 
Introduction 
Democracy in general terms is understood to be a form of government which is subject to popular sovereignty. It is essentially a rule by the
people which is in contrast to monarchies or aristrocracies. One of the crowning glories of the democratic system is the freedom of expression
and the space that is provided to views from different sections of the society. A democratic system can run into utmost potential when there is
wide participation on the part of the general mass which is not possible without people getting informed about various issues. Reliable
information resources are an important constituent of any democratic society ( Habermus 2006) .This is where media steps in.
Mass media in different forms have influenced human life in present century. They have primarily provided information and entertainment to
people across centuries. Print media , being a leader over a considerable period of time has now competition from Television , which is
reshaping many of the social responses. Radio apart from providing news and views has also developed a flair of establishment , thereby getting
a lot of acceptance. There is also new media with internet being the flag bearer. Internet has indeed made it possible to disseminate information
and ideas in real time across the globe. However among all these developments there is a cause of concern.
Is media fulfilling its social responsibility ?
Is a blooming global media posing threats to the democratic way of thinking? Is it posing challenges to a country like India where media has a
greater role to play rather than merely providing information and entertainment?
Media and social responsibility : The Normative Argument 
The normative view of the press argues that the conduct of the media has to take into account public interest. The main public interest criterion
that the media needs to consider include freedom of publication , plurality in media ownership , diversity in information , culture and opinion ,
support for democratic political system , support for public order and security of the state , universal reach , quality of information and culture
disseminated to the public , respect for human rights and avoiding harm to individuals and the society ( McQuil, 2005).
The social responsibilities expected from media in the public sphere were deeply grounded with the acceptance of media in the fourth estate, a
term coined by Edmund Burke in England. With the formation of 1947 commission on the Freedom of Press the social responsibility of media
became a strong debating point. It was formed in the wake of rampant commercialization and sensationalism in American press and it's
dangerous trend towards monopolistic practices. The report of the Hutchins Commission as it was called was path breaking on its take on social
responsibility and the expected journalistic standards on the part of the press. The theory of social responsibility which came out of this
commission was backed by certain principles which included media ownership is a public trust and media has certain obligations to society ;
news media should be objective , relevant and truthful. There should be freedom of press but also need if self regulation , it should adhere to
professional code of conduct and ethics and goverment may have a role to play if under certain circumstances public interest is hampered (
McQuil, 2005).

Media and Indian Democracy 

The political system is close in spirits to the model of Indian democracy. In the constitution of India the power of the legislature , executive and
judiciary have been thoroughly demarcated. The party system in operation is a competitive one with flexibility of roles of government and
opposition. There is also a freedom of press , of criticism and of assembly. (Pelinka 2003). Indian democracy has always attracted attention
worldwide and has made scholar to ponder over the secret of its success amidst odds. In India diversity is almost everywhere and it is not
developed nation. The problems of poverty and inequality of distribution of income have been constant irritants. Nevertheless , till today
democracy has survived in the country. The role of media in India , the largest democracy in world is different from disseminating information
and entertainment. Educating the masses for their social upliftment needs to be in its ambit as well. In a country where there is a large scale
poverty, unemployment , underdevelopment media has a responsibility towards developmental journalism. It has a role to play behind formation
of public opinion which can force the political parties to address the core issues haunting country's progress.
Press has been widely proclaimed as the "Fourth Estate" , a co-equal branch of government that provide the check and balance without
which government cannot be effective. Media is an essential democratic tool. Contemporary democratic theory appreciates the media's role in
ensuring government are held accountable. In both new and old democracies , the notion of media as a watchdog and not merely a passive
recorder of events is widely accepted. Government if it is argued , cannot be held accountable if citizens are ill informed about the actions of
officials and institutions. The watchdog press is the guardian of the public interest , warning citizens against them who are doing them any harm.
The media also serves as a conduit between governors and the governed and as an arena of public debate that leads to intelligent policy and
decision making. In new democracies, the expectation is that the media would help build a civic culture and a tradition of discussion and debate
which is not possible during the period of authoritarian rule.
Not just journalists , but also eminent contemporary thinkers like Noble Laureate ​Amartya Sen ​ascribe to the press the same
cleansing powers that Enlightenment philosophers had envisioned. Sen outlined the need for "transparency guarantees" such as free press and the
free flow of information. Information and critical public discussion, he said are "inescapably important requirement of good public policy."
These guarantees he wrote , "have a clear instrumental role in preventing corruption, financial irresponsibility , and unhandled dealings."
Sen sees the media as a watchdog not just against corruption but also against disaster "There has never been a famine in a functioning
multiparty democracy", he said. "A free press and the practice of democracy contribute greatly in bringing out the information that can have an
enormous impact on policies for famine prevention...a free press and an active political opposition constitute the best early-warning system a
country threatened by famine and could have."
Media should provide voice to those marginalized because of poverty, gender , ethnic or religious affiliation. By giving these group a place in
the media , their views , their afflictions , become part of mainstream public debate and hopefully contribute to social consensus that the injustice
against them ought to be redressed.
Media as Peace and Consensus builder. 
Democracy cannot thrive which are in grip of violence and strife. The media should be one of the warring groups which contribute to mediation
and representation and be a voice which can settle differences peacefully. Media should not fan the flames of discord by taking sides ,
reinforcing prejudices , muddling the facts and peddling half truths. The media must not ignore peace building efforts. The media has been
criticised for sensationalising violence without explaining roots of conflict , giving full coverage to warmongering. In some cases they have
sowed hate speech and encourage violence.
Constraints on Media 
Despite the constitutional guarantees and wide public support , the media in fledgling democracies have been hobbled by stringent laws ,
monopolistic ownership and sometimes , brutal force. Many journalists have been killed because of their work and 136 were in prison because
authorities were displeased with their reporting. State controls are not the only constraints . Serious reporting is not easy to sustain in media
markets that put a premium on the shallow and sensational. A media explosion often follows the fall of dictatorship. In many newsrooms , even
in affluent countries , the tight budgets do not allow for the investment in time and resources that solid journalism requires. The media in many
countries are a profitable enterprise , media managers would rather put their money and technology and effects rather than reportage. In addition
, journalists often do not have the experience and the training to do the kind of contextualised reporting that a democracy needs. Even if they did
, the pecuniary and political interests of media owners limit the freedom of journalist to conduct exposes. Media owners have not been shy on
extracting personal benefits , media magnates have used their newspapers and broadcast stations to promote their business interests , cut down
their rivals and in other ways advance their political or business agenda.
Defects in reportage of Indian Media 
Twisting facts
The foremost defect in Indian Media is twisting the facts. One example is one of the leading English Newspaper published a photograph of
Justice Gyan Sudha Misra with the caption "Supreme Court Judge says that her daughters are liabilities." This was a distorted and fallacious
item of news, published on the front page. Justice Misra never said , nor intended to say that her daughters were liabilities. Her intention was to
reveal her plans of getting her daughters married in future.
Non-issues as real issues
Media often portray non-issues as real issues , while the real issues are sidelined. The real issues in India are terrible economic conditions , the
poverty , unemployment , lack of housing and medical facilities and so on. Instead of addressing these real issues , the media often try to divert
the attention of people to non-issues.
At a Lakme India Fashion Week Event , there were 512 accredited journalists covering the event in which models were displaying cotton
garments, while the men and women who grew that cotton were killing themselves at a distance of an hour flight from Nagpur , in the Vidharbha
region . There was minimum or no coverage on this incident.
The tendency of generalization
Within hours of any bomb blast or such terrorist activities , the name of Islamic organizations are put up in the headlines of the news channel.
The news channels create the impression that the Muslims are either terrorists or evil.
Paid news
The issue of paid news has also been prominent in the recent years.
One ​of the way to improve the reportage of the media and remove these defects is through the discussion , consultations and persuasion . The
meeting with the media staffs and the discussions regarding the improvement of the media coverage can prove to be useful. Media should attack
the feudal ideas like casteism and communalism and promote the modern scientific ideas.
Conclusion 
In a democracy, media has an important role to play which is also deeply associated with socio-economic conditions. The present scenario is not
quite encouraging and certain ideas need to be addressed. Media organisations , whether in print , audio , visual ,radio or web have to be more
accountable to general public. It should be monitored that professional integrity and ethical standards are not sacrificed for sensational practices.
The freedom of press is a blessing for people. However , this blessing can go terribly wrong when manipulations set in. The self regulatory
mechanisms across media organisations need to be strong enough to stop anomalies whenever they occur. Community participation is one of the
goal that media should strive for in a democracy.

References
Barnett, C.(2004). Media , democracy and representation. Disembodying the public. In C.Barnett and M.Low (Eds.) , ​Spaces of Democracy ;
geographical perspective on citizenship , participation and representation ​( pp.185-206) London , UK : Sage

Bogart ,L.(1995). Media and Democracy. In E.E Dennis and R.W Snyder (Eds.), ​Media and Democracy (​ pp.6-8), USA , Transaction

Amartya Sen , ​Development and Freedom , ​New York ; Anchor Books 1999

Stephen Holmes," Liberal constraints on private power?" in Judith Zichenberg (ed.)

Democracy and the Mass Media, Cambridge University Press , ​1991.
pp.21-65.

Social Responsibility of Media and Indian Democracy , s​ tudy by Soumya Dutta , University of Burdwan , West Bengal

The role of the media in the deepening democracy , ​study by Sheila S. Coronel

Committee to Protect Journalists , Attacks on the Press in 2002. ​New York ; ​Commitee to Protect Journalists , 2003
The Hindu , Speech by Retired Chief Justice Markandey Katju
www​.thehindu.com