Introduction 1

CHAPTER
1

Introduction

 Introduction
 Definition
 Functions of Public Opinion in Society
 Means of Gauging Public Opinion
 Opinion Polls
 Exit Polls
 Surveys
 Social Media
 Role of Media in Influencing Public Opinion
 Diversities and Biases within the Media
2 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

INTRODUCTION:
There is no generally received definition of “public opinion.” All the
same, the term has been employed with increasing frequency since it
came into popular usage at the time of the French Revolution, when
Louis XVI’S finance minister, Jacques Necker, referred to public opinion
as governing the behaviour of investors in the Paris money market. Later
efforts to define the term precisely have led to such expressions of
frustration as: “Public opinion is not the name of a something, but a
classification of a number of something’s.”
For example, most people say their preferred colour is pink. Most
people say their least favourite colour is orange. So, public opinion is
that pink is pretty and orange is unattractive, right? Public opinion is an
appearance of the general population's thoughts on a particular issue.
Instead of saying “Person X opinion” or Person Y Opinion”,' we say
'public opinion' in order to stand for a common or popular opinion on a
particular issue.
The source of term 'public opinion' is masked in darkness. The
Greeks and the Romans used similar expressions. The Romans, however,
treated harmony populi in juridical sense as distinguish from present
political context. Also, the proverb "Vox populi, vox dei" had gained
currency during the middle Ages. The Discourses of Machiavelli, too,
compared the voice of the people to the voice of God.
The notion of public opinion came to public eye in the wake of
democracy. The governmental policies regularly became the function of
opinion rather than of force, and the means for the expressions of opinion
like constitutionally guaranteed liberties, elections, political parties etc.,
were at hand, the role of public opinion in the government came to be
commonly recognized. The theory of public opinion is thus a derived
from democracy as a form of government.
In a democracy, it's mainly important for politicians to pay attention
to public opinion because the public plays a important role in political
decision-making. The knowing, and fruitfully using, public opinion can
help politicians tap into popular political desires and win elections. When
the public tremendously disagrees with a candidate's views that
candidate has little chance at being elected. Once selected, political
Introduction 3

officials can use public opinion to push through legislation and stay in
the good graces of the people they serve.
The role of public opinion in a democracy is eventually decided by
the result of the struggle between belief and fact. Due to fine
manipulation of the opinion-forming processes by interested groups, a
fundamental difference has taken place in recent times between what is
and what people believe to be. Facts are misrepresented without
hesitation, and appeals are made frequently to the blind emotions and
prejudices of the people.
The process of corruption of facts becomes complete when entirely a
powerful group or a capitalist controls the major opinion-forming
agencies like newspaper and radio. Thus public opinion helps to
construct the democracy and government to, for and by the people.
DEFINITION:
In the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th centuries the
traditional concept of public opinion comes to be widely accepted. It was
built on the easy generalization that some million individuals could
achieve a consensus and form a public opinion on various issues such as
taxation, labour legislation, and foreign policy etc.
Lieber defined it, is "the sense and sentiments of the community,
necessarily irresistible showing its power everywhere," which "gives
sense to the letter and life of law; without the written law is a mere
husk."
E. M. Sait observed, "There should be no question about what we
mean by calling opinion 'public'; we mean, in the light long established
usage, that it is the opinion of the community, the opinion of the people."
According to quote Bryce "the term (public opinion) is commonly
used to denote the aggregates of the views men hold regarding matters
that effect or interest the community. The opinion of a whole nation as
made up of different currents of sentiments, each embodying or
supporting a view or a doctrine or a practical proposal. Some currents
develop more strength than others, because they have behind them larger
numbers or more intensity of convections; and when one is evidently the
strongest, it began to be called public opinion par excellence, being
taken to embody the views supposed to be held by the bulk of people."
4 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC OPINION IN SOCIETY:

The public area is a mental environment where people connect in
interpreting both the actuality around them and the processes which
occur there. Such interpretations, in turn, have an impact on the course of
future events and processes. Thus, the public area serves to update
people on world events and on the development of society, while the
public is able to apply its own attitudes to the shaping of opinions which
form the public area, as well as to the actual process and decisions
involved.
Public opinion is significant in a democracy because the people are
the crucial source of power. Therefore, any governmental official has to
take public opinion into account when deciding how to act.
Functions of public opinion are as follows:
(1) Public opinion is afraid with a matter of public importance. It is not
worried with the interests of particular group of people.
(2) Public opinion is meant for social welfare. The welfare of society is
a crucial characteristic of public opinion.
(3) Public opinion is arrived at after cautious thought. It is the uncertain
deliberative adjustment of public to a situation. It is the logical view
of things. Kimball Young is of the view that an opinion maybe
rational or based upon some conviction or it may proceed from
feeling and emotion.
(4) It is the invention of interaction of human minds.
(5) Public opinion is connected to a particular age or times.
(6) It is to be evaluated in the background of a particular situation.
(7) Public opinion has a civilizing base. The culture of a society
influences public opinion.
(8) Numbers are not necessary to comprise public opinion. A majority
is not enough unanimity is not requisite but the opinion must be
such that while the minority may not share it they feel bound by
passion not by fear to accept it.
(9) Public opinion may be defined as the opinion of the people held by
them on any issue for the welfare of the whole community .It is a
Introduction 5

collective product. Public opinion is always moving toward a

decision even though it never is common.
MEANS OF GAUGING PUBLIC OPINION:
(A) OPINION POLLS:
Introduction:
Public opinion polls now play an significant role in politics. They are
used all through the course of election campaigns by candidates and by
the media to see which candidates are ahead and who is likely to emerge
successful. The results of these polls, in turn, largely decide where future
campaign duty are to be used up and where each candidate's hard work
will be concentrated until the close of the campaign.
But can the polls really be trustworthy? In recent The Delhi Election,
Bihar Election and others for example, the polls predicted sure small or
large victory for BJP. Without waiting for the authorized count of the
votes, newspapers throughout the country proclaimed in their headlines,
“The end of Jungle Raj in Bihar” and “Acche Din Ayenge”
Public opinion analysts and experts polling organizations, however,
did profit from this huge miss-prediction. With their trustworthiness
severely damaged, they developed far more stylish sampling techniques.
Moreover, they made superior use of sociological and psychological
research and modern computer technology. In addition, they are cautious
to point out that their findings apply only at the time the questions were
asked and that the results do not forecast the outcome of the election.
Nevertheless, in viewing the results of any public opinion poll, it might
be useful to ask the following questions:
(1) Who Was interview?:
Without doubt, opinion polls are a very useful means for ascertaining
people’s present opinions. While there is some truth in the controversy
that an over-reliance on opinion polls undermines democracy, we must
also ask ourselves what would come about if opinion polls could not be
conducted at all. Politicians, the mass media, and lobby groups would
merely make up their own versions of “public opinion.”
In an even more alarming scenario, only certain institutions (like the
government) would be able to conduct opinion polls. For a democracy to
6 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

function in a vigorous way it is important that everyone be able to

conduct opinion polls. The results of an opinion poll are not the same as
“public opinion,” however. Firmly speaking, there is no set definition of
“public opinion,” even among researchers. They differ, for example, in
their views on whether public opinion means the opinion of the majority,
or opinions that stands out in the media, or socially dominant opinions.
Whatever your view, however, we can all consent that public opinion
is something inherently tied to public issues. Being aware of people’s
opinions and situations is vital to thinking about the public good. And
opinion polls are an important means for this.
Normally speaking, the accurateness of a poll depends upon the
degree to which the characteristics of the people being interviewed are
really similar to those of the group they are hypothetical to represent. For
example, the polling of fourteen-year-olds to predict the outcome of an
election would be very questionable since they cannot vote.
Also, as a universal rule, the greater the number of people
interviewed, the more likely the prediction will be precise. All else being
equal, an election poll of 100,000 out of two million voters is more likely
to produce precise results than a poll of 1,000 out of the same number. It
is important to point out that large, national polling organizations have
small national samples of fewer than 2,000 that predict quite precisely
for the entire electorate.
Finally, those interviewed should have been selected in a hit and miss
fashion. This is usually done to avoid or lessen the possibility of
allowing any "unaccounted for" bias or characteristics of those being
interviewed to influence the results.
(2) Under What Circumstances Were The Interviews
Conducted?:
Usually speaking, unclear, biased, or emotionally charged questions
will produce confusing answers and weaken the accuracy of the results
of a poll. Questions such as ... How do you feel about candidate X? Or,
You are planning to vote for candidate Y, are you not?
Also, if the people being polled are asked to decide from a given set
of responses in answering a question, there must be an acceptable
number of alternatives from which to choose. For example, presume
Introduction 7

those being polled are required to respond to a question ... either "yes" or
"no." This practice would get rid of the risk that some of the people may
truly be "undecided" and consequently alter the accuracy of the poll's
result. Finally, polls conducted by telephone or through the mails
generally do not tend to be as trustworthy as personal interviews. This is
largely due to the fact that the previous measures are not as likely to be
able to control for who really participates in the poll, the number who
respond, and possible false impression of the questions.
(3) When Was the Poll conduct?:
It should also be noted that the results of a poll are representative
however accurate of the preferences, views and feelings of a particular
group of people at a particular point in time. As a general rule, the more
current the poll, the more likely it is to create meaningful and useful
results. After one year Lok Sabha election 2014 ABP news channel
showing the result of 2019 Lok Sabha election on basis of one year work
of BJP, who should be nominated Prime Minister of 2019, for example,
is not likely to be as precise as a poll taken during election years of the
actual election.
(4) Who conduct the Poll?:
Past standing and presentation can also help an individual determine
the validity of the results of a poll. Generally speaking, "Beginner" polls
are not likely to be able to contend with professional polling
organizations with their large staff's, seemingly unlimited resources, and
sophisticated computer equipment.
In adding, polls conducted by groups with a clear interest in the
results should be held believe until proven otherwise. Finally, past
presentation records of a polling group might be useful in determining
the organization's trustworthiness and dependability.
(5) What was the proportion of mistake?:
Polling organizations should also point out what the potential for
error of their poll is. Based on the size of their sample it is statistically
possible to do grasses indicate consistency to the reader?
Based on this analysis, consider the following questions:
8 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

 Which of the factor describe above in assessing the strength of a

poll do you think is most important? Least important? Why?
 Do you feel polls are valuable? Why or why not? Would you
place any control on them in coverage an election? If so, explain.
If not, why?
(B) EXIT POLLS:
Introduction:
A poll taken of a sample of voters as they leave a polling place, used
particularly to predict the outcome of an election or establish the voters'
opinions and characteristics.
Exit polls are survey based upon voter interviews instantly after they
have finished voting. The exit polls play a important part in media
projecting election winners and their margin of victory. The polls are
used mainly in major elections, usually concerning national or state
candidates. Exit polls are part of the persistent status of surveys and polls
in India and other States.
Exit polls have been used in elections all over the India, such as in
2015 in Bihar and 2016 in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Media organizations intentionally utilize exit polls to understand voters’
choices and explain issue, demographic differences in electoral
outcomes. This information serves as a resource for validating elections.
Exit polls are highly precise because they remove main basics of
potential survey research error problems by accounting for who actually
votes and avoiding undecided voters. Problems for exit polls include a
sample estimation of voter turnout, which may be incorrect for one or
more candidates. Additional, these polls do not consider absentee voting
and other forms of early voting that do not require individuals to be at a
polling place.
EXIT AND OPINION POLLS PREDICT ABOUT LOK
SABHA ELECTIONS 2014:
The stretched over 35 days, ended in nine phases, comprised of 814.5
million voters — these are a few evidence that define the longest ever
Lok Sabha elections in India. Voting has come to a finish and its result
will be declared on 16 May. Before that, almost every channel or
Introduction 9

newspaper has at length covered the polls and done a number of surveys
and exit polls to forecast the outcome.
With a green signal by the Election Commission, every channel is
broadcasting the outcome of its exit poll. Narendra Modi is being
portrayed as the next prime minister by most of the channels. In every
exit and opinion poll survey, the Bharatiya Janata Party is confirmed as a
sure shot winner and Narendra Modi is proposed to lead the nation under
the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Congress would
observe a defeat and hardly cross the mark of 60 seats.
By overall combining the survey polls it is clear that the BJP-led
NDA will cross the mark of 272 whereas the Congress-led UPA will
remain between 110 and 148 seats. The BJP will perform remarkably
well in north India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, but not so well in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where regional parties will take the show. The
Congress would be erased from Rajasthan.
As per survey and exit polls, the Aam Aadmi Party would not do well
in Lok Sabha elections and will get 4% vote share at national level.
There is a modest hope for the AAP in Punjab and it may come out as a
single largest party in the state.
(a) Chanakya Exit Poll: The prime ministerial candidate of the BJP,
Narendra Modi, will become the PM of India. The BJP will cross
the majority number and win 279 seats. It will form the government
at the Centre under NDA, with a total of 340 seats. The Congress
will win just 57 seats and the total number of seats won by the UPA
will be 70.
(b) The Times Now Exit Poll: The BJP will win 218 seats in
totality, whereas the Congress may win 105-120. Modi will become
PM under the BJP-led NDA. The NDA will have 249 seats and the
UPA will have 148 seats. Astonishingly, it predicted that the AAP
won’t win any seat.
(c) The ABP-Nielsen survey: The BJP-led National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) will win 233 seats whereas the Congress-led
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will win 119 seats. Individually
the BJP will win 209 seats as compared with 116 seats in 2009,
whereas the Congress alone would win just 91 seats as compared
10 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

with 206 in 2009. In this survey, more than 29,000 people were
interviewed between March 9 and March 16.
(d) Poll survey by Cicero for India Today group: The BJP-led
NDA will win 261-283 seats.
(e) Research group C-voter: The BJP-led NDA will win 289 seats
and the Congress-led UPA will win just 101 seats.
(f) New X poll survey: The NDA would win 289 seats whereas the
UPA will win 101 and others 153 seats.
But these opinion and exit polls cannot be taken with certainty. Many
a times the results of exit polls go wrong. In 2004 the exit polls had
predicted the victory of the NDA and stated that the BJP-led NDA would
form government for third successive term but the result was entirely
opposite to what was predicted. At the same time, opinion polls cannot
be ignored altogether.
EXIT AND OPINION POLLS PREDICT ABOUT LOK
SABHA ELECTIONS 2019:
‘BJP will retain its strongholds in the north and west and make
considerable gains in West Bengal’
All exit polls released at the conclusion of the seven-phase 17th general
election predicted a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The
counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Most polls indicated minor to considerable setback for Mr. Modi’s
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh where it won 71 of 80 seats
in 2014, but they were in agreement that the party would firmly hold on
to its strongholds in the north and west and make considerable gains in
West Bengal.
Trailing in south
In southern States barring Karnataka, the BJP is projected to trail far
behind opponents. The Congress and its allies are projected to make
significant gains compared to the historic low they hit in 2014, but will
end up some distance away from the halfway mark of 272 seats in the
543-strong Lok Sabha, according to these polls.
The polls predicted between 242 to 365 for the BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) and between 77 and 164 for the Congress-
led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Parties that are unattached to
either side, which include the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party
Introduction 11

(BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) whose coalition in Uttar Pradesh
is resisting the BJP, could get between 69 and 125 seats, according to
various polls.
Exit polls have a long history of going wrong in India. According to
Praveen Chakravarty, chairperson of the Congress Data Analytics
Department, who compared exit polls with actual outcomes posted on
Twitter: 80% of exit poll seat predictions for all parties in large state
elections since 2014 are wrong.” Exit polls are generally considered more
accurate than opinion polls conducted before actual voting.
Around the world also, the credibility of opinion polls and exit polls has
taken a beating in recent years.
Almost all polls in the Australian election last week got the outcome
wrong, and similar was the fate of polls during the 2016 U.S. presidential
election and Brexit. But what is common between these polls that went
wrong was that all of them under-reported the support for conservative
and ultra-nationalist positions. Indian exit polls on Sunday uniformly
predicted a massive surge in favour of the Hindu nationalist BJP.
The exit poll projections indicate that Mr. Modi’s campaign to turn the
election into a referendum on his persona rather than the performance of
his five-year term has been successful.
Source: The Hindu
12 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)
Introduction 13

Why the media should stop publishing opinion and exit polls?:
(a) They are irrational:
Shielding election surveys after the Bihar results, Yogendra Yadav,
initiator of Lokniti-CSDS but now a politician, wrote in Mint that there
we need “scientific” surveys as they can’t alternative “anecdotal field
14 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

reporting”. Election after election we have seen “anecdotal field

reporting” and “casual conversation” give us a better understanding of
elections. One reporter may talk to a few dozen, but if you multiply that
with hundreds of reporters, then it’s a very large sample size they speak
to. It is clear that what are unscientific are these surveys, not the
anecdotal reporting or the casual conversations.
There are many reasons why surveys don’t get it right – voters are
unwilling to speak up, sometimes they intentionally lie, the surveyors are
poorly paid unemployed youth who cut corners, and there are allegations
of political prejudice moving media surveys. Whatever the reasons, it is
clear that as a tactic, surveys are failing us.
(b) They don’t help us measure public mood:
Yadav further wrote in the Mint article that the main purpose of
election surveys was not seat forecasting but gauging public mood
“between two elections”. Again, “anecdotal” field reporting and “casual
conversations” do this so well that we don’t really need faulty surveys.
Given that surveys are unable to correctly predict election results even in
exit and post-poll surveys, leave alone opinion polls, how can we
consider reliable their other findings about political mood?
We must also not forget that the ultimate reflection of public mood
between two elections is the election itself. Opinion and exit polls are
presented on TV as if they were real numbers, but in fact the Election
Commission declares the real numbers and they serve very well the
purpose of understanding the shifts in voter sentiment.
(c) Media doesn’t expend enough to perform good surveys:
Yadav writes, “Most politicians who condemn polls on television
privately commission these very agencies to carry out polls for them.” I
know a pollster who does polls for a political party, and I asked him why
he doesn’t do polls for the media. He told me that TV channels are not
willing to pay what it really costs to do a good survey. He also said that
unlike most media polls, he surveys every constituency, because parties
need feedback on every constituency. Besides, a political party won’t
hire again a survey company that gets it wrong. Such credibility issues
don’t seem to affect those who do surveys for the media, because the
media doesn’t seem to care about credibility.
Introduction 15

(d) They probably spoil democracy:

Yadav writes, “They may not acknowledge it, but politicians and
journalists have all learnt to adjust their ‘gut sense’ in tune with the
findings of the polls.” This is true, but if even politicians and journalists
are affect by surveys, what of the common voter? The common voter is
also affect by surveys, particularly afloat voters who go with the hawa
and decide their vote just before the polling. In other words, these
defective surveys are affecting voter behaviour.
When the Election Commission barred publication or broadcast of
exit poll result between phases, the media made some noises, but didn’t
go to the Supreme Court to protect free speech. That’s because, maybe,
the media also agrees that these polls can affect voter behaviour.
Confidentially, some pollsters confess this could be the case.
Politicians and voters in Bihar both agreed when I asked them if election
surveys were moving voter behaviour. Perhaps there needs to be a survey
to find out if election surveys are not merely gauge but also moving
public mood, thereby hurting our democracy.
In the United States, where surveys are all the time more making false
forecasts simply because people reject to take part in them, there are
rising voices that surveys are ruining democracy.
(e) They under no circumstances get it right:
Yadav writes that getting the seats right is difficult in the first-past-
the-post system, but the surveys usually pick the right winner. In that
case, why do they venture out to predict seats either? If it is only about
picking the right winner, then anecdotal field reporting and casual
conversations do that very well, too.
In September, Sanjay Kumar and Pranav Gupta wrote in The Hindu
that surveys usually get it right. They made a table showing that mostly,
surveys pick the right winner. It is only if you read the article very
closely do you realise they are defending exit polls, not opinion polls.
Truth is, they never get the seat forecast right. Praveen Chakravarthy,
writing in The Hindu, analysed 82 election surveys across 13 Lok Sabha
and state elections since 1996. Applying the +/- 5 per cent rule, he found
that not a single survey came that close.
16 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

(f) They are lying face down to political manipulation:

According to former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, “All
parties have been seeking a ban on them since pollsters came to them
promising to fudge. They were ready to manipulate margin of error,
increase the number of seats, manipulate the sample size, facilitate
publishing of opinion polls and give two reports — one honest and the
other fudged.”
In February 2014, a sting by Hindi news channel News Express found
survey companies such as C-Voter willing to tweak their media forecasts
to suit political parties for a price. As a result, the India Today group
suspended C-Voter’s services.
When the election commission asked political parties if they were in
favour of forbidding opinion polls before elections, all but one settled.
The only party that supports them is the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Opinion and exit polls should not be expelled. They have the right to
do their instinctive surveys. It is the media that needs to enquire itself: is
there more to be gained or lost by sponsoring and publishing them?
(C) SURVEYS:
Introduction:
(1) What Is Survey Definition and their Types?:
If you've ever been meeting at a train station, a exacting lecturer's
classroom, or in a public area and a person with a load of papers in his
hands comes up to you out of and asks if you have a few minutes to talk,
then you have possible been asked to take part in a survey.
There are a lot of customs to conduct research and collect
information, but one way that makes it really easy is by doing a survey.
A survey is clear as a brief interview or discussion with individuals about
a specific topic. The term survey is unfortunately a little indistinct, so we
need to define it better. The phrase survey is often used to mean 'collect
information.' For example, you may imagine a researcher or a television
scientist saying, 'We need to do a survey!' (I know, fascinating
television).
So, in addition definition above, survey means to gather information.
We have our first definition of a brief interview, and we have a second
Introduction 17

definition of collecting data. There is a third meaning for survey. This

third meaning of survey is a detailed type of survey research. Here are
the three precise techniques of survey research:
 Questionnaires: a sequence of written questions a participant
answers. This method gathers responses to questions that are
essay or agree/neutral/disagree style.
 Interviews: questions pose to an individual to obtain information
about him or her. This type of survey is like a job interview, with
one person asking another a load of questions.
 Surveys: brief interviews and talks with individuals about a
precise topic. Yes, survey is also a precise type of survey, to
make things even more puzzling. A survey is a fast interview,
with the surveyor asking only a few questions.
(2) Using Surveys:
So why those people are hang around train stations and other public
places? The reason is due to the nature of surveys and the purpose of
study. A study is intended to gather information about a topic (For
instance, 'How do you feel about Bigfoot voting rights?'), and then
analyze the collected information to draw a conclusion. The people
hanging out in public areas are trying to gather the data. Each survey
technique offers strengths and weaknesses, which will be explored in a
moment. It is the job of the researcher to weigh those strengths and
weaknesses against the needs of their study. All of the surveys offer
comparatively quick ways of collect information, and this lesson will
show how a researcher might employ surveys in their attitude.
(3) Political Survey:
Potential voters need to know who you are and what you stand up for
whether you are running for Prime Minister of India or a state level.
Voters need to consider you have their best interests at heart to a superior
extent than your opponent does.
To find out where you stand up when it comes to public opinion, you
need to find out what people are accepted wisdom, and for those
opinions to count they need to be strong enough to bring people to the
polls. Before that happens, you and potential voters need to get to know
18 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

one another. A good way to get a baseline of what the public is thinking
is by conducting political research surveys or polls.
The best political research surveys are developed to help various
groups understand one another and make the right strides toward getting
their needs met. They are also considered to pinpoint the issues that are
most important to different demographic groups, and identify how a
candidate is seen in observe to those issues. A candidate can adjust his or
her campaign strategy to highlight the attributes the voting public sees as
most important by keeping track of public opinion with a political
research survey.
(4) The importance of partnering with an expert:
Working with a professional company to produce your political
research survey is a great way to be sure that you cast a wide net to reach
as many possible voters as possible and that you employ the necessary
tools to use the information effectively.
Surveys can be taken in a diversity of ways, including online, over the
phone, and on paper, and are available in different languages so that each
question can be fully understood. Behavioural psychologists should
carefully research each survey question before the questions reach the
voting public. After the answers are in, they should continue to stay
involved by analyzing what the answers mean. Ph.D.-level consultants
should be available to suggest the action plans for moving forward.
Since no two campaigns are closely alike, each voter survey should
be custom designed and use validated questions. Then, you can be
confident any campaign adjustments you make will be a step in the right
direction. Based on the results of the political surveys, you may want to
highlight a different area of your political platform or get your name out
more in a specific geographical area. You may also want to educate
yourself more on issues that are important to many in the voting area;
issues you may not have taken a close enough look at previously.
Even though there are no guarantees in politics, the results of political
research surveys can precisely predict election results with a high degree
of confidence. By strategically conducting pulse surveys at regular
intervals during your campaign, you get a stronger sense of public
Introduction 19

opinion and the direction you need for course corrections before and
after the election.
(5) Indian political Survey:
(a) Delhi Assembly Elections 2015:
Opinion polls are out by the media before every election in India,
where they forecast the winner days before official results are declared.
The assembly election in Delhi, which has witnessed one of the toughest
electoral battles in the country, has also been subjected to a storm of
media polls which are split in predicting the winner.
While six opinion polls confirmed that the BJP will win a majority of
the 70 seats, four predict an AAP victory while one said it could go
either way. This once again things to see the issue of election surveys
being reduced to media publicity stunt, where political parties and media
and business houses with vested interests try to influence voters through
opinion polls.
The media, in modern days, confuses voters by forecasting the results
and this is a barrier to conducting a free and fair election. Even Prime
Minister Narendra Modi untidy opinion polls as “lies”, pointing out that
the AAP had claimed they will win over 50 seats in the last assembly
elections in 2014, but could not even direct to get a majority.
It becomes relevant in this context to trace the historical roots of
election surveys and why they fail to understand the correct mood of the
electorate.
Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 – Overview of Seat Predictions
Seat Forecast BJP AAP Congress

HT-Cfore 31-36 31-36 2-7

India TV-C Voter 36 31 2
ABP-AC Nielson 29 35 6
NDTV 29 37 4
IBN 7-Data Mineria 36 27 7
India Today-CICERO 19-25 38-46 3-7
ET-TNS 28-32 36-40 0-3
20 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

Zee-TRF 32-36 30-34 4

The Week-IMRB 36 29 4
News Nation 31-35 30-34 3-5
5Forty3 40 21 8

(b) Bihar Election:

The mysterious "exit" of an exit poll has drawn much comment on
social media, bringing into focus the line that separates editorial
judgement and deliberate action aimed at comforting the government of
the day.
The exit poll was carried out by Axis Ad-Print-Media (India) Ltd and
it was reportedly commissioned by Network 18, now owned by the
Mukesh Ambani group and whose steady includes the English news
channel CNN-IBN.
The bitterly contested Bihar assembly elections ended Thursday with
a record turnout of 57 per cent over five phases and exit polls predicted a
photo-finish Sunday but one projected a sweep by the BJP-led NDA. Of
the six exit polls until Friday evening, News 24-Chanakya gave the BJP
and its allies a tally of 155 in the 243-seat House and 83 for the Grand
Alliance or Mahagathbandhan of the JD(U), RJD and Congress. The
News X-CNX predicted 130-140 seats for Mahagathbandhan and a
survey broadcast by ABP News gave it 130 seats. Two other polls said
the combine led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had an edge — C-Voter
(112-132) and NewsNation (120-124).
The exit poll projected 169-183 seats for the Grand Alliance in a
House of 243 members - by far the rosiest forecast for any group fighting
the elections whose official results are scheduled to be declared on
Sunday. Two other exit polls had forecast a definite win for the Grand
Alliance while one had predicted 155 seats for the BJP-led combine. On
Friday, an exit poll broadcast by NDTV forecast 120-130 seats for the
BJP-led group and 105-115 seats to the Grand Alliance.
JD(U)+ had a clean sweep up victory in Bihar elections 2015. What
was surprising and unexpected is that RJD emerged as the single largest
party with 80 Seats to its credit. BJP performed poorly. NDA as an
Introduction 21

alliance also got very few seats which was unexpected. All opinion and
exit polls have been proved wrong.
Analysts evaluate the exit polls have identified four factors that may
have led to BJP’s decline and the Mahagatbandhan’s rise in numbers
from the pre-poll opinion surveys to the exit polls.
(i) Bhagwat’s “Social Review”: Questions raised on the
reservation policy by Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) Chief
Mohan Bhawagat, seems to have gone in favour of the main
Mahagatbandhan constituents JD (U) and RJD.
(ii) Bihari vs Bahari (Outsider): Sons-of-the-Soil identity factor in
Nitish’s slogan seems to have worked. Top BJP leadership
during the campaign was not Bihari. They were relying on the
Modi charisma, and their opponents have used it against them in
slogans.
(iii) Bans on Communal Lines: Growing communal dissonance,
beef ban and violence seem to be affecting the popularity of the
ruling party (BJP) at the centre. These issues were also raised
during the Bihar campaign. This affected polarisation on
communal lines.
(iv) Buying Tur Dal Difficult: Rising price of Tur dal also seems to
have acted on voter emotion. While it cannot completely be a
deciding factor in an election, it is giving the common man a
perception of rising prices and affecting the ruling government.
(c) Exit Poll result of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil
Nadu:
Election Results 2016 for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam
and Puducherry have been one roller coaster ride. It’s been a clean sweep
for Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal,
with Left being wiped out for a second time in a row. Along predicted
lines though, the Left has emerged as powerful force in Kerala, with the
LDF witnessing a thumping victory over Congress-led UDF.
It is terrible news for Congress all around, with the party being
demolished by the BJP-led alliance in the north-eastern state of Assam.
22 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

The move is important for BJP, since this is the first time that the party
will form a government in the state.
In yet another shock, Tamil Nadu has reserved its love for the
Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, with the CM making a comeback with a
honest win over Karunanidhi’s DMK. In some consolation for Congress,
it won the Union territory of Puducherry, in alliance with DMK.
Reacting to the poor show by Congress, party VP Rahul Gandhi said
the party will work harder till it wins the confidence and trust of people.
” We accept the judgment of people with modesty. My best wishes to the
parties that have won the elections,” he said.
BJP President Amit Shah said that the election results have laid a
groundwork for the party to perform better in 2019. “We have laid a
strong foundation in these states for 2019. I am sure we will perform
well in these states in the 2019 elections.”
(i) West Bengal: In spite of being on the back foot because of the
Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting operation Mamata
Banerjee has emerged as a strong force in the state. According to
the data available with EC at the time of publishing this article,
the TMC has obtained a vote share of 44.9%, CPM 19.7%,
Congress 12.3%. BJP has managed to get a vote share of 10.2%.
It has put up an impressive show in West Bengal by bettering
its tally over the last elections. The Left-Congress alliance did
not make much impact despite predictions by political pundits.
“It is an unprecedented victory despite a joint opposition
unleashing violence. I thank the people of Bengal from bottom
of my heart for keeping faith in Trinamool Congress. The
opposition had spun a web of lies which has been rejected,”
Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee said.
(ii) Tamil Nadu: The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK has won again,
with the vote share tilted a lot in its favour. The Tamil Nadu CM
has won with a decent margin over DMK, despite exit polls
predicting otherwise. J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK has won in
Tamil Nadu for a directly second term, bucking the tradition
since 1989 when a ruling party has not returned to power.
Introduction 23

The CM’s party has managed a huge vote share of 40.8%.

DMK has get 31.6% vote share, while the Congress bagged
6.4% share. BJP managed single digit 2.8% vote share.
(iii) Assam: The BJP has stormed Assam unseating Congress.
Congress has been in power for three consecutive terms. The
saffron party is all set to elect Sarbananda Sonowal as the chief
minister of Assam.
Sonowal said stopping penetration, a main poll board of the
saffron alliance, would be a major challenge for him.
Himanta Biswa Sarma is one of the key men behind BJP’s
historic victory in Assam. Sarma, formerly a minister in Assam
CM Tarun Gogoi’s government, joined the BJP in 2015 after a
quarrel with Gogoi.
BJP had stitch an alliance of virtually all regional parties,
which stand for various sections of native population, to take on
Congress and AIUDF, condemning the two parties of supporting
infiltrators, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims. According to TV
reports, the BJP-alliance has managed to bag a honest vote share
among Muslims.
Even though BJP has come with a hammering majority, it is
Congress which is leading in the vote share with 31%. BJP on
the other hand was a close second at 29.5%.
(iv) Kerala: In Kerala, the Left Front has dislodged Congress from
power, keeping up the tradition of voting out the current
government. One big takeaway from Kerala results is for the BJP
which has win its first seat in the state. BJP’s O Rajagopal, is the
man of the moment for the party. Rajagopal an old party veteran
is the sole BJP candidate to have won in the southern state.
Bagging a seat in this politically-polarised state is a major
achievement for the party, which is in alliance in Kerala with the
newly formed caste-oriented Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS).
CPM’s vote share stood at 26.5% at the time of publishing
this article. Congress had 23.7%, but it was BJP whose vote
share has caught attention at 10.5%.
24 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Introduction:
The development of the internet, along with social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter, has become so available for millions of people
who own a computer or cellular device around the world.
Political parties in the country have left no stone unturned to grab the
notice of the youth this election season. A recent report has pegged the
total expenditure on campaigns on digital platforms at whopping Rs.
400-500 crore, of a total of Rs. 4,000-5,000 crore total advertisements
and publicity spend of political parties. The target audience are inevitable
the youth, many of them first-time voters.
As per a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and
Industry of India (Assocham), of the approximately Rs. 4,000-5,000
crore total advertisement and publicity spend, the digital platforms can
expect to garner at least Rs. 400-500 crore.
"Political parties typically spend around 30% of their poll
expenditure, estimated at Rs. 15,000 crore, on advertising and publicity.
Of this amount, 15-20% is spent on the emerging digital marketing,"
says D S Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). And not just national
parties such as the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP), but also smaller regional parties are bumping up
their digital ad budgets this year," Rawat adds.
In fact, a current study by Assocham states that technology giants like
Google and social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook will
see their India revenue soaring this year. The spending has reached such
proportions that the Election Commission has made it mandatory for all
the political parties to seek its clearance for ad insertions on social media
sites.
Social media are playing an significant new role in Indian democracy.
A social media campaign by the Electoral Commission draw record
levels of voter registration. The revolutionary 2014 general elections in
India saw social media as a new combat zone and Narendra Modi
emerged as India’s Obama. Unlike the predictable ways of sending
messages, recorded calls and public gatherings, this election saw
Introduction 25

politicians leveraging social meda to reach out to their constituent like

never before. Even those who were hesitant earlier have now become
active either out of necessity to keep up with their peers or as mandated
by their political party.
Twitter newly released a blog on the 100 days of Twitter diplomacy
by Narendra Modi, with an interesting heat map of tweets with geotags
that had mentions of his name. Here is a look at the social media profiles
of some of the noted politicos and an attempt to classify them into
various buckets based on patterns of their engagement.
(6) Social Media Leader:
Some politicians have nail the art of social media commitment, with
an amazing mix of personal feelings, nationalist pride and smart
positioning. PM Narendra Modi, for one, has mastered the art of using
social media with nary a false step. In the first 100 days of his being
India’s PM, he has added over 2 million followers, taking the tally to 6.2
million followers and making him the second most followed politician in
the world behind only Barack Obama.
Including the followers on the official twitter handle of PMO, the
follower count is close to 9 million. Modi effortlessly keeps foreign
relations (wishing Nishikori on being the first Japanese and Asian male
to enter US Open finals), nationalist pride (wishing Sania Mirza on the
mixed doubles win), striking with young India on the occasion of
Teachers’ Day and sharing with the world how he gifted the saree from
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. The tweet that shared his most human side
and made him seem more available and create his brand new persona
was of course the selfie of him seeking his mother’s blessings after
winning the mandate.
Despite knowing that there is an army of social media experts who
handle and guide Modi’s online presence, it still is quite an achievement
to share opinions and truly converse with the masses.
(7) Party Mouthpieces:
Unquestionably, we all believe that this is one of the primary goals
that every politician aims to achieve. In any case, they cannot give to
tamper with the party identity and defame their current status. However,
26 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

it seems some of their social media accounts are filled with such posts
and tweets.
Sushma Swaraj, however, plays it well on both fronts – maintain her
and her party’s political image. She uses Twitter to express her opinion
on matters relating to her and her party’s identity. Furthermore, this may
seem to be the only reason why she has joined the Twittersphere.
Interestingly, Mr. Yadav’s Twitter handle (@AAPyogendra) is
adequate to say what means to him more: his party or him? His twitter
wall is filled with a plethora of tweets/retweets on the flaws of the
current ruling party. He maintains a strictly political profile and makes
sure his party uniqueness is fenced. Here’s a tweet of his targeting the
BJP when Amit Shah was announced the party president, despite the
accusations on him.
Looking at Priyanka Chaturvedi’s twitter profile, you will find that,
all that she has got to offer to her 56 K followers are insights on
Congress and the importance of women empowerment. Her supporting
tweets or retweets which interest her revolve around such ideas. Probably
just like the epic Rahul Gandhi interview at Times Now.
(8) Controversy’s Children:
Probably this is the next best group that can fall after ‘upholding party
identity’ section. Today, argument seems to be an opposite synonym for
the word politician. Going hand in hand with what happens on-field,
some politicians have taken social media as an effective battlefield aim
hard to keep their followers updated on the recent happenings of the
other parties.
Moving on, in case you are looking for points against Narendra Modi,
jump against Digvijaya Singh’s Twitter page and you can find an
increase of information against him and his minister’s. His page is more
about the blushing image of his party and less about him. The biggest
argument of course was around him, not by a tweet of his. It was when
his connection with the journalist Amrita Rai was made public in the
election build up and he was forced to respond to it. There hundreds of
tweets disrespectful him and his political party’s take on women
empowerment in the backdrop of this event.
Introduction 27

Subramaniam Swamy’s twitter barrier has often been transformed

into a controversial forum with his keen Hindu beliefs. A recent example
could be of him referring to Modi as ‘Brahmin’. However, he frequently
indulges in spreading awareness amongst his followers on his appearance
on television, his articles and his speeches. Other than that, he retweets
on topics that interest him.
For Shashi Tharoor, Twitter has been a two-edged sword from the
beginning. One of the early adopters among India’s politicians (joined
March 2009), he has built over 2.34 million followers. But his mistake of
implying that economy class flyers were cattle class and the subsequent
explanation happened just 6 months after that. There was then a gentle
period until his wife, the late Sunanda Pushkar took to Twitter to refer to
his ‘alleged’ affair and proximity to the Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.
(9) Self identity:
Like most of us are on social media, many politicians are deeply
alarmed about themselves more than anything else around. Almost all of
their tweets have their stamp on it, whether related or not.
Even though Arun Jaitley connected Twitter in December 2013, he is
working hard to make sure that his identity is in the forefront. The same
can be said about Shivraj Chouhan. Both of them tweet festival
greetings, encouragement messages or even other announcements with
their large pictures and the message itself present somewhere on the
picture almost as an afterthought. Chouhan’s profile also talks about
growth initiatives of Madhya Pradesh.
(10) Echo Chambers:
There are some politicians who seem to be on a steady look out for
topics which interests them and in the process skip on establishing their
own opinions.
Arvind Kejriwal and Smriti Irani both retweet widely on topics of
their choice, with only a few original tweets peppered in between. The
much debated figure Smriti Irani mostly retweets from party profiles to
keep her followers reorganized on the events and occurrences in her
party. Kejriwal retweets from a range of accounts on topics related to
Modi Government, Gandhi teachings and AAP. These profiles do not
create a pattern, but more of a bit of various topics.
28 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

The interesting thing is to observe how we no longer need

conventional media to get an insight into a politician’s thinking with
social media holding up a mirror to a certain degree. There is also
another lesson here about how social media can actually be a effective
weapon to spread your ideology, or at least get it to reach more ears.
ROLE OF MEDIA IN INFLUENCING PUBLIC
OPINION:
Introduction:
The power of the mass media on public insight is widely recognized,
yet few know the incredible degree to which this occurs. Key excerpt
from the rare, revealing mass media news articles below show how
deliberately the media sometimes twist critical facts, skip vital stories,
and work hand in hand with the military-industrial complex to keep their
secrets safe and promote greedy and controlling corporate agendas.
Once highly praised as the regulator of democracy and the political
process, these fascinating articles clearly show that the major media can
no longer be reliable to side with the people over business and military
interests. Media pressure refers to the actual force exerted by a media
message, resulting in either a change or reinforcement in audience or
individual beliefs.
Media effects are quantifiable effects that result from media
influence, or a media message. Whether that media message has an effect
on any of its audience members is group on many factors, including
audience demographics and psychological characteristics.
These effects can be positive or negative, unexpected or gradual,
short-term or long-lasting. Not all effects result in change: some media
messages strengthen an existing belief. Researchers examine an audience
after media experience for changes in cognition, belief systems, and
attitudes, as well as emotional, physiological and behavioural effects.
(11) Mass media effects on public opinion:
Media can have a significant influence on public opinion in several
ways.
 Setting the news agenda, which shapes the public's views on
what is remarkable and significant.
Introduction 29

 Framing the facts of a story.

 Communicating the social appeal of certain kinds of ideas.
The development of public opinion starts with agenda setting by
major media outlets all through the world. This agenda setting dictates
what is interesting and how and when it will be reported. The media
agenda is set by a diversity of different environmental and news work
factors that determines which stories will be interesting.
(12) The Role of the Mass Media in the development of Public
Opinion:
There are four effects of the media in the development of Public
Opinion are given below
(a) Mass media can provide as a source of opinion-climate-
perception: The mass media support people in surveying the
climate of opinion in a society by provide information on which
opinions are established in public and which are not.
(b) Mass media sometimes provide advice in favour of a
certain opinion: The followers of the party that receives more
dispute support from the media can argue their positions much
more fluently in public. By using words and advice taken from
the media to discuss a topic, people cause the point of view to be
heard in public and give it visibility, thus creating a situation in
which the danger of segregation is reduced.
(c) Set the Agenda: The Agenda-Setting branch of
communication research is intimately related to the theory of the
spiral of silence. According to the theory the mass media have
the power to put issues on the public agenda and therefore to
decide which issue may become a matter of public opinion and
which may not.
(d) Mass media can give publicity: Mass media can offer
publicity to certain points of view, once an issue is established as
a matter of public opinion. Opinions that are not supported by
the mass media have virtually no chance to be the winning
position in a twisting of silence process.
(13) Role of Media in Indian Politics:
30 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

Media plays a significant role in politics as it influences public

opinion and helps define and take up the issues. It can keep the powerful
in check by seeking simplicity in their actions. Suppose if a government
were to control all the information regarding its own actions, won’t it
escape all responsibility?
Thus, an independent media is a useful check on government’s power
and influence over its citizens. In fact, with the emergence of TV and
Radio networks, many governments in Europe and America brought
about legislations so that the broadcast media did not move away from
neutral position.
In course of the polls, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate
(Now Prime Minister) Narendra Modi coined an interesting term ‘news
traders’. It was a sarcastic reference to a section of media hostile towards
him and his ideologies. His purpose was clear to element motives to their
anti-Modi stories. He even cautioned a news channel editor against
“carrying forward” charges levelled by political opponents in the course
of an interview.
Wasn’t Modi’s tactic a clever political trick to project himself as a
victim of market driven ‘news traders’ more keen on exploring ways to
enhance their TRP ratings and advertisement revenue than presenting
news in its true form?
There is no doubt that the conventional media had always been
hostile towards Modi after the 2002 Gujarat riots, and he desperately
needed a makeover. Though, Modi skilfully cultivated social media as a
propaganda tool (isn’t it true that even the Aam Admi Party was a
product of Social Media?), by coining ‘media traders’, he launched a
well-deliberated counter offensive against the conventional media. After
all, it had a big role to play in Modi’s political scheme of things! And he
played by the media rules and succeeded in confusing media.
We all know that media and politics enjoy a symbiotic relationship.
Simply speaking, none of the politicians, how powerful they may be, can
give to neglect media. Yet, only those who are media-savvy and know
how to play within the media rules can use them to their advantage (The
US President Barack Obama is a good example of such media-savvy
Introduction 31

candidates who understood media’s constraints and could wield a mass

appeal).
Compare Modi’s argumentative look in the media with that of the
Congress’s Rahul Gandhi’s whose fortunes tumbled after just one shaky
appearance in a widely seen television interview. This just one interview
of Rahul established effectively that elections are won or lost over
media.
Another fact and that Rahul now well knows, is that media can also
prohibit candidates. The way electronic media blacked out his public
addresses if they coincided with that of Modi’s is an plentiful example.
Obviously market considerations such as TRP did play an important
factor here as channels noticed more audience for Modi than Rahul.
DIVERSITIES AND BIASES WITHIN THE MEDIA:
MEDIA DIVERSITY:
Introduction:
Media Diversity has been a regular theme in debates on media policy
since 1947. The current media landscape in India is continuous, varied
and regionalized. It has dominant, powerful and expansive media owners
and a weak regulatory environment. The idea is to explore the media as a
marker of Democracy.
Formation of Media Diversity:
The Indian model is based on eight domain of media multiplicity
which were identified after sift through debates in various media policy
documents, both Indian and global. In order to assess the multiplicity in
Indian news media, the entire universe of news media has divided into
eight domains or major thematic areas.
These thematic areas are developed as such, that it can confine the
ground reality of Indian news media to gauge the multiplicity. These
eight domains are:
(1) Possession - formation, Concentration &Accumulation
(2) Market & Revenue Share supremacy
(3) Institutionalized Political support
(4) Entrance to Media Products/Services/Infrastructure
32 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

(5) Freedom of Speech and Expression

(6) Diversity of & within the Public Service Broadcaster
(7) Geographical Centralization
(8) Variety of Media Types and Genres
Within each domain, various Risk Factors to media multiplicity have
been identified. These risks would include increased corporate ownership
to measure risk of possession concentration in various media segments,
regulatory framework to ensure freedom of speech, supervision of the
media and regulatory framework to ensure freedom of speech,
supervision of the media.
These risk factors are assess and measured through a set of indicators
of media diversity. These indicators are objective and quantifiable
measures to assess the risk. There can be a possibility of more than one
indicator or a set of indicator attached to a gauge a particular risk factor.
MEDIA BIASES:
Introduction:
Media bias is the prejudice or perceived bias of journalists and news
producers within the mass media in the variety of events and stories that
are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a
pervasive or widespread bias contravene the standards of journalism,
rather than the standpoint of an individual journalist or article. The
direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely
uncertain.
Practical limitations to media impartiality 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 North Korea and Burma.
Market forces that result in a prejudiced presentation include the
ownership of the news source, concentration of media ownership, the
assortment of staff, the preferences of an planned audience, and pressure
from advertisers. There are a number of national and international
watchdog groups that report on bias in the media.
Introduction 33

(14) Types of bias:

The most commonly discussed forms of bias occur when the media
support or attack a particular political party, candidate, or ideology, but
other common forms of bias include:
 Advertising bias, when stories are selected or biased to please
advertisers.
 Corporate bias, when stories are selected or biased to please
corporate owners of media.
 Mainstream bias, a tendency to report what everyone else is
reporting, and to keep away from stories that will offend anyone.
 Sensationalism, bias in favour of the excellent over the ordinary,
giving the impression that rare events, such as airplane crashes,
are more common than common events, such as automobile
crashes.
 Concision bias, a tendency to report views that can be
summarized concisely, crowding out more unusual views that
take time to explain.
Other forms of bias including reporting that favours or attacks a
particular race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnic group, or
even person.
(15) Diversities and biases within the Indian media:
With more than 70,000 newspapers and over 500 satellite channels in
several languages, Indians are seemingly spoilt for choice and diversity.
India is already the principal newspaper market in the world - over
100 million copies sold each day. Advertising revenues have soared. In
the past two decades, the number of channels has grown from one - the
plain state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan - to more than 500, of which
more than 80 are news channels.
But such robust growth, many believe, may have come at the cost of
accuracy, journalistic ethics and probity.
The media has taken some criticism in recent months for being low,
inaccurate and sometimes damagingly obtrusive. Former Supreme Court
judge and chairman of the country's Press Council, Markandey Katju,
34 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

fired the first broadside, exhorting journalists to educate themselves

more. Unsurprisingly, it provoked a sharp reaction from the media.
(16) Who owns who?:
To understand the media biases, we need to understand the ownership
of Indian media and the alignment of these owners with respective
political parties.
(a) The Times Group: The Times Group with its flagship company
Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) is India’s largest
media conglomerate in India. The company remains a family-owned
business as the descendants of Sahu Jain own a majority stake. Its
media control extends from Times of India, Economic Times,
Navbharat Times, Times Now, Munbai Mirror, Filmfare, Femina,
and Radio Mirchi. Political affiliation: BJP (Previously aligned with
Indira Gandhi Govt. in 1980-90s).
(b) The Hindustan Times: The Hindustan Times is a daily
newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence
movement (Founded in 1924 by Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, founder-
father of the Akali movement in Punjab. The Delhi-based English
daily Hindustan Times is now part of the KK Birla group and
managed by Shobhana Bhartia, Rajya Sabha member of Congress
party and daughter of the industrialist KK Birla and granddaughter
of Ghanshyam Das Birla. Political affiliation: Congress.
(c) The Indian Express is an English-language Indian daily
newspaper: In 1931, the Indian Express was started by an
Ayurvedic doctor, P. Varadarajulu Naidu, at Chennai. It was later
sold to industrialist RN Goenka. In 1999, eight years after the
group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was
split between the family members. The southern editions taking the
name The New Indian Express, while the northern editions, based in
Mumbai. Political Affiliation: Independent (Leaning towards
Communist Party of India).
(d) New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV): New Delhi Television
Limited (NDTV) is an Indian commercial broadcasting television
network founded in 1988 by husband and wife Prannoy Roy and
Radhika Roy. NDTV has been criticized for biased reporting against
Introduction 35

BJP in India. In 2014 a purported tweet against Narendra Modi

attributed to BJP leader Sushma Swaraj resulted in the party
boycotting NDTV. Political Affiliation: Congress and Trimanul
Congress.
(e) Zee TV: Zee TV is an Indian cable and satellite television channel
owned and operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Its owner
Subhash Chandra Goel was a small businessman from Haryana who
launched Zee Television, in collaboration with Li Ka Shing and first
online lottery, and Dish TV in India. Political affiliation: BJP.
(f) Tribune India: Tribune India is an Indian English and Punjabi
language daily newspaper published from Chandigarh. It was
founded in 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan), by Sardar Dyal Singh
Majithia, a Sikh philanthropist. It is run by a trust comprising five
persons as trustees. Political affiliation: BJP and Shiromani Akali
Dal.
(g) PTV Punjabi: PTV Punjabi is a Punjabi TV owned by the Badal
family and their supporters. The station provided news, music, and
films in Punjabi in USA, Canada, UK, and India. Political
affiliation: Shiromani Akali Dal.

Questions
(1) What are the functions of public opinion in society?
(2) Describe in detail means of gauging public opinion with reference to
opinion polls and exit polls.
(3) Define the significance of survey and their types.
(4) What is the role of media in influencing public opinion?
(5) Why we need to study diversities and biases within the media?
(6) What are the tools to gauge Public Opinion? How reliable are they? (Nov.
17)
(7) Write short notes on:
(a) Define public opinion.
(b) Social media.
(c) Define the term “Media Biases”.
36 Vipul’sTM Journalism and Public Opinion (BMM)

(d) Opinion Poll (Oct. 2018)