There is no doubt; media is one of the most power full pillars of our democracy. Over the years, the press has become so powerful that, it has soon acquired unique status of “Fourth Estate”. It is supposed to play a key and crucial role of a watchdog, to see that the other three institutions – Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary – function fairly within the constitutional framework and serve the people for whose welfare they were created. The role and power of media in spreading information in a modern society is amazing. Once information – right or wrong, manufactured or factual – goes out to the public, it creates its own rhythm. We have to agree with this fact that the media organize not just information but audiences.
The Indian print media currently include over 46,000 newspapers and periodicals; among them are more than 5000 dailies, nearly 17,000 weeklies and 13,000 monthlies, and about 6000 fortnightlies and 3000 quarterlies. These are published in as many as 101 languages and dialects. The largest number of publications is in Hindi (nearly 19,000), followed by English (nearly 7000) and Urdu (nearly 3000). Forty-one Indian newspapers still being published in various languages are a century or more old. Daily newspapers in India are believed to enjoy a total circulation of 130 million copies, of which a lion’s share is accounted for by 200 big dailies. According to recent reports, the 350 largest newspapers are estimated to employ a total of about 5000 reporters, 2000 full-time correspondents, 5000 stringers and 5000 editorial staff.
Media systems control our access to manufacture, distribution, and consumption of information. Therefore to understand the media it is important to identify with who owns these means of communication. In India, a few business houses own chains of daily newspapers in English, Hindi and also in the vernacular languages and corner a substantial portion of the total circulation. In 1991, as many as 21,610 different newspapers were published by 2,445 individuals in the country. Another shift in the concentration of ownership and control in newspapers is the forming of joint stock companies and conglomeration of companies. Some politicians have large ventures in these newspapers, while most newspaper owners have political links. Aware of the power of the press, many political parties have even nominated media magnates as members of parliament. Many of them are local goons, who use their access to newspapers to promote their own political agendas. Perceptibly, they too have a vested interest in communal and regional politics. Further, many lower ranking journalists apparently find their chances of promotion blocked if they refuse to toe the line of their editors who support the communalism and regionalism.
If one further looks at it from community point of view, it is the Marwari business houses, which have assumed major control over the newspapers. The Times of India group of Sahu Jain is the principal publishing corporate house. The Goenka industrial house owns the Indian Express group, and its dailies are published from as many as eleven main urban areas. The house of the Birlas, are the owners of the Anand Bazargroup. Out of the 300 English newspapers published in India.
The collective consciousness of the people is largely shaped by the media. Media plays the role of communicator and as such it has to inform and not to misinform, disinform or non-inform the people on issues of vital importance. It has to educate, motivate, persuade and entertain. They must have their fingers on the pulse of the people and has a virtuous obligation not to jeopardise or harm the welfare of the society. The mass media is ultimately an ideological institution framed by, and rooted in, the wider background of corporate elite power in society. As a consequence, the mass media largely propagates news and information in a manner that is distorted – and sometimes fictitious – in accordance with corporate elite interests and the ideological requirements legitimising those interests.
But some media house is not among them, also we see Frontline, Mainstream, Economic and Political Weekly, Tehelka, The Hindu and, to some extent, some of the channels on TV. India’s reading public and viewership wants to know the truth. They want the press and the other media to represent them, and not represent vested interests. There’s enough room for a hundred Tehelkas and Frontlines. We will not only expose, and knock those doing wrong, but also appreciate those doing the right thing. We badly need to create the right role models for the young. It is not just fashion designers and fancy models that can be role models. While there were honourable exceptions — Outlook, The Hindu , and Frontline among them, as well as individual reporters in some newspapers and channels would the media’s coverage have been more balanced had there been a greater degree of caste diversity in the newsroom and editorial boards of our newspapers and channels?
Experts say that majority of media houses in India are not independence and they are not doing their job fairly. Their cheep interests are not allowing them to publish and broadcast the vice of soul and truth.
The three pillars of our democracy have been captured by the ghost of corruptions, only the one pillar was save, that is called media, but now the media is also affected by the diseases of corruptions. There is a question, if the media does not pay its role then who will fight for victims and Poor’s rights?
-Salman Ahmed
