ROLE OF MEDIA IN PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION

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1 136 Abstract ROLE OF MEDIA IN PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION Megha Gaur Research Scholar, MTU, Noida Uttar Pradesh Media plays a vital & crucial role in developing and influencing public opinion. It is even said to be a "mirror" and "molder" of public opinion, which means that the public replicates or follows as well as accumulates opinions and decisions through the media and the information displayed by it. The power of the news media in setting a nation s schema, to focus attention of the people on a few crucial public issues, has a massive and highly recognized influence. People don t only obtain real information about public matters from the news media, viewers and readers also pick up how much prominence to assign to a subject on the basis of the highlighting done on it in the news. Agenda of media offered to the public outcomes from innumerable day-to-day conclusions and judgements by many different reporters & journalists and their superiors about the newsflash of the moment. In encapsulating the degree of this impact and expediting assessments and evaluations from one study to other offers a significant amount of accuracy for our assessments. This paper highlights certain cases in which public opinion and perception is influenced & formed due to the crucial role of media. Keywords: Media, Public, Opinion, Social & Digital Media. Introduction In today s world media is the mirror of continuously changing society. Internet including s and blogs, Television, radio and newspapers play a significant role in the formation of outlooks and opinions of the general public. News media highlights the personalities (politicians, film industry people and other celebrities) and issues and common man believes and forms opinion about them according to the news. An example can be the election polls happening in the country. Earlier the elections were treated as a contest among the politicians whereas in today s scenario these elections are thought of as personal tussle between the members of the parties concerned. Today s picture of media is entirely different. Public can talk about the incidents happening not only in the country but also outside the geographical boundaries only due to awareness created by the media be it television, radio, newspaper or internet. Public is able to keep a track of any incident happening across boundaries and their opinion about the incident is formed accordingly. In the past year the

2 137 behaviour of Australians towards Indians in Australia was highlighted and emphasized so much upon that the protests against it happened in India. The news of incidents happening in Australia was delivered to Indians through media only and hence the reaction came. Formation of Public Opinion Following points are considered to understand this process: Step 1: A political affair takes place. Step 2: The Media reports on the affair. Step 3: General public responds to the event and the reporting based on their prior political socialization and information. Step 4: Peer groups and other social groupings form opinions on the affair. Step 5: Public opinion polls measure national public opinion about the affair. Elections can be viewed as a vast public opinion poll. Step 6: Public Opinion has been formed. Politically, events and incidents which are not reported or noticed by the public will be treated as if they never happened. In today s time, global certainties being kept in view, the information through media is everywhere at all the time. Figure 1: Role of Media in Public Opinion Formation Scene of Action Media Perception of Action Response Based on the Perception Walter Lippmann described a triangular relationship between the scene of action, perception of action and the response associated due to the perception. The final side of the triangle is complete if and when the responses have an effect on the actual scene of action. Lippmann also said that a large no. of people do not have a direct interaction or access to the

3 138 entire world. The incidents and events happening around the world are out of reach, out of view and out of cognizance. Hence, media plays a crucial role in creating a trustworthy picture of the world that is beyond our experience and exposure. With passing decades, media have played progressively a critical and crucial role between the formal system of the country and its citizens. Media unknowingly or knowingly defines which issues and which opinions have to be given importance. Media generally broadcasts or re-generates the messages that some else has ignited. The reporters spread the issues and guide the view of public over a particular incident but hardly determine the preferences and selections that fall into public debates and discussions. Direct marketing, polling, media advertising and packaging assured to condense superfluous organizational policy development. Mass Media Mass media plays a major role by letting individuals identify what others think and also by providing political leaders or film stars a large audience. By this media makes it likely for public opinion to involve large number of people and wide ranging geographies. It seems that in some countries the progress of broadcasting, especially television, influenced the processes and procedures of operation of the parliamentary systems. In developing countries or in countries where media is severely controlled, word of mouth can perform in the same way as the press or television. In places where significant news is curbed by the government, a lot of information is conveyed through rumours. Word of mouth (personal communication or text messaging/ ing) hence becomes the carrier for hidden public opinion even though these ways are slower and usually comprise of fewer individuals. We reside in world s largest democratic country. Media is said to be one of the pillars of democracy. It is therefore expected out of them that they take their responsibilities without contravening the domain of their duties while protecting democracy. But when media denies its duties and responsibilities and involves itself in malicious activities, the nation suffers. Hence in the interest of the country, media must now wake up from the deep sleep of selfconcern and adopt its actual role of accurately holding the government and corporate leaders responsible. Media should now come forward and formulate an environment where media coverage and broadcasting will gleam by trustworthiness and fairness.

4 139 Media as an Agent of Socialization The capability of mass media from socialization of people to politics has grown tremendously due to the increased and enhanced technologies permitting more interactive media experiences. Post arrival of television, media has become prominent socialization agents. The most important agent of socialization is the mass media. Socialization is a lifetime course through which people learn the outlines of their culture, including behavioural expectations, beliefs, values, and truths. This process is expedited by a host of groups and institutions such as the family unit, the educational system, peer groups, and the mass media. Though they are a very recently developed agent of socialization, the mass media intensely impact and influence public opinion and our worldview. The mass media are impersonal communication aimed at a large audience. Mass media arises as communication technology spreads information on a new scale. The mass media have a huge effect on a large scale. The mass media have a massive effect on our opinion, attitudes and behaviours and on gaining other s opinions about issues. Youth s Increasing Exposure to Media Youth s exposure to media has increased evidently since the 1980s. Fifty per cent of households have television switched on all day. The usage of personalised forms of media, comprising text messages and social networking sites has exponentially expanded in past few years. This acquaintance is also contributing to greater awareness of political issues and prospects for public activities. Posting a blog or using twitter to create awareness amongst the youth about any incident makes them more involved with the incident and its consequences or aftermaths. Digital communication technology like internet has become a potentially influential agent of political socialization due to the availability of all the related information on the web and the fact that youth is actively involved with online platforms. Today individuals not only get information about government from news and sites but they also respond by posting their opinions on the news and initiate discussions on various forums or by joining groups on Facebook (a common media of circulating information). Young people are at ease in forming their opinion about any incident as they learn about them in detail through the media. All of these doings are contributing to the socialization of involved citizens. Media An Information Source Individuals learn a lot about politics and other happenings within and outside the country through sources like radio, television, newspapers and social media. These therefore

5 Nigeria Indonesia India Egypt USA Russia UK South Korea Brazil Germany Masters International Journal of Management Research and Development (MIJMRD) 140 act as the sources of information to the common and general public. Media also helps in creating links between the leaders, organizations and the citizens of the country. Entertainment media, consisting of various television programs, films, music or video games generally comprehend various issues prevailing in the society like political events, corporate culture, rural and urban lives, poverty and the list goes on. Hence people perceive things as visible through the window called entertainment media. Sending information through typing and postal mailing has been overpowered by directly ing or through Facebook posts. Overall influence of media varies across the 10 countries, with the greatest trust expressed in developing countries such as Nigeria (88% have a lot or some trust), Indonesia (86%), India (82%), and Egypt (74%). These are the countries where trust in national governments tends to be lower in comparison to that of media. Figure 2: Trust Factor among Different Countries Trust Factor Government Trust Factor Media Representative sample of 10,000 adults aged in 10 countries Negative Impact of Media on public Some factors result into making the news more sensational than informative due to the profit-driven motives of the media rather than working towards civic education. They therefore try to maintain a balance between public service imperative against the desire to make money. But if the balance is lost they end up making the information look different than what is should have been. Media sometimes has focused more on personal outrages and scandals than providing an actual picture of the scenario leading to negative impression of government in the eyes of the people. Here are a few cases in which media has played a remarkable role in forming public opinion:

6 141 Case I: Nirbhaya s Rape Case This case is about the brutal inhuman deeds of certain men in the society. They committed the heinous crime of raping and then murdering the girl in a moving bus in Delhi last month. The above mentioned case brought a lot of vehemence into the common man or general public only due to minute by minute updates through media be it newspapers, television or the internet. Around 300 students marched in Hyderabad and later formed a human chain seeking stronger rules for safety of women in the city and also pay homage to Nirbhaya. The Kochi corporation council unanimously passed a resolution demanding capital punishment for the men involved in raping Nirbhaya. The council also wanted to observe December 29 as anti-women harassment day and also to introduce fast track courts to speed up trail of such cases. The case has been a live example of media influence on various actions taken by the government as well as the general public. Social networking sites had a great deal of posts and discussions amongst the people hence bringing forward the details and the case was known to everybody in the country and abroad and there was a reaction from the female section of the society in form of protests and on the street marches. Case II: Anna Hazare s Movement Anna Hazare's movement had hit a chord with the urban and educated Indian middleclass though there is support from rural areas also. But it is also true that the news media, particularly, the TV channels have played a significant role pacing up the movement. Round the clock coverage and upholding the pitch, they have ensured that the protests occur throughout the country and there is a mass rage and frenzy. Even though the channels didn t state much about merits and demerits of the proposed foundation of Lokpal or educated country s citizens about the effects of the ombudsman, TV and newspapers were noticeably the driving force behind the anti-corruption movement. The movement has also revealed how media can commendably be used. Though the decorum regarding active participation of news media in the movement is debatable, it is true to an extent that Indian media voluntarily became a party, a sort of participant, in the drive for Jan Lokpal Bill. It is true that channels have given extreme coverage to Anna Hazare. But that's what happens in case of all major movements. It gave Anna Team a bargaining power, it has brought people on the streets and it has forced government to become flexible and agree to talks.

7 142 Conclusion Media has a magnificent role to play in the upcoming days, provided it realizes its mistakes and corrects itself. It has to be unbiased while presenting the news. The Information though the media reaches door to door and hence it is the social and moral responsibility of them to present a factual and authentic picture of any incident without thinking much about money making or profit generation. With such a huge responsibility towards the people, media should be more sensible and alert instead of a casual approach towards an event because it is they on whom the general public is relying. I am sure media will do so, and thereby win the respect of the people along with the support of the people.

8 143 References Maxwell Mccombs, The Agenda-Setting role of the mass media in the shaping of public opinion. Role of media: , studymode.com CCR INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE RIGHTS CONFERENCE, JUNE 2006, TORONTO, role of media in public opinion