- It needs watching
By Kamal Ahmed
In Pakistan, we all believe US President Donald Trump is capricious in decision making, Turkish President Tayyab Erdogan is popular with his people and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is insincere and duplicitous in his approach towards Pakistan. Why do we believe so? Because the media want us to believe so. Media is a very powerful sector in any state or country. It is a tool to maintain balance in society, and ensure that that society is characterised by well-informed people, so that there can be an effective democracy.
In the 21st century, the media has tendency to shape the political, economic and social values of individuals. However, the cooperation among all the sectors of an economy is necessary for the media to function properly; and in addition, political opinions are helped in developing by the media. Thus, the media act as a transparent mirror of politics and society. Sources of media, such as television, radio, and print media are all the sources of the reflection of the society.
In reality, every state or country contains some social evils which need to be eradicated, and to perform such a function, the media is most prominent tool, as it can raise the voice of ordinary against evils, injustice and violations of rights. The media it is, that is able to get information to the public in a quick and timely manner. The media can warn us of impending bad weather, dangerous situations in a city, a state, or the country. The media has the resources to expose injustices, corruption, or abuse of power that an average citizen would never be able to expose. This can lead to positive change in our country.
The media has uncovered events where elected officials have been using government workers to campaign for them while they are supposedly working on the government business. The media has uncovered scams where people try to take our money dishonestly. The media keeps us updated on news, weather, and sporting events. The media can play a very important and helpful role.
the use of media can be both positive and negative, which entirely depend upon us. In a positive way, media makes our lifestyle easier, for example, we get it know easily what is going on out there either locally and globally, within a short space of time. We have to be careful not to let them influence us knowingly
As we know that everything have its advantages and also disadvantages, similarly the media has also its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages of the media include a risk of inaccurate reporting and a loss of privacy. Sometimes, in a rush to be the first to break a story, the media puts out incorrect or inaccurate information. This can be embarrassing, and depending on the information, it can harm a person’s reputation. It is very easy for people to use the media to make false claims or make claims that are only half true. Political candidates sometimes do this, and we recently saw a high-profile news reporter do this. It is hard to check everything that is reported or stated by the media. Additionally, with all the cameras and coverage today, there really is no privacy. When somebody makes a mistake or inadvertently says something wrong, it can get blown way out of proportion. The recent Miss Universe error is an example.
The media has both positive and negative aspects associated with it. A famous quotation comes from Malcolm X, “The media is the most powerful entity on the Earth, they have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s the power of media.”
In conclusion, the use of media can be both positive and negative, which entirely depend upon us. In a positive way, media makes our lifestyle easier, for example, we get it know easily what is going on out there either locally and globally, within a short space of time. We have to be careful not to let them influence us knowingly.
We should not forget that in this age of instant everything, news is instant history, and mediapersons instant historians. If you look at history books, especially those dealing with relatively recent events, you would be surprised by the attention that is paid to the newspapers and other media coverage of the period. This has meant that the importance of the media has increased, for the responsibility is not just to readers, viewers or listeners in the very near future, almost-present, but to those in the far-distant future.
