Chapter 6 — Understanding Media

Media is the plural form of the word medium and describes the various ways through which we communicate in society. Everything from a phone call to the evening news on TV can be called media.

TV, radio, and newspapers are forms of media that reach millions of people, or the masses, across the country and the world; they are called mass media.

Cable television and the widespread use of the internet are recent phenomena that have been around for less than twenty years.

Newspapers and magazines are called print media; TV and radio are called electronic media. This naming is related to the different technologies these media use.

Mass media earns money mainly through advertising different products like cars, chocolates, clothes, and mobile phones. The cost to advertise on TV varies from ₹1,000 to ₹1,00,000 per 10 seconds depending on channel popularity.

The technologies that mass media uses are expensive — TV studios need lights, cameras, sound recorders, and transmission satellites — so mass media needs a great deal of money, leading most channels and newspapers to become part of big business houses.

In a democracy, media plays a very important role by providing news and discussing events, helping citizens learn how government works and enabling them to take action through writing letters to ministers, organising public protests, or starting signature campaigns.

A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the readers to make up their minds.

Censorship refers to the powers that the government has to disallow media from publishing or showing certain stories — this includes news items, scenes from a movie, or the lyrics of a song.

The worst period of government censorship of media in India was the Emergency between 1975 and 1977.

Media independence is limited mainly by two reasons: government censorship and the control that business houses have over media. Since media depends on advertising for money, it becomes difficult to report against those who provide advertisements.

By focusing on particular issues, the media influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and brings those issues to our attention. This power to decide which stories are newsworthy is called setting the agenda.

The media drew attention to alarming levels of pesticides in cola drinks by publishing reports and making citizens aware of the need to regularly monitor these colas according to international quality and safety standards, despite government resistance.

Khabar Lahriya is a fortnightly newspaper run by eight Dalit women in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh. Written in the local language Bundeli, it reports on Dalit issues, cases of violence against women, and political corruption.

Local media includes community radio and documentary films started by local groups to cover issues ignored by mainstream media. Examples include community radio telling farmers about crop prices, seeds, and fertilisers, and Khabar Lahriya newspaper in Uttar Pradesh.

Social advertisements are advertisements made by the government or private agencies that carry a larger message for society, such as awareness about road safety or level crossing rules.

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