Abstract:
• What is media?
• Role of Media in society.
• Meaning, importance and Role of Civil society.
• Concept of civil society.
• Conclusion.
Article:
What is media ?
Power of speech is a bliss to man. It is a pleasure to listen to people and to express the feelings of one and another on good things. Here, oratory is an art. Freedom of Expression has always been emphasized as a special right for the democratic, economic functioning of a society. This is being included in Art.19 (1) (a) of our Indian Constitution i.e. the freedom of the press. Media plays a vital role in part of each and every human shall be discussing about the issues relating to the responsibilities of the media in good governance, thus media has become more powerful and prominent. In India, media have played a significant role by providing information to the citizens about social and economic evils. Of course, a citizen cannot personally gather and collect information to form his/her opinions even though having reasonable restrictions as provided in Art.19 (2) of the constitution. What is media? In general, “media” refers to various means of communication. For example, television, radio, and the newspaper are different types of media.
Role of Media in society:
• The word ‘media’ is derived from the word medium, signifying mode or carrier. Media is intended to reach and address a large target group or audience. The word was first used in respect of books and newspapers i.e. Print media and with the advent of technology, media now encompasses television, movies, radio and internet. In today’s world, media becomes as essential as our daily needs. Media of today is playing an outstanding role in creating and shaping of public opinion and strengthening of society.
• Media is the sword arm of democracy. Media acts as watchdog to protect public interest against malpractice and create public awareness. Today when politicians are taking full advantage of their positions, an evil nexus of mafia and crime syndicate is making the life of the common man miserable, taxpayer’s money is siphoned out for the personal gain of the influential and ordinary people are a most spectator media has a greater responsibility.
• As the fourth pillar of democracy along with judiciary, executive and legislature, media of today has an all embracing role to act against the injustice, oppression, misdeeds and partiality of our society.
• From the days abode, media has remained an integral part of human civilization. From the days of Vedas and Upanishads to edicts of kings and emperors like Chandragupta, Asoka to the medieval Indian mass gatherings to the modern day’s audio video and print media, media has always taken a pivotal role in shaping our society. During the days of freedom struggle newspapers like Tikal’s Maratha, Mahatmaji’s young India acted as a platform to place the demands of common Indian and to express solitude with freedom fighters. Indian media in post independence era has grown up phenomenally and today comprises of more than 50,000 newspapers, hundreds of television and radio channels.
• In this era of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation(LPG) the world has reached our drawing room thanks to media. Since the introduction of television in our country in late 70’s visual media becomes a very potential tool in informing the current news to the society, entertaining the people and shaping up of public opinion. The World Wide Web and web 2.0 technologies have given rise to electronic media where even a common man can express views through blogs, website posts, Facebook and twitter like social media. Coupled with traditional print media all these audio video and social media caters to a richly diversified media industry in India.
• Media helps in fighting against corruption, nepotism, cronyism of institutional machinery and carrying out relentless campaign against them.
MEANING, IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil society is the society driven by people themselves. It has its origin in ancient times although the understanding and meaning have changed over a period of time. The Roman word societas civilis was the root word of it having a synonymity with a good society. It was Hegel, the German philosopher who had coined the term civil society and the meaning of it that we understand today. In a civil society, people voluntarily come together to achieve the desired objective of welfare of the society or to raise the problems of people before the state. Basically, the voids of the state can be rightly filled by the civil society. The term civil society was originally used to describe popular movements in the society. With the passage of time it has expanded to embrace diversity of spaces and non-state actors like; non-governmental organisations (NGOs), self help groups, business associations, social movements and groups of special interests. Antonio Gramsci says, the word “civil society” has emerged in the 18th century and become a buzz word in 20th century with an altogether new conceptualisation – a self-regulated society, free from political interference and assuming a separate and viable entity. The notion of civil society today is commonly identified with a non-statist set of institutions that stand for serving the interest of the people at large (Biju, 2009). The Civil societies are defined as the sum of people who come together and organise themselves around common interests. The Civil society has an autonomous space, which is independent of the state and government from where citizens keep watch on the state or do whatever they want to do independently of the state. It is recognised as a non-party political sphere, where individuals come together and form associations voluntarily to promote public good. The Civil society refers to self-organised associations and social movements that may (or may not) attempt to influence power-holders that comprise parties and other contestants for power in political institutions. It makes democratic government more effective. Without changes in the state, civil society cannot itself bring about democracy. There must be some form of state withdrawals to provide civil society organisations with protected space to grow and freedom to negotiate their differences (Elliott, 2003). Civil society is very important term today and any discussion on democracy and human rights is incomplete without taking into consideration the concept of civil society. A democracy needs a strong civil society to ensure that all organs of the government function within the parameters of the constitution. It is necessary for all round development of the society. The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can influence the government policies and can build a sense of community based on trust and mutual respect. So the civil society plays an important role in shaping and reshaping the society. It also acts as a link between the people and government. “In actual practice, where government fails or political parties miss the opportunity, the civil society should fill the space, come up to the expectations of the people, especially the marginalised and deprived segments of the society” (Kumar, 2011). Civil Society Organisations are non-state, not for profit, voluntary entities formed by people in the social sphere that are separate from the State and market. The CSOs represent a wide range of interests and ties. They can include community-based peoples’ organisations as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
CONCEPT OF CIVIL SOCIETY:
According to Seberwal (2005), is defined as a social space that should possess the following qualities:
• The first quality is that decisions and choices have to be made on the basis of reason and knowledge,
• The second quality of the civil society is that its member have to relate to each other open-ended, without exclusion on the ground of religion, gender, caste, etc.,
• The third quality is that in the making of decisions and choices, the civil society space has to be free from coercive pressures. The public sphere provides a space between state and private citizens for other social formations and voluntary action. The mass media are an institution of the public sphere, providing the platform for discussion and debate and for the circulation of information. A civil society with a healthy public sphere stands as opposed to a mass or authoritarian society.
5 MAIN POINTS FOR SUPPORTING CIVIL SOCIETY:
• Build awareness and inspire people: Civil society needs to add the people, leaders, and activities.
• support the ecosystem of civil society:
• incubate initiatives or organizations on the most critical issues
• build long term collaboration partnerships
• Supporting dynamic accountability.
CONCLUSION:
• Media plays a wider role in creating society’s mind. Nowadays everything is roamed around the media and society is one of the major things. Civil society is an organization working in the interest of the citizen and their need.
• Through research and campaigning awareness arising training monitoring, legal help, and budget analysis civil society can successfully participate in public oversight of security sector governance at national, regional, and international levels. Many of the same goals can be accomplished by using media to reach a larger audience in the first place further, the media serve as the main means of contact with the general public, government officials, and security personnel.
• In a democratic country, civil society plays a vital role. A strong and dependable civil society can reflect the people’s and community’s interests while also acting as a check on the state’s abuse of power. Civil society organizations are more active in raising public awareness about politics and encouraging citizens to participate in politics to safeguard their own interests. Governments can become more accountable, honest, accountable, transparent, and responsive to public demands as a result of these efforts, gaining public support and strengthening their legitimacy.
References:
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1218090/ https://medium.com/@kashafmurtza655/role-of-media-in-society-760db2844ae3 https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68792/1/Unit-11.pdf https://indianlawinfo.in/role-of-civil-societies-and-media/
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