POWER OF MEDIA (By- Nandini Sharma)

POWER OF MEDIA
Authored By- Nandini Sharma
 
 
Abstract

In times like today, where the media has taken the world by storm and is heavily influencing how people think, speak, and even develop opinions and judge current events, it is safe to argue that the media also plays an undoubtedly influential part in the electoral process.
We will see how this is done in this research paper, as well as the fact that the media's participation in elections is not always positive; it may also be detrimental. In order to measure the impact of media on people and its power in today's times, it's vital to recognize its part in one of the most crucial procedures of choosing a government (elections). As one goes through the research paper, we gain an awareness of the media's negative and beneficial impact on elections, as well as its current position in today's times.
 
Introduction
Outside factors, such as print, radio, television, and the internet, can, nonetheless, inevitably impact an individual's view or judgment. The role of the media in elections is a relevant topicin every democratic country on the planet. Every election's outcome and the fate of each candidate are unquestionably influenced by the media. It is no secret that the media has a significant influence on people's minds when it comes to any problem or news, and can easily influence a person's attitude on anything. Every headline, every story they cover, has an impact on the general public. As a result, the media is an important aspect of elections because it informs the public about a party's activities and the election process, allowing them to establish their own opinions. It can be seen how the media is a part of everyone's day-to-day existence and how it influences our opinion formation process. As a citizen of a democratic country, one understands the necessity of elections in maintaining the democratic country's fundamental rule. The media serves as a transparent medium between the people of this country and the government that administers the country in this process. It helps in showcasing the current government's qualities and flaws, as well as what it is doing for the development and growth of all citizens. This is the responsibility of the media, and it is why it must present an unbiased and complete picture of the situation. If the media is transparent, it can help build the appropriate viewpoint and accurate picture of the current government so that voters can select the right individuals for the betterment of the country. When it comes to elections, the Election Commission, as well as other interested agencies, go to great lengths to ensure that the voting process is free and fair. As a result, the media can assist in making that process more transparent by contributing appropriately. As a result, the purpose of this article is to look into how the media influences the election process and why it is seen as one of the most important tools in election outcomes by political entities.
 
Media
The term "media" first appeared in the 1920s, although it referred to something that had its roots much further back. The printing press, invented in the late 15th century, gave rise to some of the first forms of mass communication, allowing for the widespread distribution of books and newspapers which was previously impossible. The media has had a crucial role in moulding public perceptions of a range of key problems, both by the information they display and the interpretations they make of it. They also play a significant role in moulding modern culture by selecting and portraying a specific set of beliefs, values, and traditions as true which ultimately leads to the
 
masses blindly following said beliefs. We can say that, by displaying a particular vision of reality, they can influence reality to conform to that perception.
The media is an integral aspect of our lives and has a significant impact on our society. Because of global connectivity, media is becoming increasingly important. As a result, each of us must become aware of the media's influence. This enables us to evaluate all of the information we receive regularly. It is important to remember that the media not only communicates but also offers their viewpoint on every event that occurs. We must evaluate the information we get and draw appropriate conclusions.
 
Positive Role Of Media
Ideally, media operations would be limited to election coverage. However, in reality, the media sector is occupied with polarising convictions, and it is increasingly loud in its support or opposition to political events such as the voting process. It is frequently observed that the media are more actors than observers in political and electoral campaigns, exerting enormous power over agenda-setting, the selection and treatment of campaign events, candidates, and themes, and even overt support for a political party. In the form of print, radio, and television broadcasts, the media is employed as a manipulative instrument to affect public opinion and behaviour, resulting in public disputes. the media also plays other roles in enabling full public participation in elections:
Ø  by educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights;
Ø  by reporting on the development of an election campaign;
Ø  by providing a platform for the political parties and candidates to communicate their message to the electorate;
Ø  by providing a platform for the public to communicate their concerns, opinions, and needs, to the parties/candidates, the government, and other voters, and to start a discussion on these issues;
Ø  by allowing the parties and candidates to debate with each other;
Ø  by reporting results and monitoring vote counting;
Ø  by scrutinizing the electoral process, itself, including electoral management, to evaluate the fairness of the process, its efficiency, and its probity;
Ø  by providing information that, as far as possible, avoids instigating language, helping to prevent election-related violence.
 
 
 
In many ways, media can also ensure democratic electoral processes generally fall into one of the following categories:
Ø  Media as transparency/watchdog
Ø  Media as a campaign platform
Ø  Media as an open forum for debate and discussion/public voice
Ø  Media as a public educator
Ø  Fact-checking and monitoring of polls is also a crucial role that media plays in keeping transparency with the audience about the elections.
 
Negative Role Of Media
The media can also have significant harm to the election process. As a memorable example of the bad consequences media may have during elections, many observers refer to the role media played during the 2007 Kenyan presidential election and the outbreak of violence that followed, which resulted in 1,133 people being killed and over 600,000 Kenyans being displaced. Roots of democracy that are built on the right to freedom of expression and elections to be a fair process can be suppressed by the biasness of media, which can be noticed in our current media space.
For example, many major media channels appeal to partisan audiences, reflecting political biases in their reporting. This phenomenon is driven by profit: because today's news consumers can get basic facts from a quick internet search, many publications have differentiated themselves by shifting from straight news to context and analysis, resulting in half-baked stories that can negatively impact the audience's perception of the news. Unfortunately, the media's increasing political tactics appear to be resulting in increased public divisiveness as well. Many of us expose ourselves to selective media sources that don't substantially challenge our worldviews which ultimately results in selective exposure of a consumer to the news.
We need to recognize that there is a link between selective exposure and the country's developing political split. This divide is linked to the growth of increasingly politicized media outlets. Journalists from various channels also spread biased viewpoints by tagging complex campaigns and situations into "scripts." The mainstream media tends to view elections through the lens of competition. Campaigns are covered similarly to sporting events, with a focus on who is winning, who is losing, who is up, who is down, and how they are doing in the polls.
 
 
 
Media Biasness
The phrase "media biasness" refers to persistent personal preferences taken by media that go against journalistic standards, rather than a single journalist's or article's point of view. The media is now viewed as the fourth pillar of democracy universally. Media ownership is becoming increasingly consolidated, and there are concerns that ownership may impact editorial control as well. The law, on the other hand, continues to safeguard and promote press freedom as an important component of freedom of speech and expression.
One of the disadvantages of the media's job is its bias against specific people or organizations. It is the perceptions of journalists and news producers in the mass media when it comes to the coverage of events and stories. Journalists are unable to report on all available stories and information, nor can they link selected facts into a coherent narrative. There are various national and international watchdogs and organizations that report on media bias.
The media has a major influence on how the general people think. Depending on the goal, they can shape or change public opinion in a variety of ways.
Candidates that spend more money on television and media exposure have a greater impact on public opinion and can sway vote banks. The fact that today's campaigns are more focused on the individual than the party has strengthened the media's power. Candidates and political parties rely on the media for media access, hence it plays an important role in the electoral process.
There is a common assumption that the media has a strong political bent. Editorials, which have primarily controlled how people regard particular media, are one area where newspapers do take a viewpoint. The public's view of a biased newspaper can harm journalists as a collective. When the public believes that all media outlets are the same, one publication's biased news can tarnish the reputation of all media outlets.
There are also many other tactics that media can use to influence its audience such as:
 
Visual Communication
Visuals have an even greater impact on most people than text on a page. Images, particularly of political candidates, transmit emotions, actions, reality, and credibility, according to visual communication studies. These visuals leave an indelible effect on the voting public. The photographs that news organizations choose to publish, as well as the size and layout considerations, can influence voter opinions – and expose probable bias.
 
 
What To Cover And Not Cover
The first way the media gets engaged in elections is by deciding which candidates to cover and how much coverage they will give them. These decisions can have a significant impact on voter impressions. As difficult as it may seem, name recognition is the most important factor in elections. According to research, certain candidates may be overlooked because they fail to pique the media's interest.
This is why the content that a media outlet chooses to disclose and not disclose may have a significant impact on the public's formation of opinion on any subject.
This disproportionate coverage is motivated by economics rather than political prejudice in the media. News organizations publish content that will attract traffic in a competitive 24/7 news cycle. And, thanks to his pre-existing celebrity and ability to stir up controversy, creating a half-baked narrative to attract viewers' attention and improve the channel's TRP is a simple chore.
 
Two Ways On How Media Can Influence Election Outcome
There is a general idea that the media shape and affect voter perceptions, as well as reinforce their beliefs about which political party or candidate they should support. Several studies have been conducted to understand the mechanisms behind the media's role in influencing election outcomes for the same rationale. There are two ways in which the media might affect the political process:
1)         Persuasion
In persuasion, partisan media sends out biased messages to a target population hoping to persuade most of them into voting for a particular candidate.
2)         Selective exposure
According to Prior, certain recipients of the message who are aware of the communication's bias are less likely to be affected because they question the information's trustworthiness. Those who are less knowledgeable, on the other hand, are more prone to believe the message. This effect is linked to cognitive biases, which are activated when a stimulus designed to affect a target population is used. This potential of the media to sway crowds has been seen in political campaigns and propaganda throughout history, most notably during the emergence of the Nazi government in Germany. However, ethical norms in today's media mean that such apparent bias is no longer an option. Furthermore, modern voters are becoming more conscious of the manipulative nature of any biased information and may take action against media outlets. Partisan media use partisan
 
 
selective exposure to avoid eliciting opposition by distributing tailored messages that are truthful but structured to evoke a specific response from the target group. Political polls, for example, are one of the earliest types of polls done in polling history and can be called a selective exposure strategy. While polls are valuable in predicting election outcomes, making the results public may sway some voters, particularly those who are undecided. According to studies, there are two ways in which political polls influence real election results: strategic voting and the contagion effect. Scholars believe that people are encouraged to strategically vote for the party or candidate with the best odds, as suggested by the survey, or to get carried away by popular opinion. The media has been recognized to have a considerable impact on public opinion and behavior due to its ability to reach a vast audience. It is only reasonable to assume that the media's impact extends to election outcomes by affecting the election process in the same way that it has influenced public opinion on political objectives. It is, therefore, it is safe to conclude that the media is indeed influential in the election process and, if left unchecked, could significantly affect the election outcome.
 
Importance Of Media In A Democratic Country
In a democratic country, the media plays a critical role. Media can be used to raise your voice against something, support a cause, make positive and lasting changes in society, and share a narrative that is important to the world. Candidates can use it to their advantage in a variety of ways during elections.
During the campaign, election candidates will typically use relevant media to broadcast their asserted declarations of future government policies and to communicate the path to better citizens' lives. It's also a tactic for wresting power from opposing parties, which could impact people’s voting decisions. The media has a responsibility to inform citizens about competing political parties, their programs, and candidates, as well as to contribute to the shaping of public opinion. This could include official voter education materials provided by the election management organization; alternatively, or in addition, the media could create their voter education materials.
Fair and objective reporting and information dissemination are the overall goals of media coverage during election campaigns in democracies. This can be accomplished, for example, through a fair distribution of broadcasting time among all contending parties and candidates, (voluntary) agreements on fair news, reporting, and non-news programs, or debates between party leaders. First and first, every political party and/or independent candidate must have access to the media, particularly radio and television, because most voters learn about politics through the media. This
 
 
 
means that a broadcaster cannot sway public opinion by treating one candidate or party differently  than another. Nonetheless, the broadcaster frequently selects who gets access to debates and discussion programs. The ruling party occasionally manipulates the media to report in their favor. Manipulation can occur during the creation of programs, reports, and news, as well as conversation and non-news programs like pure entertainment shows and movies. The government may broadcast propaganda under the pretext of impartial public information. The risk of government power being abused for political reasons can be reduced if laws and regulations governing the role of the media in election campaigns are in place. In a democratic environment, the media also plays an important role in revealing the truth to the masses, including during elections. If done correctly, media aids in keeping a sense of reality with the audience on the current scenario and aids in giving the audience a better understanding of the truth. It assists the audience in exercising their right to know the truth, particularly during election seasons.
Democracy is the most equitable form of government currently in use. It enables citizens to elect their rulers and subsequently exercise control over their actions as public officials. In this process, the media plays a critical role. Journalists must strive to tell the truth about the lives of politicians and show them as they are. In this way, every citizen can evaluate politicians. According to each one’s criteria, he or she will vote for the one he or she finds most honest and capable.
 Conclusion
The media has a significant impact on democracy. It's also known as democracy's backbone. It provides citizens with information that empowers them. The media, too, organizes debates on current events and opposing policies so that multiple points of view on the same subjects can be expressed. While the courts have underlined the significance of a responsible press, they have also emphasized the importance of a free press. In some ways, it has to be viewed as a responsibility-laden right. As a result, representatives of highly responsible and respected members of the media must set higher legal reporting standards and encourage the rest of the media fraternity to adopt them. As a result, media is critical in a democratic society. In election years, the media can play both a beneficial and detrimental influence. Transparency and obeying the essential duties of journalism can have a favorable impact on an audience's opinion. However, if the media is biased and untruthful in its coverage of the story, it may be at a disadvantage.
During elections, the media serves as the people's voice by providing the public's point of view. It can also serve as a channel by allowing candidates to communicate with the masses and promote their ideas for the people's development and advancement. In any case, it is clear that the media plays a significant role in elections and can have both a positive and bad impact.