Media Can Change the Face of a Nation Essay

With the onset of rapid development the world appears to have become a much smaller place and the standards of people throughout the world are improving. The super powers continue to surge ahead in multiplying their wealth and in increasing their influence and domination over other countries. However the underdeveloped nations continue to suffer in poverty and some developing countries find it difficult to cope with the competition and hurdles created by the developed countries in pursuing with their developmental objectives. It is in this context that the mass media, in view of the immense potential that it has, can greatly influence in changing opinion within the given country.

With the rapid development of communication technology and its easy availability throughout the world, media now plays a crucial role in providing information about the world. The media can portray the excesses and spread awareness on different issues in helping people realize where they stand in the global context.

The politics in some developing countries is of an exploitative nature whereby vote bank politics is used. Gullible people, who comprise the majority population in such countries, are given false promises to get their votes during election times, and once they are elected, the given promises are forgotten. This in essence is indicative of a superficial democracy and the media can play a very important role in these countries to make people aware of the facts and about their rights in taking decisions about the right political party which can further their cause in the true sense. The media can highlight the issues pertaining to corruption and inefficiency by politicians so that people get to know of where such political parties stand in terms of running an efficient government.

Matters pertaining to education, environment, technology and entertainment can be telecast by the media in keeping with the social environment and objectives of the country. The world today is entirely knowledge based and a person with no knowledge can be compared to a boat without a paddle, and in this context the media plays a very important role in the spreading of knowledge especially on pertinent issues such as impact of pollution, patterns of power consumption and about improving self through self development and spiritual programs. In this context, the BBC has played a pioneering role in starting an ‘action network” which helps agencies and people in starting campaigns to highlight different programs which are of public interest, ultimately leading to enhancement in their welfare.

The mass media can help the government in getting public opinion and feedback about its activities. It should also help the law makers by bringing out facts of how criminals escape unscathed and unnoticed through the holes in the law. This is possible only if the media takes upon itself the task of airing the true facts of the cases and then getting public opinion in this regard. News reports of the latest technological developments and methodologies helps people to upgrade themselves with the changing world environment. Media can provide knowledge in regard to hi-tech developments in other parts of the world pertaining to satellites, defense equipments and infrastructure so that collective efforts can be made to introduce such development in the home country.

The media can play a very constructive role in the up lifting of people in underdeveloped countries such as Bangladesh, Uganda, Sudan, and Nigeria which are primarily low on living standards. People in these countries become aware of where they stand as compared to the rest of the world. An inherent desire will be cultivated in them to achieve similar standards as prevalent in the developed countries. The challenge is certainly very big for the media, but it has the potential to achieve such a task provided it is not adversely influenced by vested interests such as politicians, corrupt government officials and other anti social elements. The media should continue efforts to ensure public welfare and the public in turn will respond positively by adopting what they learn in contributing to the social and economic development, which will change the ‘face of the nation’.

The given editorial is written in the New York Times which is published from New York, USA. This country was chosen for the editorial since USA primarily has an English speaking population. This news paper has the distinction of being the most widely circulated amongst the majority of the English speaking population. The audience for the editorial will comprise of the gullible people from the weaker sections of society in New York, who are not aware of the potential that the media has in altering their life for the better. This section of the audience will be targeted in making them realize the immense potential that media has in this regard.

Hence all those in this segment of the population who read the newspaper will be influenced by the editorial. The purpose of any editorial is to stimulate the thought process of individuals on selected topics and the need for the media to adopt more constructive measures in mobilizing public opinion was emphasized. The editorial outlined the specific role that the media can play in different areas of public interest by apprising them of the happenings in the country and the world. This would enable the public to get a broader perspective about all that concerns them so that they can formulate appropriate line of action on each issue highlighted by the media.

They have persuasive statements, supporting data and catchy points that keep the reader interested throughout. An editorial is different from other written means because it caters to the needs of the public and also speaks on behalf of them. In my editorial “Media can change the face of a Nation”, I intended to bring out the importance of media in improving the political, economical, technological and social climate prevailing in a country. It was written because many countries in Africa and some parts of Asia are still isolated from the rest of the world because of the lack in effectiveness of media there. There is political unrest along with backwardness in infrastructure and technology.

The purpose of my editorial is to influence my target audience which includes the policy, law and decision makers of governments, the police, people working in all forms of mass media and the public about how each person can make valuable contribution to the development of their nation.

In this context, the example of India is of specific importance in view of its political set up in being a socialist democratic country and which is characterized by immense diversity in its social structure in terms of the vast area it occupies as also in terms of the existence of several religions and political parties. India has a contrasting cultural set up by way of different religions and social objectives and there is immense poverty while the country is undergoing a massive development program, which has made it almost at par with the fast track growth being experienced in countries such as China and Russia.

I have used a critical tone to demonstrate how some countries continue to be undeveloped, and how media should take the initiative in promoting growth. The media can play a very constructive role in the up lifting of people in underdeveloped countries such as Bangladesh, Uganda, Sudan, and Nigeria which are primarily low on living standards. Therefore, my first objective is to show the growing importance of media to develop a nation and the second objective is to show how this is characterized in this editorial through the language, strong points and choice of diction.

To achieve the first objective I have used examples from India in view of the diversity of the country in terms of geographical location and the extreme variation in the population in terms of income levels and standards of living. Under such circumstances the media can play a vital role in improving the economic and social structure of the country in view of the immense potential for positive change. In India positive actions were taken at the instance of BBC in regard to environmental programs.

To achieve my second objective I have used a strong and persuasive language to appeal to my target audience. I have used mostly active forms of speech with strong and valid facts. Some choice of diction like using the words, ‘imperative’, ’strive’, ’persuade’, etc to add more authoritative speech so that the people reading it would be even more influenced by the facts. The editorial, in addressing the aspirations of the people, highlighted the constructive role that media can play in improving their economic conditions and ultimately in leading the country to surge ahead in the world arena, because it is ultimately the people of a given country that contribute in the development of the nation.

The advantages of scientific and technological developments can at best be realistically conveyed by the media in order for people to take remedial action in improving their own circumstances. Some forms of parallelism has also been used like “a person with no knowledge can be compared to a boat without a paddle” to stress the importance of knowledge. Alliteration has also been used in the phrase, “criminals escape unscathed and unnoticed” to make the reader more receptive.

Working in media is a demanding job and requires persistent efforts. The media can be very effective if it is able to win the confidence of people in terms of transparency and honesty. The editorial was a challenge in view of the delicacy of the issues raised in regard to the shortcomings and unjustified actions of people in authority. But the fact remains that the media has to be alive in portraying a picture of transparency before the public who can have faith in them only if honest practices are adopted. Media has also to be creative in appealing to the inherent aspirations of the public so that interest is created in the media and people look forward to their programs.

Ultimately the success depends on winning the confidence of people which in turn gives power to the media and which further keeps a check on the malpractices as practiced by the anti social elements. This view point is aptly narrated in the editorial in saying that “the challenge is certainly very big for the media, but it has the potential to achieve such a task provided it is not adversely influenced by vested interests such as politicians, corrupt government officials and other anti social elements”. This would encourage positive and constructive actions by all concerned leading to overall development of the nation as a whole. On a whole we could expect that the opinions, supported by facts given in this editorial will influence people in changing the face of the nation.

The editorial is an excerpt of an editorial found in the New York Times which is published from New York, USA. This news paper was chosen for the editorial since it enjoys a massive circulation amongst the majority of the English speaking population of USA. The audience for the editorial will comprise of the gullible people from the weaker sections of society in New York who are not yet aware of the potential that the media has in altering their life for the better. This section of the audience will be targeted in making them realize the immense potential that media has in this regard. Hence all those in this segment of the population who read the newspaper will be influenced by the editorial.