Journalism in Democracy
How many of you believe in free
will ? A topic so simple at its early groundwork but as you go deeper into it,
the intricacies of our society make it a much complex topic with historian,
philosophers and great minds all of them debating over it. In simple words,
free will can be explained as in the question “Are our choices actually our own
choices, or the propaganda or are own choices already predetermined like the
codes of a computer program ? Do we have choices in our lives?” The
complexities of free will are vast, but there are many factors contributing to
it which includes the information we get from the society or the mass judgment
or our perceptions of the external world which we can obtain from a lot of
sources but mainly news agencies.
A lot of news agencies are
widespread throughout the world. They present news which interest their
viewers. Tragic accidents, sports victories, political drama and many other
entities are covered by news agencies. We or as it is better said, ‘the public’
gain information about the things happening around them. We curse the
corruption in politics if it is covered in the news, in the same way we rejoice
similar political victories or good news. Ultimately our entire perception
relies on the news we are provided by the media. Our thought process it
entirely reliant on what the media shares with us regardless of the factual
nature, as we all have come to trust the news.
Now how does this relate to our
free will ? One may ask, it certainly does! our entire choices are greatly
affected by the society we live in. Advertisements in media are one strong
force that can forge our beliefs and we also tend to be ignorant of its repercussions.
Similarly politicians, actors, businessmen which have the media on their sides
get more support from the mass. We tend to overlook their shortcomings and look
only at their positive sides and follow their words and ideas, almost without
giving a second thought. The media thus plays a significant role in our day to
day lives. It directly or indirectly (through mass propaganda measures)
determines our choices and perceptions.
The impartiality and independency
of media, journalists and judiciary from the legislature of government is a
must. News agencies have the obligation to provide the correct and impartial
news and not manipulate the conceptions of the public. If the mass media falls
in the hands of the government, the public can be made a fool of. The
widespread of fake news will put the public in disarray. Bigger problems,
crimes, mishaps of the government can be covered up and the public will be
clueless and not even raise their voices. Hitler’s Nazi Germany spread
widespread propaganda during the 1940s against the Jews and the superiority of
the German race such that the millions of Germans not only supported Hitler but
also managed to grow extreme hatred towards the Jewish population as a result
unimaginable scale of mass genocide could be conducted.
Similarly, even in an ongoing non
totalitarian regime, where democracy exists a lot of things are not openly
discussed of addressed in the legislature. In such instances, news agencies
have a major role in pointing out government shortcomings. They need to share
things openly to the public; only then can the people have an opinion and show
their argument and disagreement. This is the essence of democracy after all. A
system of government where the people have accountability over the politicians,
a system where questions can be raised and it is duly answered with everyone having
a clear conscience rather than trying to shoot an arrow in the dark. It is thus
clear that Journalism has a major and essential role in democracy.
Shradheya Krishna Manandhar
Grade 12, Prasadi Academy, Lalitpur
January 2025
