Role of Media in Politics
Media is said to be the 'Fourth Estate' which works as a powerful tool to bridge the gap between the people and political leaders of a state. Political parties present their manifestoes during the election campaign and people give them mandate through the vote to be governed by them. It is the media which make people know about government policies. Media gives voice to a common man who can criticize government policies without any fear. In this way, government policies receive feedback from the people which help the political leaders to work in the interest of the country and the welfare of its people. But the media has some disadvantages too in case of its misuse. Most of the time, whenever the discussions of freedom of expression are encouraged, one thing is always missing there which is the "ethics of freedom of expression" That is the reason why it is called as a double-edged sword.
Article 19 of the constitution of Pakistan reads, "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression and there shall be freedom of press, subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court {commission of} or incitement to an offence”. From this article, it is understood that if any person thinks that the meaning of freedom of expression is that whatever he wants to say, he does, regardless of the effects on the sensitive issues related to state security, is right, he is wrong then. Freedom comes with responsibilities. Whenever it is taken for granted along with irresponsible behavior, this freedom becomes subjugation for people which give freehand to the enemy to use it against the welfare of the state. Against this backdrop, The Social Responsibility Theory was proposed by Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchison, the head of the commission formed in 1942 to address the issue of state interventions in the media. The commission report was submitted in 1947 which is, now, considered the Magna Carta of the freedom of expression concept. According to this report, people should learn about the ethics and limits of freedom of expression which demand to criticize but in a constructive way and not to spread fake news which sometimes prove lethal for the prosperity of a country.
Recently, Pakistan is passing through a very critical phase. Media enjoys, somewhat, more freedom in its action after the Musharaf's media reforms. And it has played a very constructive role in educating the people about their political as well as social rights, especially, in the previous five years. Now it is the real test of media. On one side, Prime Minister Imran Khan is struggling hard to introduce " Naya Pakistan" which he promised during his election campaign and on the other hand, it is the media which if plays its positive role to propagate the authentic information to the people and encourages debates to help the government to get real-time feedback of its policies from analysts as well as from the people, Pakistan will make progress by leaps and bounds.
Analytical Piece of Writing.....
ReplyDelete