The mass media (newspapers, television, radio, and the internet) plays a very important role in politics. Citizens get most of their information about the government and political parties from the mass media. The information that media organisations provide can support or oppose a policy or party. This gives the media a lot of power to influence public opinion.
The media can expose corruption and bad performance in the government. This way, the media promotes transparency and accountability.
For these reasons, the media is sometimes called the “fourth branch” of government after the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Of course, the difference between the media and the other three branches is that there are much fewer checks and balances on a free media.
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The Role of Media in Political Processes The media are the backbone of democracy because of their role in enabling infor- mation and debate to flourish. Specifically, they perform the following roles: • Information Platform: The media supply information that shapes debate and helps voters to make decisions. As a site of new knowledge and perspectives, the media offer society a space to examine and assess ideas, values and attitudes. • Filtering/Agenda Setting: The media screen events, looking for interesting information, seeking to catch attention with stories that are relevant to as many people as possible. They filter information from the competing, and sometimes conflicting, versions in the market place. Media scholar Bernard Cohen says the media “may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunning- ly successful in telling its readers what to think about”. The media help people to determine what to discuss. • Voice: They provide a forum for debating and deliberation by giving a platform for different views and positions to be presented. Media can give expression to those who are not traditionally heard, offering competing perspectives and interpretations, and amplifying voices. • Analysis: They analyze events, actors and processes to identify problems in society in the continuing search for solutions. Media help people to create linkages between events, ideas and processes in a manner that enables them to reach con- clusions and create meaning. • Watchdog: The media ensure that those who hold and wield power are account- able for their actions or inactions. They uncover errors and wrongdoing by those who have power and hold them to account for the way they exercise that power. • Confirmation: Events occurring in the public domain are relayed through the media, thus confirming that they actually happened. In many instances, the media record is considered the first draft of history. • Mobilization: They provide incentives for citizens to learn, choose, and become involved in the political process. They aggregate human experiences, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes in a manner that makes it possible to find common areas of agreement. They help people to determine what issues are important to them and what they would like to see done about these. • Independence: They defend themselves against forces external to them that may seek to undermine their independence. Ideally, the media should not be beholden to any political or interest group. Source: Leadership and Campaign Academy: Candidates Manual |