Essay: Uses and Abuses of Media

Essay:  Uses and Abuses of Media

Outlines:
1. Introduction
2. Uses of Media
3. Abuses of Media.
4. Conclusion.
The Newspapers, the Radio and the Television are the most powerful organs for the expression of the news and views about men and things. They are regarded by economists as a necessity of modem life. With the growth of literacy and the development of the means of communication, they are playing a very important role , in society. They have their uses and abuses.
The uses of the media are numerous. First, they keep us in touch with the current world affairs. Without them, we cannot know the important news of even our own towns or villages. They extend the bounds of our knowledge and make us feel that we are a part of living world. The leading newspapers and TV channels are in touch with different parts of the world through certain agencies, their reporters and their anchors. They supply them news from every part of the world.
Secondly, a great deal of information is supplied to us by the media. Important decisions of law-courts are published and aired for the benefit of lawyers. The sportsman finds in them the news of his own liking. Commercial news are broadcast for businessmen. Lovers of the radio, the cinema and television can look up in them the daily programmes of their entertainment. The advertisements help the people buy things. The unemployed can look up the “wanted” columns for vacant jobs.
Thirdly, the media ventilate the grievances of the public and form the public opinion. Thus they keep the public and the government in close contact. The current problems of political and social values are the subject-matter of the leading articles in the newspapers, and news on television and radio. The people get aware of the policies and schemes of the government through the media.
Fourthly, the media are a source of entertainment. In weekly editions of newspapers, we have stories, poems, articles of general interests. On television, we enjoy serial plays, poetry competitions, humorous skits and sometimes good films.'Various channels of TV, provide classicaf films.
Lastly, the media have their educative values also. Readers of a good newspaper and viewers of television ire more intelligent, active and better informed than scholars. Newspapers, radio and television help us in disseminating good ideas. In newspapers and in some programmes on television, we find reviews on newly published books. We read accounts of discoveries and scientific research. There are useful articles on every topic.
The media can do a lot of harm also. They are double- edged weapons and cut both ways. By publishing or airing false news, they can mislead the people. They can make the people nervous and excited by sensational news about strikes, public riots and war. They can set one community against another. By broadcasting or publishing the exaggerated accounts of communal riots, they can do irreparable harm. Sometimes persons working for newspapers or televisions are pressurized by mischievous people and become mere tools in their hands: By printing or presenting obscene advertisements and naked portraits, and love stories, they can be a danger to the morals of the people. Their, inflammatory articles and programmes widen the gulf between the various nations of the world.