INTRODUCTION:

Communication is now accepted as one of the most significantly contributing factors to social change and societal development. From that perspective, it is quite apt to debate, discuss, deliberate and dwell on themes centering around ‘journalism and society’ especially in the Indian context.

Needless it is to emphasize the well-worn but an imperative idea that the structure of social communication in a society reflects as well as moulds the structure and biases of that society. The field of journalism is no exception. While media of mass communication are expected to be development partners in a developing society, their roles and rules are not subjected to scrutiny periodically.

We are acutely aware of the mighty influence media industry has on directing and shaping up the course of social action and social thought processes. Media effects on society in terms of influencing public opinion, its effect on war, media sway on violence and violent behaviour, sex and media exposure, mediated messages and crime, etc have been well researched and established social facts now. Impact of mass communication messages on public health, community livelihood, on products, skill formation and service distribution, on marketing strategies and public psychology and so on has been well researched by now.

Indian journalism as a profession as well as a ‘calling’ has come a long way. It has a long, long way to go as well. In the wholesome deliberation on developmental priorities of this vast country, journalism as a ‘check’ can set the agenda - provided it crafts itself suited for the cause. This requires soul-searching, capacity-building and effective functioning.

The concept of ‘development’, in deed, is a complex construct and does not have a universally applicable content and structure. It is, in a way, local-specific. Developmental limitations, problems and constraints are integrated and are transactional parts of a much broader socio-economic inadequacies built within the Indian social structure. Hence, media’s understanding of development must be comprehensive, and needs to adopt a unified strategy of simultaneously attacking other problems in society, such as, low wages, social inequality, poor health status, value-orientation towards human dignity and human potential, and so on. Special attention needs to be focused on rural Indian society where the real needs to be met are innumerous.

Journalism and Rural Development

Journalism is changing rapidly with the changing technology and people’s tastes. In a situation of this kind, it is necessary for journalism researchers and teachers to have constant interaction with media professionals as a system of built-in feedback, and lot of ‘unlearning’ needs to take place. Keen observation, curiosity, ability to express one’s thoughts without fear or favour, sound ethical-moral values are some of the most basic requirements for a journalist who would like to reach out to the masses of this vast land.

Journalism is a powerful influence in the present go of life. Starting from bull cart to cyberspace it has catalytic action to the wide population. It acts as a mass activity irrespective of literacy. It distributes message rapidly. Where supervision can’t reach, mass media touches the heart of the darkest spot of the sphere.

There was a time where the rural India had no chance to think over a daily newspaper, whereupon there was a wide gap between rural and urban section. But now rural culture with urban taste prevails in rural India. Still we have to go a long way to generate awareness among rural people. It does not imply that urban people with all modern amenities have nothing to change for enriching our culture.

Generally a journalist does not get much support from the management in his new role of a catalyst for change. Nevertheless, there are journalists who are willing to be enterprising and take risks. For instance, George Verghese, a former editor of The Hindustan Times decided to start a regular fortnightly column depicting life in a village known as Chatera. The first instalment of "Our Village Chatera" appeared as the cover-story in the Sunday Hindustan Times on February 23, 1969. It never looked back and the feature continued to be published. The result - the project became a change agent and played the role of a catalyst in planting new ideas and articulating aspirations. It brought science, television, machines, banks, etc. into the village. Verghese managed to open a window to rural India to those who plan for it but seldom get to know it. The project gave an added dimension to journalism, won the affection of a village and helped and encouraged the village to grow. This can happen in many areas.

The Indian approach towards development is based on the assumption that the great mass of the illiterate and poor rural population is a highly valuable development resource. The individual rural families and communities can be guided to the path of development if they are given practical knowledge of the social and natural sciences and technology. The government has the main responsibility for bringing together the force of rural people and the sciences and technologies. This has to be done gradually so that the pattern of life in the village is not disturbed seriously. It can best be done by a decentralised inter-personal communication system at the community block level.

Several national programmes have been launched for poverty alleviation, employment generation, food security, abolition of child labour, safeguard of human rights, empowerment of women, ensuring education for all, right to information, rural electrification, safe drinking water, road connectivity, access to mass media, etc.

All these programmes need special care by the media personnel for smooth arrival of these programmes to the needy people of the country. Television broadcast programme and community radio service are very helpful in this regard. Newspapers and journals have no less importance in propagating the mission of the government.

Some say journalism is opiate of masses and others say it is a vital aspect of human society. As we know we are living in a globalised knowledge world we have to change ourselves to cope up with this changing world.

Sometimes journalism is criticized on ethical ground. Sometimes media publishes distorted news which creates imbalance in the society. It is the responsibility of the media persons to go deep into the matter before publication. They should publish real, judicious, true facts rather than polarized stories. It should be free from any bias. It should try to develop four types of citizenship political, economic, social and cultural citizenship.

Especially the cultural citizenship involves new democratic structures of dissemination and control of information and culture which allow every member of the community to take part in the process and at the same time develop his/her intellectual and cultural potential. The elite which control them filter out the views of reality which they seem to be fit to be made public.

The press people most of the times feel hard pressed to express freely the real views. Individuals use the press for their benefit and for favor of their groups and it sometimes mobilizes the people in a wrong way. Freedom of press is highly essential for its better performance. Commercialization, politicization, individualization of press leads to yellow journalism. Hence press should be a regulator and reflector of public opinion in an unprejudiced and honest manner.

CONCLUSION:

Today, we live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do as citizens and erudite individuals. Our decisions – both immediate and long term, both personal and collective – depend considerably on information derived from the media that we have access to. What is important for us to realize is that most of the decisions, beliefs and values the society holds in general are based on what the members of that society know for a fact, the assumptions and the collective experience.

In an industrially developing and culturally vibrant society like India, people have put their trust on the media as an authority to give them news, entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on the youth, the kids who form the generation next and the vulnerable sections of our society is so big that we ought to know how it really works.

REFERENCES:

1. Gamble W. Michael and Gamble Terikwal, Introducing Mass Communication, McGraw Bill Book Company, New York.

2. Kumar J Keval, Mass Communication in India, Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai, 2003.

3. Mehta D.S, Mass Communication and Journalism in India, Allied Publishers Limited, Jaipur, 1992.

4. Wainwright David, Journalism, Pwpa and co, Heinemann, London, 1986.

5. Yogeesh Holla M, Audience Perception of AIR Mangalore Programme, Mangalore University M.C.J Department, 1999, 2000.

Received on 21.06.2018 Modified on 10.07.2018

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2018; 9(4): 737-739.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2018.00123.7