Perceiving Media

Nowadays, it is not surprising to us when anyone claims the media as fraud, misleading organization, and to be the peasants of powerful personalities. Thus, it is often accused of misleading people with false or doctored information. But is it solely responsible for this unethical activity? Before commenting on this, we need to understand the media as a communicator and our role as an ethical receiver in this process of communication. 

The five key elements that complete the process of communication are - message, sender, medium, receiver, and feedback. It is said that the Feedback is the most essential element in the process since it confirms the fulfillment of the purpose of the message sent by the sender through a particular medium. For example, while you are reading this, what is being said is the message and through which it is being said and read is the medium. You are the receiver and your understanding of this content will help you to give feedback to the author. Just as any feedback is important to an author, similarly feedbacks are important while we receive information through various media - print, electronic, or digital. This helps the sender in improving oneself as a communicator. 

• Selection of medium

Media, may it be in any form – print, electronic or digital, is assigned the various roles including communication and information broadcast. Though all forms of media play the same role, we cherrypick our source of information on grounds of our comfort and liking. Why is it so? Let us understand this with an example. Suppose an individual is habituated to reading the newspaper with his morning tea. But one day, he gets up late and had to rush to his office skipping his morning chores. Won’t he miss reading the newspaper if he skipped his tea? Even then, he can access the latest news through digital media without investing much of his time on the phone, unlike newspaper reading. Thus, it can be seen that according to one’s need the medium of information or news consumption may differ.

• Opinionating on the chosen medium 

Besides, people often categorize certain TV News Channels as good/bad according to their liking and disliking. These prejudices can be built on the charisma of the anchor, political/religious agenda of the Channel, experience of an ex-employee (as in the case of ZEE News, when ex-employees of the Channel posted their negative experience on social media Resignation letter of ex-employee of Zee News), or personal choice. If we are previously unaware of a particular Channel and notice that it has been demeaned by our peers, we are less likely to switch to that channel. This is because of the negative conditioning done by the peers, intentionally or unintentionally. One more example can be taken of Shashi Tharoor, a journalist from The Republic. When people demean a media employee, the viewership of the Channel is negatively affected and is benefitted when the viewers are impressed by the professional skills of its employees. But do you think it is ethical for a Channel to rely its viewership on one of its employees' skills? Just as it is unethical for an organization to manipulate its TRP based on the charismatic personality of its employees, similarly, it is unethical for the viewers to comment on the organization merely based on the character of one of its employees. This puts the entire organization in suspicion.

• Authentication of media 

The digital media has become the fastest and globally accepted medium in no time. Real-time updates are posted on web portals, and other online mediums, that enable the subscribers to consume the latest news. However, it also has certain drawbacks since fake news travels the fastest through social media. Also, the sources of news can be hidden with precision. Thus, digital media is both beneficial and suspicious at the same time.

Hence, a larger population still perceives newspapers to be authentic sources of information. We live in a world where people still believe in the written word. But it cannot be denied that there is an ongoing competition amongst the various forms of media for viewership. In this regard, many print media and electronic mediums are trying to create a presence online through web portals and mobile applications. Considering the length of the blog, how many of you recalled radio as a medium for communication? Unfortunately, the oldest form of media is highly neglected in our modern society. It is well said that during renaissance heritage is often compromised. Just as the 190-year old bridge on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was demolished for the construction of a new road connecting the two cities (video of demolition), radio was washed away from the minds of many people while engaging in the modern sources of news consumption.

• Risks to authentication of media 

In this time when there is an unsaid race going on between the media platforms, we should always verify the news broadcasted on one medium. We have often heard cases in which sportsperson give in to unethical behavior such as steroids to win a particular tournament. Similarly, some of the media platforms might cross ethical boundaries to enhance their viewership. Hence, we need to be alert as responsible consumers and crosscheck the news every time. Even so, we should not falsely claim any platform of fraud.

• Our role as a listener 

As ethical listeners and consumers, we have certain rules to follow. Ethics is a core part of communication. Just as speakers are directed to adhere to the set of ethics, similarly, we as listeners should also follow ethics while listening to anyone. One of these ethics is to stay put when the speaker is talking and let him present his case. This shows respect on the part of the listener. Besides, if there is a debate, it allows the listener to take quality notes and present a better argument when he shall speak. This can be understood through the scenario of the Indian Parliament Sessions. These sessions are often considered to replicas of fish markets. Wonder why? It is because when one of the ministers is presenting his case, the opposition interrupts his speech and starts shouting simultaneously, which results in mere chaos. Sometimes the session has to be called off because of uncontrollable situations that arise due to the chaos in the Parliament. It can be thus understood from the above example that unethical listeners can spoil the motive of the speech and thus cause loss to people at large. Political debates on TV News Channel can be yet another example in this context. These debates are conducted among the Ministers in power with the intention of a brain-storming regarding the current condition in the state/country. However, the Ministers usually start defending and punctuating their own agendas and sooner the nature of the debate is shifted to mere chaos. In this whole process, the purpose is lost and no good outcome comes out of the session.

• Summary

We have seen in the aforementioned paraphrases that people select a particular form of media to consume news based on our comfort, requirements, and benefits. We have also seen certain ethics to be followed as listeners while perceiving the information being broadcasted. We have seen the various consequences of relying on one particular source of media and how it can blindfold us. Thus, the media can be recognized well if perceived well. I would like to suggest everyone not to fall prey to the prejudices formed by peers, elders, religious/political leaders, or even social activists. Remember, there are two sides to each coin and one should always analyze both sides before forming an opinion.