Question

Media is known as the fourth pillar of a democracy. Critically comment on the role of media in the Indian electoral process.

Answer 1

Approach:

• Highlight the significance of media in elections.
• Discuss numerous ways in which media ensure democratic electoral processes and also the major concerns.
• Conclude by providing a way forward.

The media play an indispensable role in the proper functioning of a democracy. Media's functions within electoral contexts, often focuses on their "watchdog" role: by unfettered scrutiny and discussion of the successes and failures of candidates, governments, and electoral management bodies, the media can inform the public of how effectively they have performed and help to hold them to account.
The numerous ways in which media ensure democratic electoral processes generally fall into one of the following categories:

Media as transparency watchdog

1. by reporting results and monitoring vote counting;
2. by scrutinizing the electoral process itself, including electoral management, in order to evaluate the fairness of the process, its efficiency, and its probity;
3. by reporting on the development of an election campaign;
4. Media acts as a mechanism for the prevention and investigation of allegations of violations or malpractice.
5. It brings data into the public thus helping people make an informed choice.

Media as a campaign platform

1. by providing a platform for the political parties and candidates to communicate their message to the electorate;
2. by allowing the parties and candidates to debate with each other;

Media as an open forum for debate and discussion/public voice

1. by providing a platform for the public to communicate their concerns, opinions, and needs, to the parties/candidates, the EMB, the government, and to other voters, and to interact on these issues;
2. candidates being interviewed by the media for their views on certain policies;

Media as public educator

1. by educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights;
2. by providing information that, as far as possible, avoids inflammatory language, helping to prevent election-related violence.

Concerns:

• Media have a broader responsibility to place words and events into a clear and accurate context. A news report can easily become skewed in favour or against a particular candidate if context of a statement is not accurately provided or portrayed. It is often alleged that media houses focus more on their TRP and less on research during elections.
• One measure of quality election reporting is impartiality. Many media houses are funded by various political funding which results in one-sided reporting that conveys the position of a favoured party or candidate without reporting alternative positions.
• Paid news: Since there is no institutional mechanism to check the prevalence of paid news, many candidates use the money power to exaggerate the news in their favour or to suppress some negative news.
• The debates become loud and uninformative with no real value added to the discussion. Low quality debated prevents the public from getting the complete information about their candidates

In today’s politics and society at large, media is essential to the safeguarding transparency of democratic processes. This is often called its ‘watchdog’ role. Transparency is required on many levels including for access to information; accountability and legitimacy of individuals, institutions and processes themselves; and for rightful participation and public debate.