comments,criticism and suggestions are strongly encouraged.

Role of media in contemporary world
Outline:
I Introduction
II. Functions of media in 21st century
A. To inform
B. To entertain
C. To educate
III. Positive Impact of media
A. Social impact
1. Global village
2. mobilizes public opinion
B. Political impact
1. Watchdog
2. Advocates general public
3. democracy
C. Economic impact
D. Religious development
1. Inter-sect harmony
IV. Negative impact
A. Wastage of time
B. Deterioration of social setup
C. Moral degradation of society
D. Yellow journalism
E. Tarnishing image of country-Pakistan
F. Creates an illusion
G. Glamourises crime and criminals

V. Conclusion

“ were it left for me to decide to have state without press or press without state, I would not hesitate to favour the latter upon former”

Thomas Jefferson

Media is a lethal weapon. it is more powerful than the nukes. the impact of media in today’s world is of paramount importance. media has the ability to transform day into night and night into day. it can change a hero into villain and vice versa. One cannot imagine the world as we know it today without media. Media has altered the very base of information sharing.

Mass media is defined as diverse technologies used to communicate information to the general mass. Malcolm X said,
“ media is the most powerful entity on earth”.
Mass media employs a number of agents namely, print media, electronic media and now more recently social media. As mcluhan very rightly identified that a “global village” has been transformed into a “global city” by media.

The primary objective of media is to inform its audience of the recent occurrences far and nearby. Media, particularly in form of print media has been used to spread awareness since couple of centuries. During the second world war, radio played a very significant role in the dissemination of information. nowadays, internet is playing a pivotal role as news agent. Media, today provides information about new legislations, stock exchange rates, exhibitions, fairs, and even prices of basic commodities. It is rightly said that media today performs “ the role of a daily tribune and a teacher”.

Through dissemination of information, media has increased awareness and educated general mass. this education has been both formal and informal. Formal education has been imparted by the broadcast of lectures from learned scholars. particularly, virtual university lectures have been used to educate individuals in academic curriculum. Through a number of channels namely discovery and national geographic, people are also being educated about new discoveries , inventions, traditions, customs and rituals of various places of the globe. Today, a person living in Pakistan is fully aware of the common rules, regulations and culture of America and western countries. This feat has been performed by none other than media.

“All work and not play makes jack a dull boy”. media, has even taken care of this need of the individuals. When an individual gets fatigued after monotonous daily routine, he feels fresh and relaxed after watching television or reading newspaper or even surfing through internet. Media, with its dazzle and glamour acts as a social circus. it entertains individuals through music, movies, dramas, morning shows, catwalks and even dance shows. It keeps its viewers informed about the recent events in the lives of celebrities, reviews, movie releases etc.

The impact of media cannot be denied in any way. it has its affect on social, political, cultural aspects of an individuals life. in fact, it is like a god father from whom individuals seek inspiration. Media mobilizes public opinion to such a degree that it is the criterion or touchstone for the success of individuals and organizations. According to many sources, arab spring, the event which swept across north Africa and middle east and changed the political scenario of the countries was driven by media.

Distances have been reduced by the media. today, a person living in any part of the world is well informed of the events, incidents, cultural norms, political practices, legislations etc of any other part of the world. As a result, an extensive world has been reduced to a “global village”.

Nowadays, media has been hailed for its role as a watch dog. It keeps a check on the practices of the successive governments and informs people of the changes. Not only does it propagates information, but also criticizes and provides suitable suggestions. it broadcasts opinions of critics and useful remedies suggested by experts.

Media advocates opinion of the general public. It prints and broadcasts the view of different sections of the society. it also draws attention towards injustices ,corruption, terrorism, superstitions prevailing in the society. Through the broadcast of mukhtaran mai incident or the brutal killing of young boys in Sialkot , media has highlighted the plight of the victims. similarly, rental power plant cases or haj scam have also been given the much needed publicity to expose the perpetrators of the crime.

Media has also played an important role in promulgating democracy. The fact is, free media is regarded as an essential to democracy. Democracy is the government of people, whereas media is the opinion of people. It acts as a messenger between the ruling class and the ruled. its importance is that of a impulse in the nervous system i.e it relays the issues, grievances and sufferings of the general public to the government. Democracy is like a plant which needs the nutrient of media to flourish and flower. Therefore, democracy cannot develop roots in a society where freedom of media is curtailed.

During election campaigns, political parties hire the services of mass media in form of advertisements, interviews to forward their memorandum to the voters. Generally, political parties use it as a weapon to alter the opinion of public in their favour. Nowadays, media acts as a de facto judge in the elections. Its declaration of success of any political party often turns out to be true. Recently, in the may 11 elections of Pakistan, geo and a number of other satellite tv channels declared results before the official statement.

Media shares an interrelated relationship with economic growth of a country. it keeps the viewers and readers informed of during businesses, real estate prices, ups and downs in stock markets and also prices of daily commodities. It also provides employment to a large number of countrymen. advertising, today has developed into a million dollar industry. Multinational companies have a separate branch dealing with advertising their products and services to the mass audience. media projects a positive image of the country among the comity of nations in order to attract foreign investment. In addition, in Pakistan there are a number of tv channels which provide timely and useful suggestions regarding agriculture, forestry, fishing and other sectors which are a source of revenue generation for the country.

Even in religious development, media is not far behind. It attempts to inculcate religious beliefs into the audience through the printing and broadcasting views and interviews of religious scholars. People, today are mired with problems that require solution with reference to the contemporary relations. These solutions are remedies are provided by religious experts through channels like madni channel, qtv and programes like aalim online, aalim aur aalim and many others. Religious events and days like shabbarat , shabmairaj, ramzan , eid, muharam etc are also celebrated with religious festivity with the help of media. On such days, religious scholars highlight the importance of the day in religious context and also suggest ibadah of the day.

Media has also played a pivotal role in bridging the gulf between several sects. in the past, there were conflicts between people belonging to different sects. the fact is religious scholars have been using the platform of media have tried to integrate religions and put an end to differences in between.

Nevertheless, it may be rightly said that “all is not green”. where media has a brighter side, it also has a darker side. media has been in censured by many quarters of the society. Youth spends countless hours before the “idiot box”, watching matches or interviews of the celebrities. Women and young girls often waste their precious time watching meaningless dramas, morning shows, makeup courses etc.

The sage men of the society blame media for the deterioration of the social setup of the country. joint family system, which was the very essence of a subcontinent household has lost its past glory. People do not communicate with each other physically, rather they use tweets or facebook comments to exchange their views. Survey conducted showed that 80% women as opposed to 72% men are dependent on facebook. The young children, who in past use to spend their times with their grandparents, now stay glued to the cartoon network.

Nevertheless, a large section of the society opines that many tv channels, in a bid to increase their viewership, often stoop to a level where they use sensationalism, vulgarity and indecency. this culminates in the moral degradation of the society. Particularly youth, for its innocence, becames an easy victim to this depravity. Due to the development in IT, now almost every household has an access to computers and internet. according to statistics, 34% of the world population are internet users. These individuals moved by curiousity are easily lured into the world of pornography and x rated movies.

Yellow journalism has overpowered all the positive attributes of the media. media has been condemned for creating propaganda, rumors, slander only to increase or maintain their popularity. Such sort of cheap publicity tactics only help to deteriorate the image of media and cause harm to the society. For e.g veena malik scandal or malik riaz scandal have been highlighted over and over again just for the vested interests of the media men.

Government, time and again has reprimanded media for tarnishing the image of country among the comity of nations. Lately, media has been criticized for aggravating petty issues. Through excessive limelight to poverty, strikes, corruption, terrorism, violence against women, etc media has played a crucial role in the world wide negative image of the country.

Media diverts attention from the reality by creating an illusion. It shows average women wearing beautiful dresses, using latest gadgets and whizzing across the roads in luxury cars. this creates a dissatisfaction among women for their present life. When these women fail to realize their wishes, they become psychologically distressed affecting the whole household.
The unprecedented increase in the rate of crime is also associated with media. it is believed that media often glamourises the role of criminals projecting them as heroes and macho men desired by every woman. such a portrayal of crime, attracts youth and they are caught in a web of crime like a fly.

In such circumstances, it is imperative that media should realize its shortcomings and take all the necessary steps to address them. it should shed yellow journalism and switch to responsible journalism. It should act as watch dog and not play into the hands of the stakeholders.

Similarly, all the tv channels should agree upon a decent code of broadcast. They should not infringe it in any circumstances and particularly not in the pursuit of momentous materialistic goals. The code should be directed at the education of the general mass with respect to the ethics, cultural and moral values. nationalism should be highlighted whereas sectarian, provincial differences should be suffocated to death.

Media should collaborate with the government and help improve the status of country in domestic and international affairs. instead of just highlighting the shortcomings and weaknesses of the government, it should focus on remedial measures. This will be in the best interest of both the country and the countrymen. Foreigners, too, will be attracted to visit Pakistan and this will boost tourism and transport industry. Many will also want to invest in the country, which will nourish our economy.

To conclude with, it may rightly be said that media plays a very significant role in the contemporary world and its affairs. It is important for the development of the individual, community and the society. No sector of any country, tourism, agriculture, education, politics can blossom to its full glory without the collaboration and cooperation of media. Media for the contemporary world is like fertilizer to the crop. though crops can sustain without fertilizers, but their optimum growth is possible only in the presence of it. However, media has been disapproved for its negative portrayal of government which has affected the world wide perception of the country and its citizens. Similarly, through yellow journalism it has affected the social fabric of the society. Now is the time that media should take its responsibility as a watch dog seriously .