Role of the Media in Championing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The articles till now have focused on how corporations need to embrace CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) as a business imperative. The emphasis mostly was on how there are business needs to adopt CSR and it is high time the corporations became socially conscious. In this article, we look at the role of the Media in […]
Strategy – Definition and Features
The word “strategy” is derived from the Greek word “strategos”; stratus (meaning army) and “ago” (meaning leading/moving). Strategy is an action that managers take to attain one or more of the organization’s goals. Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction set for the company and its various components to achieve a desired state […]
Identifying Market Segments and Selecting Target Markets
Market for product is big and diverse making it difficult for companies to be able to satisfy every customer. Companies need to identify a certain set of customer within a market and work towards satisfying them. This set of identification is market segment. Companies further need to understand the intricacy of how this segment behaves […]
Facebook as a Digital Marketing Tool
Introduction Digital Marketing entails marketing of goods and services using digital technologies and digital mediums. In this context, it would be pertinent to note that with the advent of Web 2.0 or social media, marketers now have the chance to utilize the opportunities offered by digital marketing using social media like Facebook. This article explores […]
SWOT Analysis of Nike
Strengths The biggest strength of Nike is that it is an extremely competitive organization with its approach of “Just Do It” slogan for its brand epitomizing its attitude towards business. The company was founded on the principle that it would make shoes for anyone who could walk or run and this has been the guiding […]
In previous articles, we have discussed how media affects society and effects changes in the way people think and act. This article looks at how the historical function of media as a watchdog and a purveyor of public good have now evolved to a point where the media sets the agenda for the country to follow.
Further, we also discuss how the advent of the internet and social media has changed the discourse and how they have affected the way in which people use and consume media.
First, it is no longer the case that the media reports news and generally acts as a keeper of the public good.
On the other hand, the media in many countries like the US and India (the world’s oldest and largest democracies) have now reached a point where they set the agenda for the nation and its citizens.
This can be seen in the way the recent Presidential Elections in the US were characterized by media driven talking points and media led rhetoric. In India, the anti corruption movement was largely driven by media frenzy and nonstop media coverage that ensured crowds in large numbers turning up to support the crusaders.
In the US, the media is no longer a bystander in the national discourse but an organ of democracy that steers the narrative.
In India, though in the decades after independence, the media were largely content with investigative journalism and recording events as they happened, in recent years, they have become the vehicles that launch or destroy careers of politicians, businesspeople, and celebrities.
In other words, both in the US and in India, the media can make or mar the chances of the public figures.
Without commenting on whether this is a positive development or negative fallout, it needs to be mentioned that the power vested with the media ought to be used for productive purposes rather than negative reporting and coverage.
The reason for so much importance being given to media in these countries is that for many citizens, the visual media is the place where they get the news, views, and opinions because many of them do not have the time to peruse lengthy articles or books on the topics of the day. What this means is that in this sound-bite society, many people simply watch the news on TV and make up their minds on the issues of the day.
Hence, it is no longer the case that people read newspapers or pore over books that have more detailed descriptions of the issues along with in-depth analysis.
On the other hand, all of us are looking for a quick capsule of the news with a digest of the most happening stories.
Indeed, market research done during the recent presidential election in the US has shown that many voters formed their preferences after watching the presidential debates and after following the coverage on TV simply because they did not have the time nor the inclination to have detailed and in-depth discussions about the issues and the policy stances of the candidates.
In conclusion, with so much power vested in the media, there is a scope for misuse and we would look at this in detail in subsequent articles.
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