Nighoskar

Name: Yashodhan Nighoskar

Section: BBA LLB Sec C
Date of Submission: April 15,2019
Name of Course Instructor: Arup K. Chatterjee
Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University

MEDIA INFLUENCE IN POLITICS

Living in the 21st Century, it is quite evident that Communication plays a vital role in human life.
Better means of Communication is necessary for a country to progress and its role becomes all more
necessary in India, it being a democratic country. Media functions all around us. The books, the
newspapers and the magazines we read, the news we watch on the television and the music we listen
to on radio makes it quite evident that without media, we will be isolated from the world. It’s the
fourth pillar and the backbone of any democracy through which ‘Freedom of Expression’ is exercised.
The role of media has transformed with changing times. India has experienced the gradual shift of
media from the time of Print and Radio to the time of Social Media. The media supplies the political
information that voters base their decisions on. They are the watchdogs that we rely on for uncovering
errors and wrongdoings by those who have power. 1 Democracy requires the active participation of
citizens and the media keep citizens engaged in the business of governance by informing, educating
and mobilising the public. Keeping all of this in mind, it is quite clear that Media has a lot of potential
to influence how politics function in India. Deliberate use of types of media like Newspapers, Films,
TV Serials, Social Media and News Channels as an instrument to influence public opinion or political
processes pose a strong challenge to a democracy like India.
Media has played a vital role for political parties and leaders to connect to their electorate. It informs
the public about their contesting candidates, provides a platform for political parties to disseminate
their ideas. Other than this it also analyses the election process to evaluate its fairness and efficiency.
However, it is known that many media outlets attract partisan audiences and reflect political biases in
their coverage. There has been a growing divide in political philosophy in India which is directly
related to partisan media sources.
Among the different types of media available, the influence of newspaper is viewed as prominent as it
is believed as a primary source of information and also help increase political awareness among
citizens. At a global scale, media houses publishing newspapers are becoming corporatized. Often one
will notice that just before elections, newspapers provide citizens with buzzwords like ‘NaMo’, ‘Chai
pe Charcha’ etc. For example, buzzwords like ‘Modi Wave’ and ‘Ab Ki Bar,Modi Sarkar’ were
coined by The Times of India. These certain buzzwords are essentially coined by specific Newspapers
for the same purpose of influencing citizens. It also reflects upon the possible political and ideological
inclinations of each of the media houses.2
1
Kumar, Niraj. 2016. Role Of Indian Media. Ebook. Lucknow.
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/46965/1/niraj%20kumar%20final%20thesis.pdf.
2
Bannerjee, Saikat, and Bibek Ray Chaudhary. "Journal of Political Marketing." Taylor and Francis
Online. Accessed April 13, 2019.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15377857.2016.1147513.

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The Indian Society has been witnessing to a massive growth of social media in the past few years.
With the changing demography and increasing use of mobile phones and internet, the means of
reaching voters is getting modified drastically. Social media users believe in expressing their support
or dissent through a range of activities from tweets, status updates, writing blogs to uploading videos
on YouTube. This essentially helps in mobilizing public .As social media gets a tighter grip around
the Indian society as a whole, election campaigning has shifted towards a more digital platform. The
use of social media for political outreach has exploded in recent years. The Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) has been the pioneer of using social media as well as mass media to its advantage in the 2014
election. In sheer numbers, the BJP dominated social media during the election. It is considered that
the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was India’s first real media election and that it was ‘media logic’, not
‘political logic’ that determined the outcome of the elections, and the BJP’s victory was largely due to
its high voltage media campaign. 3Even though it is considered a great tool for campaigning, it has its
demerits. It is often criticized that the information dispersed through social media is often not
trustworthy and reliable. It faces a huge threat from fake news and tailored content which is used to
sway voters.
Broadcast media such as cinema and television have a lot of potential to influence the people because
of its wide reach. It is a prominent form of mass media. Modern-day movies are not confined to the
romanticism of the Golden Era. Instead, it has revamped its frontiers to the truth and reality of the
state whether it is about politics, state of women, or the taboos existing in the world. In the present
era, films and TV serials are gradually being used as a means of political canvassing, the aim being to
increase a political party’s appeal among the public. Films like Uri, The Accidental Prime Minister
and other politically motivated films were released just before the general elections. The much
controversial biopic on PM Modi also had to be postponed till the end of elections as it would affect
the level playing field. This is in resonance with the Model Code of Conduct. Many people were
infuriated as popular Hindi TV serials like ‘Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai’ promoted some of the BJP
Government’s flagship schemes as part of their episodes with no disclaimer. 4Despite of a lot of
precedents in favour of artistic expression, filmmakers in India still face criticism and their
nationalism is questioned time and again. On March 31, a channel by the name of ‘NaMo TV’ was
launched which was dedicated to PM Modi’s campaign for Lok Sabha Elections. The channel has
been at the heart of an intense debate as it features pro BJP content, which violates Model Code of
Conduct. It also remains unclear on who owns this channel and where does it get its funding from. 5
In India, Television often becomes the "compelling medium for influencing people”. This is the
reason news channels have an increasing impact on the citizens. At present, India is the only country
in the world with over four dozen 24-hour television channels that broadcasts news and current affairs
programmes in several languages. After emergence of news channels, the interaction between voters
and political parties have increased tenfold. The news channels have enabled the voters of that
category who were illiterate to know the policies and programmes of political parties through their
daily activities, by the help of spokespersons. The Indian media market prioritizes commercial gains
to authentic journalism and is driven by a common motive of profit maximization. Media as a
constant scrutinizer of the government is turning into a party to the state machinery. One such feature
3
Bhattacharya, Upali. "Will Social Media Be The Game Changer In 2019?" Youth Ki Awaaz. August
11, 2018. Accessed April 13, 2019. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2018/08/role-of-mass-media-in-
indian-elections/.
4
Chatterji, Rohini, and Rohini Chatterji. "Are TV Shows Like 'Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain' Plugging
Modi, BJP?" HuffPost India. April 08, 2019. Accessed April 12, 2019.
https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/are-tv-shows-like-bhabhiji-ghar-par-hai-plugging-modi-
bjp_in_5cab3174e4b047edf95d4c25.
5
Aggarwal, Cherry. "Iit's NaMo TV." Newslaundry. Accessed April 15, 2019.
https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/04/05/namo-tv-election-commission-ministry-of-information-
and-broadcasting.

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of commercialisation of media in India consisting of both print and electronic, is paid news. It refers
to dissemination of news against monetary payment. There is either a great deal or a fair amount of
media bias in news coverage. Many argue that there is the scourge of paid news, which involves
influential people, mainly politicians who pay newspapers and news channels for positive coverage.
Industrial houses have been investing in media companies and indirectly gaining control over them.
Also, it is believed that the sole objective of News Channels is to fetch enough Television Rating
Points (TRP) so as to stay ahead of other news channels. 6 News Anchors in a subtle way try to inject
partisan points of view into the viewer’s mind in an attempt to influence the mindset of citizens. It is a
pity that to the point politics is concerned, we don’t actually get the news but rather some concocted
views.
Journalists in various regions, especially smaller towns and cities, have repeatedly reported regular
threats, intimidation and harassment by political workers, security forces as well as criminal gangs.
Sometimes, attacks have resulted in deaths. One such example is ‘Gauri Lankesh’, who was the
publisher and editor of the regional daily ‘Gauri Lankesh Patrika’. Lankesh had helped out former
Maoist rebels who wanted to join the causes of both landless laborers and impoverished low-caste
Dalits, and supported progressive movements that questioned authority. Her writings were
against communalism and hard-line Hindutva groups. In fact, she had been convicted in a criminal
defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. On 5 th September,2017, she was
gunned down by unidentified assailants at her home in the city of Bengaluru. Her death has
undoubtedly put the spotlight on some uncomfortable truths about Indian journalism and, more
importantly, how media activists fear a bigger and more organized attempt from the government to
rein in free speech. 7
Politics and Media share a complex synergistic relationship and must be looked at in juxtaposition to
one another. While Media is a gatekeeper, it’s imperative to realise that it’s role ends there. One will
find multiple perspectives on different mediums. As responsible citizens, we must use the media to
get informed and not influenced.

6
Picker, Les. "Media Bias and Voting." Nber. Accessed April 13, 2019.
https://www.nber.org/digest/oct06/w12169.html.
7
Krishnan, Murali. "Gauri Lankesh Murder - Indian Journalists in the Line of Fire | DW |
07.09.2017." DW.COM. September 7, 2017. Accessed April 12, 2019. https://www.dw.com/en/gauri-
lankesh-murder-indian-journalists-in-the-line-of-fire/a-40399160.