For those students of class 10th searching for a history project for school.

1. CLASS : 10th B
SUBMITTED BY : HARPREET SINGH
SUBMITTED TO : MRS. MADHU SINGH (SST)
MRS. VIJAYLAXMI (ENGLISH)
TOPIC : ROLE OF MEDIA IN SHAPING PUBLIC’S OPINION

2. Media came into existence in 1780 with the introduction of a
newspaper namely “The Bengal Gazette” and since then it has
matured leaps and bounds. It has been playing a very
important role in shaping human minds. Media is considered to
be the 4th pillar of the society. The other three being
legislative, executive and judiciary. It definitely plays an
important role in the welfare of the society.
Media plays a crucial role in shaping a healthy democracy. It
is the backbone of a democracy. Media makes us aware of
various social, political and economical activities happening
around the world. It is like a mirror, which shows us or
strives to show us the bare truth and harsh realities of life.
The media has undoubtedly evolved and become more active
over the years. It is the media only who reminds politicians
about their unfulfilled promises at the time of elections. T.V
news channels excessive coverage during elections helps
people, especially illiterates, in electing the right person to
the power.

4. Coverage of exploitative malpractices of village heads and
moneylenders has helped in taking stringent actions against
them by attracting government’s attention.
The media also exposes loopholes in the democratic system,
which ultimately helps government in filling the vacuums of
loopholes and making a system more accountable, responsive
and citizen-friendly. A democracy without media is like a
vehicle without wheels.
In the age of information technology we are bombarded with
information. We get the pulse of the world events with just a
click of a mouse. The flow of information has increased
manifolds. The perfect blend of technology and human
resources (journalist) has not left a single stone unturned in
unearthing rampant corruption in politics and society. Thanks
to technology that has brought a kind of revolution in
journalism.

5. The role of the media in shaping public
perceptions and opinions about significant political
and social issues has long been the subject of
both speculation and research. It is widely
accepted that what we know about, think and
believe about what happens in the world, outside
of personal first-hand experience, is shaped and
some would say orchestrated, by how these
events are reported in newspapers and
communicated through the medium of radio and
television. The news media is a powerful tool
because it provides the public with crucial

6. News stories can be understood as narratives, which
include information and factual elements, to be sure,
but also carry an implicit message. The medium, in the
case of news coverage, is the ultimate message. As
James Britton writes:
Experience is kaleidoscopic: the experience of every
moment is unique and unrepeatable. Until we can group
items in it on the basis of their similarity we can set
up no expectations, make no predictions: lacking these
we can make nothing of the present moment.
The mass media brings simulated reality into our lives
and we find ourselves relying on those sources to

7. The view of the influence of the media is elaborated on in
what is called ‘Cultivation Theory’ . The theory was formed in
the year 1980 by Gerbner, Gross, Morgan & Signorielli.
Cultivation Theory holds that the popular media, such as
television, has the power to influence our view of the world
and it is “primarily responsible for our perceptions of day-today norms and reality”. Television, in particular, is our major
source of information today and has become a part of us and
part of our family life. Television is like a key member of the
family, the one who tells the most stories most of the time.
Heavy television viewers are more likely to perceive the world
as it is portrayed on the television screen.

8. The limitations of such a ‘world view’ are strikingly
portrayed by the character Chance in the movie “Being
There”, the story of a gardener who had spent his entire
life in the house of an old man and whose only
knowledge of the world outside the house was through
television. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the
street with no knowledge of the world except what he
had learned from television.
‘Cultivation Theory’ is not without its critics,
particularly those who argue that the capacity of the
mass media to shape our thinking is exaggerated.

9. Another explAnAtion of the
influence of the mediA, ‘AgendASetting theory’, plAceS SomewhAt
leSS emphASiS on the impAct of the
mediA on public opinion And more
emphASiS on whAt iSSueS Are
ActuAlly covered in the mediA.
bernArd cohen wAS one of the
eArlieSt AuthoritieS to pick up on
thiS in reSpect of the print mediA
when he StAted “the preSS mAy not
be SucceSSful much of the time in
telling people whAt to think, but it
iS Stunningly SucceSSful in telling
itS reAderS whAt to think About”.

10. It is likely that both theories or
explanations of the media’s influence
describe, to some extent, what actually
happens. The media can and often does
decide what is reported, and these stories,
in whole or in part, are assimilated and
accommodated into the emotional fabric and
cognitive structures of individual readers
and viewers. How the media chooses to
report and to comment on those events and
issues will also have an impact too and will
inevitably influence the thinking of many.

12. Media’s role in promoting state stability cannot be
overemphasized. It should be noted that the media is a double
edged sword. It can be an instrument of conflict resolution and
vice-versa.
The impact of media is really noteworthy. Excessive coverage or
hype of sensitive news has led to communal riots at times. The
illiterates are more prone to provocations than the literates.
Constant repetition of the news, especially sensational news,
breeds apathy and insensitivity. For instance, In Dhananjoy
Chatterjee case, the overloaded hype led to death of quite a few
children who imitated the hanging procedure which was
repeatedly shown in most of the T.V. news channels. There is a
plethora of such negative impacts. Media should take utmost
care in airing or publishing such sensational news.

16. Commercialization has created a stiff competition in
media. In order to outdo each other print media has
often gone one step further in publishing articles, cover
stories, etc. on things which are violent. Media experts
say this is one of the means of attracting readers who
are glued to T.V. news channels, which have cropped up
swiftly in a recent past and they believe this is a cheap
form of journalism.
Today television channels and newspapers are making
fast money by cashing on the news in wrong sense and
wrong way. In the race to become more popular and to
make money they have broken all the limits media must
follow while serving to build a healthy and progressive
society. They have no respect for the sentiments and
ethics of the people and land whom they serve to, with
their immense power to influence the massses they just
make judgment like a true dictator rather than a good
advice of a true friend as they previously used to do. If it
will be going in the future then we people have to think

17. “When television news focuses on a problem,
the public's priorities are altered, and altered
again as television news moves on to
something new.”
Public opinion, or, what is understood to be the will of the majority
of the polity or at least a substantial element of it, can be a very
powerful determinant of a country’s foreign policy. In democratic
countries, governments have to respect public opinion: failure to do
so can be very politically expensive.
In the ever-expanding body of media effects research, relatively
little attention has been paid to how news is framed, and still less
has been written on the political consequences of media frames. A
frame is the central organizing idea for making sense of relevant
events and suggesting what is at issue. News and information has no
intrinsic value unless embedded in a meaningful context which
organizes and lends it coherence.

19. A free and understanding press has the power to influence public
opinion. The media uses many tools and methods, and its effectiveness
depends on the awareness of journalists. Journalism has developed
considerably in the 20th century, especially with its concern for the
welfare of human beings. It is capable of translating the dialectical
association and interactions between it and the events that concern
individuals and so it shapes the pattern of presenting events in its
publications.
Journalism has a supervisory mission in society and hence its basic pillars
should be social and ethical commitment. Media is the cornerstone of
any public opinion. With a policy of transparency and refinement it can
set trends in solving important or controversial issues.
News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places and
events. The nature of these labels and titles set the tone of the story
and can influence how readers view the news story and the individuals
or organizations that are the focus of the news item. A journalist’s
decision to use labels such as “terrorist”, “insurgent” or “freedom fighter”
often reflect a deliberate choice and provides an indication of how the
journalist attempts to frame the story.

20. The media played a crucial role in Anna Hazare’s fight
against corruption. The media published the news in a such
a way that a section of the society, which was largely
apolitical by choice and had been disdainful of political
process, started paying heed to Anna’s call. This section,
the well-off middle class, happens to be the main consumer
of the news disseminated by the media. So the media too
got on the Hazare bandwagon to serve — as well as support
and strengthen — their clientele (customers) and Hazare
received the collateral benefit of increase in number of
supporters. The confrontation between Anna Hazare and
the government became volatile. The government was inept
and clueless in dealing with a largely self-created crisis.
However, Team Anna’s arrogance and rigidity was also
responsible for the situation. In this way media played a
dubious role in Anna’s fight.

24. THANK YOU FOR VIEWING MY
PRESENTATION.
SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION :
INTERNET