Mass Media in India

• In the modern world, media inform, entertain, educate, set social agenda, shape our political system, form public opinion, support public demands, reveal social realities, transmit culture, create new trends and propagate cultural values.
• Types of mass media:

1.Traditional Media

2.Print Media

3.Electronic Media

4.New Media

Traditional Media

• Traditional media are the oldest form of media and are connected with the folk art forms of the society. Traditional media connect people with their rich heritage and tell the stories of the past to the present generation.
• The folk art forms are closely related with the rituals of agrarian and marginalized groups. These traditional art forms like song, dance, music and theatre in such societies are considered as traditional media since they inform, educate and entertain people by oral tradition.
• The traditional media are communication channels which reflect people’s culture. It has more influence on public opinion than the other form of media.

Print media

• Mass production of printed documents led to democratization of knowledge and thus education was made accessible to common people which was earlier considered as the property of the elite.
• Major forms of print media are:

1.Newspapers

2.Magazines and Periodicals

3.Books

• Print media is a powerful medium for information and communication. It is one of the “indispensable” part of modern society. It is primarily used as a tool for getting news and information, advertising, marketing campaigns, entertainment, expression and criticism, art and talents, and other forms of human interaction. Consciously or, unconsciously a lot of our behavior and perception are influenced by the images we see in print media.

The Effects of Print Media on Society

• The press plays a vital role in exposing the social concerns, encouraging popular discussions and debates, mobilizing public opinion and generating movements for political and social reform.
• Newspapers are crucial for the survival of indigenous cultures and ethnic traditions. Exposure in newspapers is often a pre­condition for public acceptance.
• Newspapers provide a comprehensive guide to modern living through their many supplements on homecare, jobs, lifestyle, fashion, cookery etc.
• The persuasive power of the information is also emphasized by displaying colorful advertising that shows images of people who are physically and socially ‘perfect’ with most attractive personality that one could hope for. This led to believe people that it is their job to become as perfect as possible. However, there is a thin line that borders inspiration and obsession and sometime it lead to unhealthy lifestyle and behavior.

Electronic Media

• In India TV was introduced in 1959, on an experimental basis. Its very inception was with the aim to see what TV could achieve in community development and formal education.
• Television as a mass medium has a huge appeal to common person. Because of this, television is used in a planned manner to motivate people to participate in developmental programs.
• In 1967, Delhi Television centre launched Krishi Darshan Program at the behest of Dr. Bikram Sarabhai and Prof R. S. Swaminathan. The objective of this program was popularization of modern method in agriculture through the television.
• In India, ISRO has continuously pursued the utilization of space technology for education and development. This has been done through different projects like Educational TV (ETV), SITE (designed jointly by  ISRO & NASA), Kheda project and Country wide classroom (CWC) project.

The Effects of Electronic Media on Contemporary Society

• Media is almost omnipresent, affecting various aspects of our life. Due to audio-visual nature of electronic media it impacts the conduct of people most. Media often hypes the basic facts or information and presents them in a way to increase the superficial appeal of things. The values it emphasizes are materialistic with the consumerism at the base.
• Sex and violence are prominent feature of media content. In most of the cases it is blindly imitated by immature minds.
• The normal and healthy activities like reading good books, playing outdoors, exercising and engaging in social activities have been put on backseat and evenings are usually being spend in front of television.
• Media have changed the cultural and moral values of society. A majority of the audiences believe in what is shown by the media. Youngsters and children often tend to mix the reel and the real world under the influence of the mass media.

New Media

• New media is an umbrella-term used for different media technologies. It includes web-sites, blogs, podcast, video games, virtual worlds, Wiki encyclopedia, mobile devices, interactive televisions and e-mail etc.
• New media has changed the role of sole gatekeeper and exclusive control of traditional media organization over content. Media-audience interactions are now more like a dialogue. Many people in developing countries still do not have access to dependable electricity or water, but they may have access to a cell phone or the Internet.
• New media increase participation and interactivity, provide users more control over content and influence over media decisions, but yet few of the problems related to representation & access, ownership & control for which the mass media were criticized are still present in new media, despite its democratizing potential. People may think they are multitasking and accessing different media outlets, some large new media platforms like Facebook and Google create expansive environments that include news, social media connections, advertising, and entertainment, to keep users within their domain.