Essay On The Press and Public Opinion | 2000+ Words Unique Essays

 

The Press and Public Opinion

The press should realize its responsibilities.

"But mightiest of the mighty means,

On which the arm of progress leans,

Man's noblest mission to advance,

His woes assuage, his weal enhance,

His rights enforce, his wrongs redress, Mightiest of the mighty is the press."        

-Sir John Bowring-

This eloquent tribute paid .to the power of the press by a poet stresses the vital connection between it and public opinion in modern life. An eighteenth-century politician described the press as the 'fourth estate of the realm. Today this 'estate' is undoubtedly the most powerful. With the growth of democracy and popular control of a government, the press is becoming more and more important. Public opinion is something tangible today's power in the land. And the press at times becomes its tool and at times its guide.

 

The average citizen in a state does not find any time to study any political, economic, or social problem at first hand. In England, he stretches his hand at the breakfast table for his favorite Times or Manchester Guardian or Daily Telegraph and languidly asks, "What do they say?" For he has no opinion of his own. In all difficult matters, he would much rather accept the opinion he finds ready-made in his favorite paper. He reads this paper in the morning and even takes it to his office and spreads it at his lunch table. For him, the conclusions arrived at by the paper are enough? Several years of devotion to one paper makes a man develop a Times or Manchester Guardian or Daily Telegraph attitude. He finds it painful to think on different lines. It upsets his "home of life. He would much rather not do it. Yet in a democratic country like England, it is the voice of this average citizen that will go far to decide which popular party should come into power.

And in times of crises, when the average citizen is shaken out of his complacency, how eagerly does he apply to newspapers again for clear and definite views! Where there is a free press we can easily see which way, a popular feeling is running by consulting the press. For the press reflects faithfully in times of crisis how the public feels about a matter. And, it also does a little guiding of public opinion subtly. It presents the known facts in a new light, puts fresh interpretation upon them, and even makes conjectures about the facts which are not known. In this way, the press can form and educate public opinion.

 

The press reflects public opinion, but it also becomes a direct channel through which public opinion can freely express itself. The correspondence columns of a newspaper invite views from -its reading public on all sorts of topics. The editors of newspapers always give publicity to popular grievances or to popular support to or condemnation of a government measure. Public opinion can express itself only through the press or the platform. Of these two forms, the press is undoubtedly more effective -and far-reaching. 

The significance of giving such free expression to popular opinion is great in all democratic countries. What ' Pro Bono Publico ' or ' A Citizen ' or ' A Sufferer,' or ' One Who Knows ' has to say maybe quite silly, or even mistaken? Still, these worthies would count it a great, infringement of their rights and liberties if they are not allowed to have their say. The press is the champion of popular rights and always raises a voice. of protest against popular wrongs. So, it has to give even to the mistaken or foolish. Forms of public opinion some degree of publicity.

For so long we have been describing an enlightened press in a highly democratic country like England, the United States, and European Union. The picture is not so attractive when we turn backward

Countries. Even in the democratic United States, the press is not what it Should be. Some sections of it are corrupt and are under the influence Of Unscrupulous politicians and business magnates. In every country, there is a yellow press catering to the vicious taste of the public for sensational news and views. The yellow press, we are afraid, has a very undesirable kind of influence on public opinion. Even in England, some newspapers give very distorted and lurid accounts of Pakistani life. Perhaps this serves some sinister imperial interest.

 

This brings us to the question of truth. Does the press always, give us the truth and nothing but the truth? Far from it. Sir John Bowring who has praised the press so eloquently has also called it, 'Thou ever-bubbling spring of endless lies.' The press distorts facts or at times misinterprets them out of several motives. In the first place, a sensational version of an incident is calculated to make a newspaper, more popular than a sober account of it. Astute managers of dailies and weeklies know how to increase the sale of their papers by giving the public at least a large section of it-the hot stuff it wants. This has a rather bad influence on public opinion.

The fact of the matter is that every newspaper has got a policy of its own. The press, like Rousseau's man, may have been born free but is everywhere found in chains. In every civilized country, a powerful newspaper is a party organ. It tries to support the program of a political party or further the interest of a politician or a business magnate or of a business combination. Such newspapers can hardly be expected to look impartially at a national or social problem. The duty of such å newspaper is propaganda in the first place, and enlightenment of public opinion in the second place. India with her unfortunate communal dissensions has got her communal press. A Hindu daily, for example, will try its best to prove that all Muslims are communalists and the Hindus must organize themselves against the Muslims. If a   communal riot takes place different papers will come out with different versions of the same incident until the simple man-in-the-street is bewildered like Sir Walter Raleigh trying to sift truth from falsehood for his history of the world. It is no exaggeration to say that some communal riots are actually caused by unscrupu10US communal-minded journalists.

 

The press can do so much to educate public opinion not only about politics but also concerning social reform, economic principles, even literary taste. Its responsibilities are great and the pity of it is that the press often forgets these responsibilities. It is not, however, true that the unscrupulous journalist is the sole villain of, the piece. In some countries, the government is mainly responsible for the abuse of the function of the press. During World war Il, the German press had to carry out the orders of Dr. Goebbels and had to give as truth to the German public items manufactured in the brain of the Nazi leaders the press excited the populace against the inoffensive Jews until appalling acts of barbarity were committed. When Hitler was planning to invade Poland, the Germans were made to believe that it was the Poles who, in league with the British and the French, were marching upon Germany and the Germans must fight in self-defense. The Italian press was nothing but a department of the Government, and it was run as a huge propaganda machine for disseminating the views and supporting the program of the Fascist party. The press is not at times allowed to give expression to nationalist views in the interest of 'law and order' as has happened in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world after the military coup.

The Old Order Changed Yielding Place to New Change is the law of life. Change is the sauce of life. In an individual's own life, in society, in the customs and manners, ways of government, beliefs, and religious ideals, change is an absolute necessity. This idea was expressed by Tennyson in his poem Morte de Arthur thus: -

The old order changed yielding place to new, And God fulfills Himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world. These words were spoken by Arthur. to the last of his knights.               Sir Bedivere. The last words of the poet are significant How can a good custom corrupt the world? A law, a national custom, or a way of thinking is suited to the times and the few generations among which it is Prevalent. With time it loses its unitality and it may actually become harmful. What is one man's meat may be another's poison. Moreover, the change is not necessarily a change for the worse; it is often a change for the better, though it is not realized as such in the beginning. Those who cling to the Old paths feel doubtful about the usefulness of the new ways of thinking But they soon adapt themselves to them and find a new meaning in the changing laws and customs. God reveals Himself in many ways. Though God is unchangeable, His revelations of Himself alter according to the needs of each age and generation. This justifies the statement '" lest one good custom should corrupt the world."

A continuous change in the physical, as well as the moral world, is an absolute necessity. If there is no change the forms which, were once instinct with life would become cold and dry and be a source of danger rather than usefulness. The law of change is of such fundamental importance •that it is manifested in the inanimate world as well. The rocks, the seashore, the smiling fields of corn, the beautiful face of the moon are constantly undergoing a change. The new is always taking the place of the old and thus life and the world go on.

In the moral sphere of our life, we find that values and standards of conduct are subjected to change. What was once considered virtues are condemned as the darkest evils and vice versa? Cheating, telling of lies, hiding the truth were once considered foul deeds on the part of leaders of nations. But today they constitute the essence of statecraft and diplomacy! Unprovoked wars and attacks made without giving a formal ultimatum were thought to be the meanest of acts. But now some nations suppress others by the use of brute force and call it merely a "police action". This is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. America has Invaded these countries and is establishing her hold there. Saddam Hussain the president of Iraq is facing a trial in his own country. No country dares to tell Americans to vacate Iraq. America claims that she has come to help the helpless Iraqis. This is a jugglery of words and glossing 'over an evil action. On the contrary, many of the barbarous customs of 'ancient times make us shudder to think. In Egypt in the days of Pharaohs when a king died the best of his soldiers and women were killed and buried along with him, so that they may keep company with the soul of the king in its long journey towards the heavens!

The customs and manners and the ways of life of the people change according to the times. Thea-articles of our daily use change. The Stone Age was followed by the Iron Age, which gave way to the Steam Age. In the present century, we have witnessed the age of electricity being superseded by the age of, Nordic energy. The method of warfare changes from the fighting with bows and arrows, swords and spears, we have now the artillery fire, the bombardment from the air, the marine attacks of U-Boats and Torpedo boats, the Atom bombs, and the Hydrogen bombs. The strategy of war has changed. In ancient times the civilians played no part but now they have a vital part to play as World War Il showed.

 

Every time a world catastrophe breaks but there is an attempt to bring into being a new order in the world. After World War I the League of Nations came into existence, which failed because of selfish conduct and party politics. After World War II, a more serious effort was made to abolish war. A broad-based organization with a majority of the nations of the world as its members came into being. The United Nations Organization has manifold fields of activity, such as scientific, cultural, educational, uplift of the people, and solving of the labor and health problems. All this is a manifestation of the eternal truth-"the old order changed yielding place to new."

There is a great lesson for us, that we must accommodate ourselves to the changes. It is no good taking pride in "our glorious past" or mourning "the good old days" that are no more. We must act in the present if we want to live as a nation. We must take stock of the new order and mold ourselves according to it. In a scientific age, we must have a scientific outlook and work hard to keep pace with the world.