The World runs on information, and with innumerable transactions happening across the World, everyone relies on the power of information. To the common ones, information can be limited and the major source has always been media and journalism. Journalism is an inseparable part of everyone’s life; everyone is affected directly and indirectly by journalism. The motto of Journalism has always been simple and comprehensible, to let people know about every bits and pieces around the World that are significant to their readers. In recent times, the definition of Journalism has degraded with commerciality reigning over everybody’s mind. However, one can never undermine the flip side of the coin, and Journalism just like every other aspect in our life bears few positive and negative effects.
Positive effects of Journalism:
• Delves deeper and explores grey areas: Unbiased journalism can break the shackles of society norms, and fight tooth and nail to dig out the dirtiest and deepest of secrets. It works as an eye opener, and renders awareness among the society as a whole. Journalism speaks about the evils and virtuousness of the society and lays out blatant facts for people to read and develop an unbiased opinion.
• Benefits society: Journalism might have turned sour and lopsided over the turn of the century, but one cannot argue the benefits obtained from journalism. Journalism provides insights into the economic, social, and political scenarios of a city, state, country, and the nation. People get to know and gather facts on every significant scenario happening across the Globe. With the roots of social media being embedded deep into modern Journalism, journalists seek to reach out to the younger ones of the society and develop awareness and consciousness on every possible topic.
• Skill development and job opportunities: Journalism widens out various methods and strategies for budding individuals to develop their reporting, communicating, and managing skills. The propensity to think critically and analyze certain aspects while comparing both sides of the coin are important. Journalism and social media has seen meteoric rise in terms of popularity, and unsurprisingly one can say that the job sector has received enormous boost.
• Keeping the Government on the right track: This is one the most essential aspect of journalism as it keeps tab on every political movement throughout the country and World, to deter any kind of wrongdoings. It keeps the government under pressure as it vocalizes the pain and wants of everyone.
Negative effects of Journalism:
• Commercialism: Commercialism has degraded the mindset of modern journalists, and the will to dish out information and facts have now been overtaken by fabricated means of luring readers just to hype the popularity of their page, channel, or newspaper. Irrelevant advertisements and redundant and fillers tend to gobble up a significant chunk of journalism these days.
• Biasedness: No one is unknown to the fact that no newspaper, media, or journalists are 100% unbiased. Everyone has and believe in their own propaganda, and this is where journalism has taken a major hit. People cannot read an article with utter faith, and keep their skeptic glasses on. Unbiased journalism is tough to find, and the worst part remains that many readers and enthusiasts turn a blind eye on this. They tend to feed people with every unnecessary detail and subtly take a side.
• Taking advantage of radical minds: This is culminating into one of the most devastating aspect of modern journalism. World was never short of radical minds, but channeling someone’s ideologies through journalism is a grave sin. Speaking on delicate issues should be handled with care, but the trend is seeming to go downhill day by day.
• Opinionating: The sole motto of journalism is to lay down facts, but it has been altered heavily since post-liberalization era. One does not rely on the facts and statements nowadays but try to impose their propaganda. Opinionating articles are legit and at times opens about intriguing aspects, but sociopolitical news and information should be handled with any kind of imposition. One needs to give their reader space to ponder over the article and judge the situation accordingly.
Negative effects have taken a huge toll on people’s minds and one needs to stick to the aesthetic values as modern journalism seems to lack vigor and ethics. The revival of journalism is in dire need. People need to differentiate between biased and unbiased journalism, and should not develop a radical idea or thought process believing every letter of it. The morality code needs to be resurrected to save and encourage budding journalists and commercialism should be rooted out.