Muhammad Shahjahan Memon, Aisha Lareb Memon and Ramna Saeed
It is not surprising that the mass media plays a critical role in every society. Ideally, the job of the media including, but not limited to, is educating the masses and disseminating awareness for the social and political good of the society as a whole to socialize viewers to become better and responsible citizens of the respective country. However, it remains debatable whether the media as a change agent plays its responsible part or not. In light of mass media theories, namely the Pluralist model, Dominant- ideology model, Elite- values model, and Market model, we concluded that apart from the Pluralist model, the rest of the theories are somehow relevant in the context of Pakistan. Moreover, it should be noted that not a single theory is one-size-fits-all because of the fact that theories always contain inherent flaws. Theories are briefly explained below and with their interpretation in the context of Pakistan and media milieu.
Some people challenge the status quo as well. However, their impact is minimal. It is observed that certain media elites further their interests and ideologies implicitly.
Elite value theory/Consensus theory. This theory was given by American linguist and historian Avram Noam Chomsky and American economist Edward Samuel Herman. This theory signifies that there are certain elites in every society; their consensus on certain values subsequently becomes the narrative of the society. To put it simply, it implies viewers can only watch what social elites want them to see. For example, each elite has certain biases. He/she may subscribe to a particular sect/religion. Their businesses; biases and affiliations are disseminated through media content. Resultantly, viewers become parochial or narrow-minded and do not see both thoroughly and critically. Let’s take the example of religious harmony. In the case of Pakistan, there is a substantial dearth of religious harmony, among other issues. What we increasingly see is a culture of intolerance; religious extremism, etc. It shows there is no elite consensus among such crucial topics and it is clear that it does not come under their elite interests. Hence, such content is not made to sensitize the viewers. And its subsequent repercussions are evident. Since the media has the power to normalize taboo topics as well. But, it does not talk much about sensitive and crucial topics to normalize for the general public. Hence proved, certain individuals are not playing their part in this respect and morals do not come under their elitist interests.
Agenda setting theory indicates that any sustained group can have certain agendas and they ask viewers to follow them. In other words, agendas are being set by certain minds or an individual and consequently imposed through media content. It can be, by any institution or external pressures. Moreover, it can be organic as well. Somebody is essentially there who is largely defining some agendas. Society has developed certain agendas on certain things and such agendas also become the narratives of the society. For instance, it has become an established narrative not to talk about certain things. Take a case of other dominant religions. There is hardly any talk about other religions apart from Islam. Resultantly, it does not promote religious harmony in society. One may argue that even true interpretations of Islam is not disseminated. What we see is the political use of religion for their interests. Resultantly, exposure of people is limited in terms of other dominant religions apart from Islam.
Market model, as the name suggests, this model caters to its viewers based on the supply and demand model. It shows what viewers wish to watch. It can be termed as a model of commercialization as well. In the context of Pakistan, some private channels either support the government, opposition, or establishment. Resultantly, the public has become more polarized and divided than ever before. Although there are some checks on the part of the government or civil society on what to show or not which is based on the social and cultural values of the society. There remains a lot of room for improvement in the case of Pakistani media. For example, there is a substantial dearth of channels devoted to the children segment of society. What we direly need is, allocating time and resources, to educate children about science and technology.
So, where do we stand? Media molds public behavior according to their interests and needs on several fronts. Resultantly, it has become polarized, parochial, and less tolerant than ever before. It has conditioned and desensitized us to such an extent that we tend to forget horrific incidents which jolted Pakistan. Incidents include, not limited to, the Mishal case, the Zainab-like case, and the recent Sialkot incident. However, both state and media have failed to play their due role in this regard. Lack of state support could be part of this backdrop.
In the light of the above-written theories and observation, it is clear that our media in general does not play a responsible role in order to build a better and constructive society mainly because it does not come under their elitist agendas. Their large focus is only on profit maximization. This is not to say that they have completely abdicated their responsibility. Some people challenge the status quo as well. However, their impact is minimal. It is observed that certain media elites further their interests and ideologies implicitly. The problem with the general public is that they largely consume media content uncritically because of the fact of lack of media literacy; the absence of quality education, and the lack of critical thinking which collectively further fuels the fire. Therefore, there is a dire need for fostering healthy debates; realizing the public’s true power, educating the masses when it comes to the accountability of politicians, normalizing so-called taboo topics, and sensitizing the public about issues. The state should join hands with dominant media outlets and disseminate innovative ideas for the larger interest of society as a whole.
Shahjahan Memon is a freelance contributor and an independent researcher. He can be reached at [email protected]
Aisha Lareb Memon is a medical student
Ramna Saeed is a journalist
