Media
and Bhutan.
The
ministries receive valuable feedback and the people’s objectives which work as
a future guidance for them to make necessary changes in their programs. In a
country like Bhutan where a large number of people are illiterate with poverty
rate of 12% and lack the ability to voice their problems on some platform which
can be taken knowledge of, media itself becomes the voice of the people.
In an age of timeliness and demand for information, the media plays a
crucial role in informing the public about politics, campaigns and elections.
Additionally, the media helps influence what issues voters should care about in
elections and what criteria they should use to evaluate candidates. On March 24, 2008, thousands of Bhutanese
voters flooded the polling stations across the country to cast their votes for
the first ever parliamentary election.
The shift to democracy had undoubtedly empowered media. What was earlier
thought as sensitive issues were now tackled strongly and intelligently. It
began disclosing corrupt practices of individuals and organizations, studying
government’s plans and policies and keeping track of political moves. Stories
were decorated with bold headlines and reliable sources including the high
level officials.The mass media constitute the backbone of democracy. They identify problems in
our society and serve as a medium for discussion. They are also the watchdogs
that we rely on for uncovering errors and wrongdoings by those who have power.
Media and Democracy
Democracy of a country can become successful
only if its media plays its positive role otherwise it can never become a
successful democracy. The
Bhutanese media saw a considerable growth since 1980s with the establishment of
BBS and the newspaper Kuensel, and the small information revolution that took
place in the 1990s with the introduction of television and the Internet (Dorji
& Pek 2006). The country’s first newspaper was established in 1986, radio
in the late 1970s and television and the Internet introduced in 1999. The
media is one of the most powerful channels of effective communication. It can
make or break individuals, organizations or governments. Today, the
prevailing understanding of the role of media in a democracy is to empower
people by engaging them in constructive discourses. Media is responsible for holding
the government accountable for their actions and keep public well-informed of
the plans and policies concerning them. A free and independent press is
considered essential for democracy; among others, it acts as independent
watchdogs of the political, social, and economic institutions and conjures
public interests to be prioritized in government policies (Bennett, Lawrence
& Livingston 2007). Journalists claim that media, newspapers in particular,
have been playing a very bold role in the democracy unlike before. Bhutanese
newspapers today tackle almost every issue related to corruption in the
government and private sector, elected leaders and their accountability to individuals,
human rights and public policies. The media supplies the political information
that voters base their decisions on. Taking the recent election which was held
on 31st May
and 13 July as evidence, the circumstances like the rupee crunch and gas
subsidy had caused an uproar among the general public. Taking advantage of this
issues PDP (People Democratic Party) promises to solve the issues which
influenced the voters’ decision. The media updated people on nation’s issues
and the politicians used it for their benefit.
Role of media in Democracy
The democratic ideals can only be satisfied
when all voters are educated and informed to the point where they are able to
understand the most important political issues. And this responsibility is
given to Media. Most people won’t be Media literate and what is shown and
informed will be soaked in, better than the sponge. Election is the key factor
in persuasion of Good governance. We cannot afford to make mistakes as that
would cost on resources and happiness, most importantly, on the trust towards
democracy.
Media’s significant role in democracy are to
make people more aware of their rights, aware them about political and social
issues, initiate debates on the relevant public issues, draw attention towards
institutional failure such as- corruption, preferential treatment, unsympathetic
attitudes and general inefficiency of the government machinery and create pressure
for improved government performance and efficient delivery of public services extending
public accountability. Media also acts as an interface between government and public. It can often be taken as the
mirror of the society
Linsky
(1986) found that the media plays a significant and commanding role in
democracy and public affairs. He also maintained that the media substantially
impacts the formation of political agendas and the performance of political
institutions. Graber (1984) commented that “Although the verdict is mixed about
the extent of media influence on various political arenas, evidence strongly
suggest it is a sizable factor.”
I conclude media and democracy will help each other grow.
