Media plays a major role in building both negative as well as a positive image, says Rajyogi brahmakumar nikunj ji

Media is the sword arm of democracy and is also considered as  the reflection of our society. It depicts how the circle works. This is the reason why it is often said that media has today become the voice of our society.

The extensive impact of media can easily be seen these days in the front page of news papers or during primetime debates on major news channels. The subject matter of most of these debates are mostly the interaction of eminent persons among themselves or with the people. These important figures may be the present heads of various countries or elected representatives, or they may be well-known because of their participation in some past movements or present one’s. But, a special feature of our times is that the rise of a particular person to eminence is due, in no small measure, to the publicity he receives in the media in his own country and or abroad.

Its obvious when so many media persons interview and publicise certain people, they tend to take the centrestage  and gain stature or have a steep fall in public eye. More important than this, however, is the fact that in their search for dominant persons and news, media ends up giving more importance to the people who are not that prominent. In doing this, the media becomes not merely instruments for diffusion of information but also the creators of history.

The image or personality of a public leader is, thus, the joint effort of the individual concerned and of all those who interact with him. But, in this whole process, the role of the media is of great consequence. When media men give sharp profiles of and endow a person with greatness — political, religious or economic — they influence the formation of individual personalities. In this sense, the emergence and prominence of public figures is due to a considerable extent, to the mass media.

The media thus participates actively in the formation of the eminent personalities. No doubt that it plays a major role in forming a positive as well as a negative image of an individual. By reporting about a person in their columns or putting one on big T.V. screens, media intensifies a person’s sense of personality. His personality traits which were nebulous before now become concretised or crytallised in a particular form. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the media persons to be careful and selective in reacting positively or negatively in profiling persons. It has a great responsibility being the fourth pillar of democracy along with judiciary, executive and legislature. Media of today has an all embracing role to act against the injustice, oppression, misdeeds and partiality of our society.

The recent events in few states of India as well as in countries like UK and US were to a great extent, a creation of the media reports and the media comments. Hence, if the media persons look upon their work as of great responsibility, they would do better service to mankind as shaping the public opinion is one of the most crucial function of media.