INDIAN MEDIA AS MERE BUSINESS PLAYER

Indian media as low grade media in showing women and Dalits status in society.

Media acts as the fourth pillar of democracy which has immense power to act as the watchdog of the society. It is the mirror of society as a whole and reflects what is happenings in society. It can influence the mindset of masses and the convergence of the media and social media has further enhanced its potential many folds as a tool of creating public opinions and values. Television and YouTube have become the most important medium of mass communication in India and pays a very important role in deciding public opinion. Mass awareness by using the media on issues of important role in creating political, social and economic importance holds in the foundation of any democracy in India. In fact, development communication these days has developed as a discipline, Media play its role in the development of our nation. It is mostly observed that news on political and economic issues dominate over social issues like Dalits and women. Social issues in Indian media are not given the kind of importance or platform of communication that it deserves to be given. Issues of violence against women and other discrimination against women which basically stems from inequality rises – both in terms of physical and economic power – between men and women and also the lower and upper sections of society is rarely given the importance it deserves.

Mass Media cannot operate in a social vacuum at any time; it naturally takes on the form and colors of the social and political structures within which it is operating. According to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Media, the media has to be the shoulder responsibility for the social uplift of society for wherever it lacks.

Media and social media influence have increased to such an extent that an individual finds it difficult to maintain an identity and self-understanding without using medias the reference point in it.

 

Women and Media

Representation in the Media: It has long been recognized by many Feminists all over the world that there is a very significant and long-lasting influence of the media in either challenging or perpetuating existing constructions of gender and especially in India. Media as a tool for gender sensitization can only be utilized or taken into account when the full influence of media on gender construction is understood by us.

The Fourth Global Media Monitoring Project held in 2009 -2010 (GMMP 20092010), which was the most extensive research on gender bias and subsequent initiatives in the news media, shows women representation in the media. The GMMP, after gathering insights and all the information through media monitoring aims to promote a balanced gender representation in and through the news media. It involves the voluntary participation of women from grassroots communities to university students and researchers to media practitioners to promote women participation in media files anywhere and anyhow.

It was really astonishing, as the report showed that less than one fourth (24 percent) of the people made visibly or heard or read about on television and print news, magazines, and newspapers worldwide is female. That shows that for every three males we see or read about in the media, we get to see or hear or read about only one female in its comparison. The ratio is clearly 3:1 which is a huge gap. Moreover, as per records, this represents just a seven percent increase is there in fifteen years. Also, according to some studies, Women were represented only in four percent of ‘politics and government’ stories and just one percent in ‘economy’ stories that we hear.

Representation of women in media:

Since the 1960s, women’s movements have systematically and constantly been critical parts of media institutions and their roles in media platforms. Media with its ever-expanding role in today’s world provides the ‘common ground’ of information to all people, symbols and ideas for most social groups, has reduced women’s position to relative powerlessness by its inferior representation all times. In many ways and many a time, a woman has been rendered ‘invisible’ or inconsequential on social media. The term ‘symbolic annihilation’ became a powerful and widely used metaphor to describe the ways in which media images render women invisible and inferior. This ‘mediated’ invisibility has been brought about not merely through the non-representation of women’s points of view or perspectives about anything in front of the world, by the ‘manner’ in which they are represented. “The representation reflects many of the biases and assumptions of those who define the public. Despite measures to redress gender imbalances, the power to define public and media agendas is still mainly a male privilege and male dominating.

Women's as play toys in media highlights:

also, along with the factors, all the memes and women are created to attract men like the women are play toys. the way they are represented also makes their image more of a play toy to boys. The adds shown are mostly male dominating. From movies to memes on social media, the representation of women is not in the way it should be. From the example of sunny Leoni, we can see she did the movies of such kind to her profession so the image is created. Not a single highlight of her adoption and social activity is highlighted. This is just about the image that the media creates in public. They just highlight the things they would like and pay higher for. Most of the media in India just works as per money paid. The good deeds of society by women are never highlighted by them.

Dalits in adds and memes:

Dalits are harassed in many scenes which creates a mindset for the public. as we saw the latest Dalit singing with Himesh lots of memes were viral all over the media create rumors in which actually were disgusting. Rather than appreciating the initiative by Bollywood fun was created for such a deed. The sense of being undersection is much more created by the highlights on social media and other media platforms.

Ways women and Dalits critically represented are:

Creating a distorted self-image of Dalits and women:

 Media influences the social image of Dalits and the self-image of women. Media affects the choices they make, what they eat and what they wear and how they wear. It also influences their behavioral attitude, their learning process about anything, and ultimately what they become in their lives.

 Media has clearly discouraged the emergence of a newly confident, assertive woman and Dalit section of society. Such differential media treatment increases their isolation, disempowers them, weakens them from other sections in many ways.

They remain unheard, unrepresented and ‘incommunicable in many ways because of their representation in social media.’

Distorted portrayals and their impact on Dalits and women:

Distorted images of women and Dalits by the media have a negative effect on society and its development in many ways. This forms an inferior image in the mindset of the public by the influence of media on their minds. This makes them deprived of many opportunities.

The perpetuation of inequalities at home and society:

 According to studies and statistics, women and girls are more likely to be undernourished and uncared for than men and boys at home. Also, the Dalit section is deprived of opportunities. they just highlight their riots and reservations. Nothing other than this ever highlighted in media about Dalits and even women.

Conclusion:

Undoubtedly many times media provide a lop-sided picture of women and their meaningful participation and contribution to society. Much needs to be still done with regards to the ‘participation, portrayal and access of women to the media and its impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women’ to improve their image in media. India has been a traditionally conservative society where a woman’s image has been cast and molded by years of male dominance and female inferiority. The era of liberalization and globalization has to some extent changed the image of the ‘Bhartiya Nari’ but somewhere it continues to showcase it as inferior gender in society .the image of the self-sacrificing husband worshipper whose sole purpose in life is to keep her husband and family happy nowadays also exists in rural areas which need to be showcased in media to improve their conditions rather than humiliating them. 

This is the time to rethink and revisit the country’s mass media policy to raise the standards of Dalits. There are many issues that should be discussed threadbare to have an unbiased and healthy country the atmosphere where women and Dalits success stories also need to be reprinted rather than the biased content to do a bit in improvement rather than making it worse with the mindset that runs from years.