Introduction
In the modern democratic theory, powerful media has gained the position of the ‘fourth estate’. Independent and free media are treated as important facets of democracy and they have an important role to play as the transmission or bridge between the society and the people governing them. By sharing reliable and comprehensive information and providing voice to several opinions and views, the media has the role of facilitating critical appraisal and informed debate of every state action. By showing the audience the real news, the media questions the actions and claims of the government to scrutiny, thereby holding state and political actors accountable for their actions (Caparini 15). Therefore, the media does have an influence on the national security decision, although their role is not primal and has certain limitations.
Role of Media
Independent and free media are important elements in democratic countries, where their role is vital for keeping citizens and governments, aware about each other and remain in contact.
The basic understanding of democracy is that people hold the power, and people who get entrusted with the governance of the public should remain coordinated with the preferences and views of the common citizens (Taras 29). As per the democratic theory, the functions of the media work as transmission or bridge between the people governing and the society. Since, the mass media remain closely linked to the public sphere and political system, it has the dual role of forming and representing the political opinion. On one hand, the media has to communicate the information on which individuals tend to make political choices and informed decisions.
And in the other, political parties depend on the media information for presenting their position, understanding the public opinion and interacting with the people. Therefore, the media forms the interconnection between the government and the public, and communicate intentions, information, priorities, concerns and reactions to the policies regarding national security.
An independent and effective media can work as a watchdog for the government by continuous questioning of the government decisions and holding the government accountable for their management of public and regulatory policies. Investigative journalists might succeed in exposing cases of corruption, misuse and wrongdoing of public office by an elected government official. Working in tandem with other actors of the civil society, such as research institutes, non-governmental organizations and interest groups, the mass media can help in education of citizens on certain issues such as public and national security, enabling debates and discussion over policy alternatives. Consequently, the media works as both a mechanism and an actor in holding government bodies accountable for security measures. In the United States, for enabling the media to operate as the ‘fourth estate’, the mass media were granted special terms such as right to withhold their sources, immunity from sharing their testimony in a few cases, protection from libel claims and official access to information; all of these are designed “to allow journalists to serve as agents of citizens in checking an inherently abusive government” (Caparini 19).
Several worldwide events have proven that the national policy has been at the media’s mercy. The Murdoch enquiry, The Wiki leaks, social media role in the democratic movements in the Arab world are few examples of simultaneous display of information all over the world. Our world has changed, and the processes for developing the national security policy are also changing. The media have an influence over the public agenda through the weight of media authority and attention; the public opinion also influences the security policy agenda and the media agenda directly influences the policy agenda. Comprehending the power and influence of media is extremely difficult, as media is a useful in spreading information about the security policies and educate the public about universal and national values, and also promote the security policies in place. On the contrary, any controversial information presented to the society through the media can become a weakness in terms of national security (Megheşan & Mihalache 1128-1135).
Obstacles as Watchdog
In the United States of America, there is an increasing criticism for apparent bias in the political journalism. New media and anchors do not just report the facts, but they interpret them and help to predict their implications and impact. Highly speculative and opinionated commentary of the newscasts is considered a move towards entertainment based television, which helps in building the careers of celebrity journalists (Caparini 26). Another problem with media working as the national security watchdog is the results of the judicial deference phenomenon. Legislations for protecting media’s freedom, narrowing definitions of the national security and access to the information regimes help in protecting the potential of media independence.
Conclusion
Media works as an important factor in determining the national security policy and it has an equally important role in informing the public about the policies of the government. In the age of technology, the policy makers cannot avoid the ever powerful media and their comprehensive voice on security views and opinions. Free and independent media is the link between the government policy makers and the public who require the security measures. Overall, working as the watchdog for the public, mass media builds the framework for national security through continuous questioning and placing the government accountable for the policies.
Works Cited
Caparini., M. Media in Security and Governance: The Role of the News Media in Security Oversight and Accountability. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2004. Print.
Chapman., G. National Security and the Internet. Texas University. utexas.edu. July 1998. Web. July 2015.
Megheşan, K., and V. Mihalache. “The national security - media power linkage. A theoretical framework.” CKS Proceedings 3 (2013): 1128-1135. Print.
Taras, D. Power and Betrayal in the Canadian Media. Toronto: Broadview Press. 2001. Print
