Independent Media and Democracy: Why Free Press Still Matters

In a democracy, citizens depend on accurate information to make informed decisions. Independent media plays a crucial role in providing that information while holding governments accountable. The media teaches, enlightens, and uncovers the works of the government and democracy.

The media has a primary service of informing the citizens on democracy and is also responsible for holding the government accountable. A society where the media operates independently of the government is a society where the government is made to act right and in the favour of the people. Accountability, transparency, and informed civic participation will exist if there is a better relationship between independent media and democracy. 

If the media is owned by the government, the government will end up controlling the media. This may lead to the compromise of editorial independence. In return, there might be a high risk of biased reporting and limited diversity of perspectives. 

Democracy and Information

Democracy is a system of governance in which the citizens of a country vote for who they want in leadership. This system of government is supposed to be free and fair, and everyone gets to have a say. Now that’s where information comes in. How can the people have a say about the candidates they want to be in leadership when they are not properly informed?

Democracy only works fairly when the people are adequately informed, and information comes primarily from the media. This suggests that for the citizens to make informed decisions and trust the media for the information they put out, the media has to operate independently of the government.

Relationship between Democracy and Information

Citizens Are Informed: Democracy, in simple terms, is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Informed citizenry equates informed decisions. Information is a right and is not only one-sided; the media doesn’t only get to pass down information to the public, but the citizens are also free to lend their own voices in a democratic state. The media is responsible for making this communication between the government and the people effective.

Democracy is Built on Information: The government knows that for democracy to be effective, there has to be a voice. A voice that amplifies the works of the current government or the candidates for the office when the time comes. The media plays a major role in how well this democracy is affected.

In a case where the media is independent of the government, the citizens are well-informed enough to make their own decisions. This is important because with an independent media, democracy is not manipulated or watered down.

Media Accountability: In a democracy and information dynamic, the media is the anchor of this relationship. The government needs the media to be seen, while the citizens need the media to be informed; a decline in either of them can be bad for society and should be avoided.

History of Independent Press

The media has evolved from the past and is still evolving into a public service body that is no longer government or cooperative-owned. This has given the media, to an extent, the freedom to hold the government accountable and call them out when they act against the interests and well-being of society. The history of the independent presses involves:

The Radical Press: During the 18th and 19th centuries, what the independent press looked like was the making of political papers circulated around that were used to oppose colonial rule.

This radical press system gave rise to the anti-colonial movement, where activists and nationalists in so many countries fought against the colonial injustice that took place against them.

Alternative Radio: Alternative radios and print media came into play in the media’s opposition to government influence. Due to the high level of commercial dominance, the establishment of listener-supported radio occurred in the 20th century. What this did was create an avenue for freedom of speech without commercial interference.

The rise of independent prints kept soaring in the 20th century as the marginalized were given a voice via alternative newspapers and magazines.

Professional Independence: In the late 20th to early 21st century, there was a great shift in the independent media as the creation of cables and satellites paved the way for the rise of more activists. These activists were radical and could now operate independently of major networks when it came to giving out content.

Alongside this was the emergence of even more independent newspapers; these newspapers challenged politically biased news presses.

Digital Revolution: This move started in the 21st century, where social media changed everything. With this revolution, independent presses could meet large audiences around the entire globe with very little funding. This revolution gave rise to multiple digital-based news outlets and independent journalists, too.

This era further birthed citizen journalism, where the people could use their phones to record any form of violence or injustice witnessed and shared. This creates awareness and brings to the knowledge of the citizens the happenings in the society.

Most recently, independent journalism platforms like ProPublica have released in-depth reports on problems ranging from healthcare inequality to government surveillance. This has helped reinforce the role of non-traditional media organizations in pursuing public interest journalism. 

Risk of Media Consolidation

When the media is owned and merged by large corporate bodies, institutions, or even the government, it poses a large risk to society and its people. Media consolidation can cause issues like:

Lesser Voices: When the voices of the media are merged or consolidated, it tones down the voice of the media. In the media, diversification is highly important in a democracy and can only be achieved when the media is independent. Lesser Voices simply means that reports are all homogeneous in nature, all outlets are producing the exact kind of news, and information is limited.

Focus is Distorted: Consolidation of the media takes away the focus from the people and places it on commercial influence. This leads to loss of local impact. When commercial interest becomes the focus of the media, there’s less scrutiny of the government, which in turn leads to a lack of accountability from the government. This affects the well-being of society.

Democracy is Affected: When the voices of the media are merged, and the focus is taken away from the interests of the people, it affects the state of democracy. This is because there’s a high rise in the lack of information, and it’s almost impossible for people to make informed choices when there’s little or no information to draw their choices from. Citizens are fed with only biased and one-sided narratives.

Minority is Silenced: One of the risks of media consolidation, merging, and ownership is the silencing of the minority. Not only does the media not have a solid voice in this case, but the minority has no say at all. Because the media is bought and told what to focus on, which is commercial interest, only those in support of this commercial interest are heard.

Role of Watchdog Journalism

Journalism, as the watchdog of society, plays a vital role in holding the government accountable in a democratic state. Journalists are to protect public interest and should, by all means, be able to carry out their service without fear of retaliation or humiliation from the government. S

A popular example of watchdog journalism is the Watergate Scandal. Journalists at The Washington Post released a report that exposed political misconduct at the highest level of government. The then president of the United States, Richard Nixon, even resigned because of his affiliation with the scandal. This case shows how independent media can directly impact political accountability. 

ome effective roles of watchdog journalism include:

Ensuring Government Transparency

Watchdog journalism holds the government accountable by ensuring that it is transparent in all it says and does. They carry out investigations and research on the government to make sure that their means are true and fair. These organisations make it their duty to ensure the government plays by the rule book and does not infringe on the rights of the people.

Watchdog journalism is keen on the protection of human rights and freedom. This is because a lack of it can be a breeding ground for chaos and oppression in society.

Recovery of Funds

Whether it’s the looting, misuse, or embezzling of public funds meant for the people and the improvement of society, watchdogs have a primary responsibility. That is the investigation and exposure of these stolen funds made by leaders, and even the laundering made by individuals and large organisations.

Public funds, though handled by the government, are not to be used for their personal benefit but for the people. When watchdog journalism senses any form of embezzlement of funds, they work to expose and recover the funds.

Investigation of Corrupt Practices

When it comes to corrupt practices made by the government, large corporate institutions, or individuals, watchdog journalists research deeply and carry out thorough investigations on corrupt practices. After this is done, the results and facts of this are presented to the public for awareness.

In the sector of watchdog journalism, independence is very important because that is the only way corrupt practices can be exposed without the fear of retaliation from those involved. This goes a long way in protecting public interest.

Reader Responsibility

When it comes to democracy, it is not a passive system but one that encourages and demands active civic engagement. So, it is a call to duty to everyone: the government, the media, and the people. Here are some responsibilities required of readers for an independent media:

Independent Outlet Support: Readers can actively support independent media outlets so that they can survive without the intervention of the government or even corporate bodies. This can be done through financial subscriptions. Readers are encouraged to subscribe to content put out by independent outlets, paying a stipulated sum either weekly, monthly, or even annually to get information.

Another way readers can support actively is by referral, recommendation, or even sharing of trusted independent media outlet sources to family and friends. Every independent media outlet needs visibility, and when trust is built through consistency in credible information, it’s only right that readers share their work.

Continuous Engagement: Readers are not supposed to just read the news passively, but also have the responsibility of engaging with the news to help its value. This is achieved through continuous commenting, liking of content, sharing, and much more. It also helps to verify a source.

Another thing continuous engagement does is, with every like, share, and comment, it helps the journalist not only interact with their audience, but also know what they like to see. Continuous engagement helps journalists know what topics matter to their audience and dig deeper into information. This, without neglecting other pieces of information.

Act as Journalist Watchdogs: While the journalists are busy keeping the government accountable, readers have the responsibility of keeping journalists accountable, too. This can be done by verifying information, comparing sources, demanding transparency, and even asking questions where clarity is needed.

Journalism, because it is built on trust, owes it to the people to always give an account for the information they pass and ensure that the masses are adequately informed. This alone builds trust and can help any independent media outlet survive without government intervention.

Long-term Democratic Impact

The absence or presence of independent media has a long-term impact on democracy, and these effects are:

Information: The presence of independent media outlets leads to proper information for the citizens. Citizens are given adequate information needed to make informed decisions, and that is the beauty of democracy. The fact that citizens can freely make their choices based on what they know and not what they were forced to believe or assume.

The case is not the same for a society with dependent media. When the media is dependent, there tends to be a lot of misinformation, influenced mostly by the government or even by commercial interests. This situation makes it hard for citizens to stay informed.

Accountability: In a society where the media is independent of the government and large corporate bodies, there tends to be a demand for accountability from the government. The government is not the body that’s held accountable in this case, but the media is also held accountable when it is independent.

Accountability is quite hard when it’s the other way round, and the media depends on the government or corporate advertisers to function. The government cannot be held accountable because it controls the media, and in the absence of this independence, the media loses its voice.

Trust: Public confidence increases when the media is independent of the government. They are not owned by anyone and so can expose corrupt practices and injustice without the fear of being humiliated or reprimanded. When the media is seen to be fearless in dishing out information, the people tend to be more confident in it.

In the long run, democracy thrives in a society where independent media works, but it is not the same as that of a society where the media is consolidated.

Conclusion

Media accountability in democracy is very important for democracy to thrive. The media can be held accountable, but not to be owned or consolidated, as it comes with too many disadvantages. The public deserves a media they can trust, and that is quite the opposite when the government tries to own it.