Essay on mainstream media

People have the right to choose the leaders they want to govern them and by exercising this right, they effectively decide how they will be governed over a given period of time. The question however is, once the chosen people ascend into their positions of power, how will the person who voted for them be able to keep this individual in check and assure the delivery of the required services? This paper seeks to address the role mainstream media plays in a democratic society and how it influences the political shape and structures of governance that have been set and strengthened by our institutions over time. What is mainstream media? Mainstream media defines the various traditional forms of distribution and dissemination of information.

The term has also been loosely used to describe the established media organizations that hold sway over a large population of people and have access to people even in remote areas of a country. These organizations have the resources to broadcast information both locally and internationally and the content they provide are held to a high standard and often seen as credible. Voices of discontent usually get drowned out by political rhetoric and deviation from issues. Limited access to elected official may also prove to be a deterring factor when constituents are aggrieved. However due to the societal attention that the media brings with it, the voices of the people at the grassroots always find a way to the target audience.

The media also helps provide accountability of a government overseas. During war is a period where a lot of crimes can go unpunished or even unreported. The media has ensured that all government activities are checked and whenever an infringement occurs, there is an immediate report of said infringement. This level of scrutiny has led to reduced misuse of power and mismanagement by elected officials. Greater emphasis has been placed in appropriation of public funds as media scrutiny on this issue has been relentless. The second major impact of the media has been exposure of major scandals that have occurred with respect to government. The information role is greatly significant and whenever there is an abuse of power, the media has been quick to point it out.

His is a journey set out to discredit the press so that they may not effectively carry out their role of oversight and hold his administration into account. By discrediting the media, he has effectively led a large percentage of his followers to believe anything negative about him coming from the media is untrue. I strongly disagree with the stance of the president Donald Trump on taking away some of the powers of the press since his would be a mission of silencing his critics. The responsible media has played a great role in keeping his administration in check during the duration of his tenure. The power should always remain with the people regardless of who is in power and trying to stifle the media by curtailing the freedoms thy enjoy would effectively switch the mode of governance to authoritarian.