Roles and Functions of the Mass Media Flashcards
Provision of Information
The media provides information at different levels, in many forms and for various purposes. All of this information helps to fill a knowledge gap, which, in turn, serves to empower those who receive the information and enables them to make informed decision based on it, thus directly contributing to the advancement of human development. In the Caribbean, information can touch on local or national events, affairs and issues, those that involve the region as a whole and those that affect the global community. Of Course, the flow of information is mostly one way, from source to audience. The advent of the internet, with social media sites and blogs, on participative involvement. However, it should be noted that media outlets are businesses, often owned by large cooperations, or have some element of government ownership or control, and so the information provided by television, radio and newspapers is likely to have been filtered, or even censored, in some way by the prevailing policy and views of the ownership.
Areas of Information Provision
Events: at a local level, these could include elections, political speeches outlining policy, cultural festivals, crimes, instances of pollution or racism and so on. Regionally they could include trade event, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summits or sporting events. Internation press agencies provide information on, and coverage of, international events such as conflict, outbreaks of epidemics, such as the SARS or Zika viruses, and international sports competitions.
Trends: locally and regionally, these would include issues such as rising crime rates, tourism, health issues and education. The media can provide information about, and educate people on, global issues, elements or aspects which may have a more local impact. A case in point is the environment, where an appreciation of global diversity and an awareness of the various threats to the environment on a global scale could heighten awareness of environmental issues closer to home.
Areas of Information Provision
Institutions: information about local institutions and the services they provide is fundamental for the equal access to these services for all. Regionally and internationally, the media plays an important role in providing information to, and education people on, both pan-regional institutions, such as CARICOM and the Caribbean Court of Justice, and international institutions, such as WHO, WTO and the IMF, which may well impact on their lives in some way.
Political and Economic Affairs: information on government policy, especially local government, helps to inform individuals’ opinions and allows them to assert their rights and access any benefits owed to them through aspects such as welfare. Information on the local economy can assist in the effective management of small businesses. When it comes to elections, publicising the rights of citizens, the individual party manifestos and the processes involved empowers people to participate on a free and fair basis.
Goods and Services: advertisements, although always promoting certain product, underpin the concept of freedom of choice. The media can also serve to highlight and advise on new goods and services available as well as provide critiques of existing ones.
Entertainment
The provision of entertainment by digital and print media, either through direct access to programming by both broadcast and digital media or through information to enable access to events, is an important function of the mass media. As with information, forms of entertainment can be categorised as local, regional and international. Local forms include local cultural festivals and sporting events, media coverage of which usually encourages commercial sponsorship. Larger cultural events, such as Carnival in TNT, could be classed as regional or even international as could the Caribbean Song Festival.
Construction of National, Regional and Diasporic Identity
National Identity:
Mass media provides a fundamental service in the promotion of a national identity. This was critical in both the run up to independence- with newspapers giving column space to proponents of anti-colonialism and nationalism, such as Claud McKay and C.L.R. James- and then the the fledging Caribbean states following independence, when newly-formed governments became actively involved in the ownership of media outlets and the screening of content they broadcast in order to bolster national consciousness and patriotic dedication. The recognition that a strong cultural identity would strengthen a sense of pride and unity led Jamaican leader Michael Manley to establish the Jamaican Cultural Development Committee shortly after independence, with radio and TV spotlighting the cultural activities it promoted.
Regional and Diasporic Identity
Regional Identity- most Caribbean-based mass media is country focused. Regional news provides, such as the Caribbean News Agency (CANA), which belongs to the Caribbean Media Cooperation (CMC), have been established to provide a focus on news at a regional level, but they have found it difficult to compete with international press agencies. The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) was set up in 1970 by CARICOM as a not-for-profit association of public service and commercial media broadcasters with the intention of promoting integration
Diasporic Identity- those in the diaspora risk losing or diluting their identity as they struggle to settle in a foreign land. The local media, especially in areas with a large Caribbean population, can help ease the process by providing Caribbean focused content: music, cuisine, news and so on. Increasingly, programmes are being broadcast from the Caribbean itself to diasporic communities. CaribVision, for example, was launched by CMC in 2006 and broadcasts a variety of programming including news and current affairs, sports, drama, sitcoms, soaps, entertainment and lifestyle shoes across the region, to parts of Latin America, to the East coast of the USA, to Ontario and Quebec in Cananda ad to the United Kingdom.
Promotion of Cultural Experience and Exchange
The media has served to facilitate the promotion of various forms culture, both within and outside the region. Technological advances have helped to extend the reach of information with, for example, the internet allowing local cultural events, such as the Antigua Carnival, as well as regional ones, such as the Caribbean Song Festival, to be advertised and broadcast across the region and beyond. Media coverage has also served to provide a platform for artistes and art forms, which has helped to boost cultural industries, such as music, dance, art and drama. the media is also a means to showcase diasporic Caribbean culture with the media is also a means to showcase diasporic Caribbean culture with the promotion and coverage of carnival held by emigrant communities in London and Leicester in the UK, Toronto in Cananda and Atlanta in the IS.
Responding to Cultural Imperialism
The dominance of the US mass media in the Caribbean, especially cable TV programming, has been viewed as a form of cultural imperialism. The view is that US programming has imbued the Caribbean population with US attitudes, perspectives, values, culture and beliefs at the expense of traditional native Caribbean ones. These include language, religion, family structure and relations and so on. There is also some evidence that the aspirational, but ultimately unreal, lifestyle portrayed in many US media influence, the Caribbean has a history of emigration and a strong element of free choice is in play- just because someone enjoys listening to foreign music. is entertained by foreign drams and likes to follow global fashion trends, it cannot be argued that they may not still retain their fundamental and distinct identity.
Promotion and Defence of Rights and Citizens
Despite issues surrounding how much press freedom is actually enjoyed by the Caribbean media, commercial considerations and corporate or government influence, the media still has a significant role to play in the promotion and protection of people’s rights- political, social and economic-and thus help to counter branches of social justice that infringe people’s rights and impede development.
This can be done in the following ways:
-Investigate reporting serves to expose and make public shortcomings in government and societal institutions.
-Providing information on people’s legislative rights, consumer rights or social rights serves to empower citizens.
