Role of Media and its Social Effects on the Society

Social Effects of Press and Newspapers

1. The books preserve knowledge which is transmitted from generation to generation. This communication of knowledge gets changes, and becomes up-to-date and preserves itself for all times to come.

This knowledge attains a universal position by consensus among thinkers through magazines and journals. These journals and magazines provide fresh knowledge of latest research to the readers.

The newspapers perform the role of providing information about the latest finding in a certain field.

Books preserve knowledge

Magazines and Journals create consensus among the thinkers of a discipline

Newspapers disseminate news about the findings of a research.

All the above three sources of information are the products of press and are interrelated as shown above. No scientific finding can attain the position of a fact and knowledge without consensus of its experts. Form newspapers we go to journals and finally to books. The pres in this way inter-relates the readers, the researchers and the teachers with one another. This is a great social function of the press.

2. The books and the magazines shape traits of personality in the individual according to their subject matter.

3. The newspapers create harmony in public opinion. The people get closer to one another informing their opinions on certain national and international issues.

4. The books preserve cultural, social and religious values, beliefs, attitudes and sentiments of society. The books transmit knowledge from one generation to other when these books are read.

5. The newspapers broaden the circle of thinking and break the old customary bonds of primitive culture. They bring about social and cultural change rapidly. Wide thinking is produced. Ideas about old things are converted into new thoughts.

6. The newspapers help in expansion of trade and business by printing of their advertisements. They are an important means of publicity and propaganda.

7. Political activities of parties are publicized by broad space provided it statements of their political leaders. Good impression of the party and the leader are created on the readers of the newspaper.

8. Criticism by one party leader upon the leader of the opposition is also given wide space in the papers. At this the people frame their opinions in favour or against the leader under criticism.

9. The mostly read are the newspapers, which publish news on crime, courts, police, and obscene pictures by creating sensation, terror and tension in the people. Sometimes minor news is exaggerated into major events creating thrill in the readers. Some news relating to court judgements, statements of party leaders, and events of daily life are not truly reported.