Without freedom of press and electronic media, democracy becomes fascism. But, where is the place of expressing opinion? Public meeting, discussion and procession are the means of expressing opinion. To organize people and making organizations is the right of democracy. To make organizations means the right to unite people altogether, create a political party, make protest, express and form ideas etc. Moreover, The Freedom of thought means the publication of newspapers, magazines, articles, booklets, leaflets and pamphlets etc. It also means the publication of different ideas and thoughts in those media and to form public opinion or influence public opinion on different issues.
But now, is there any prominent press or electronic media that has reflection of people’s opinion? Is there any influential media that create progressive or scientific outlook or opinion among people? In the beginning of the 21st century, is the ownership of the press media belongs to the people? The corporations and the capitalists are the ownership of the press and electronic media throughout the world. The press and electronic media such as newspapers, radio, TV, internet are the puppet of the capitalists. As a result, these press media don’t work for the progression of the people. Now-a-days, the people observe everything by the eyes of the screens of TV or internet; they swallowed the newspaper, sleep after watching the screens of TV or internet and finally wake up by the sound of TV or internet.
Are all the powerful press and electronic media useful now for the people or it becomes the enemy of the people? Actually the situation is so bad that it acts as the enemy of the people. The multi-channel TV, BBC, CNN, VOA, Al-Jajira is working against people’s interest. Although the press and electronic media have a mask which presents that it is the friend of people.
The press and electronic media have the power to make everything. So the ruler of different countries control the news of the media, purchase the journalist, make the proprietor of media favorable to the ruler and sometimes the proprietor of the media becomes the ruler. In 1964, Binoy Ghosh, a Bengali political thinker has written on the influence of media:
“Newspaper is the absolute truth and it is the lord of the creation, sustenance and destruction. The magicians of primitive age have not as much power as the newspapers. The media can create the night as day and the day as night. It can reverse the situation. The proprietors of the powerful newspapers control the culture, politics and economics from the metropolitan city like Kolkata. Today every citizen moves as a ghost without its head in the unreal incorporeal sphere of newspaper or celluloid and follow the biological rules of life but they have nothing to do the duty of the brain.”*
Actually the majority educated-uneducated people think that the newspapers are the only source of knowledge and news. They keep connection with the world through internet, TV and newspaper. But is the media progress the culture or thoughts of the people. The answer of this question is that the media moreover destroys the people’s culture and it doesn’t give enough time to think. Rather it keeps the people exited by the horrifying news and makes the people sensuous and luxurious. Shibnarayan Roy (1921-2008), a famous Bengali thinker says in his book, Democracy, culture and Degradation that:
“The influence of inferior writing has been increasing in Europe-USA, as the power of purchase is increasing. Most of the popular dailies and weeklies of USA are filled with blunt jokes, elaborate description of killings and foolish vulgarity.”**
Shibnarayan Roy has been quoted from a journalist of USA named Mathews who explained that the cause of getting billions of reader of ‘The Daily Mail’, ‘The Daily Mirror’ and ‘The Daily Express’. The opinion of Mathews is:
The popular dailies are interested to satisfy the foolish expectation of the general readers…. These popular dailies have become the serious flatterer of the general people. Everyday these newspapers are presenting to their general readers that they are very good people, their blind superstitions are very logical, their thoughts and emotions are very sound; the things those are beyond their experience or comprehension are valueless.**
In 1900s, these sentences are appropriate for the popular dailies, weeklies, multi-channels TV, other news agencies or entertainment media, rather the situation is more complex and dangerous. It can be said about these media that these types of TV or newspapers can never enlarge the mind of the reader, develop the thoughts, make them interested to acquire knowledge, construct the creativity, conscious the people about society-culture-state or teach them to accept the unpleasant truth. Moreover the literate people become restricted to the reading of newspapers as a source of knowledge, so the media creates such types of thoughts those are not proper to change the society.
References:
*Binoy Ghosh; Metropolitan mind, middle class, Rebellion; Orient Longman; Kolkata; Fifth Reprint; April, 1990; Page-12.
**Shibnarayan Roy; Democracy, Culture and Degradation; Dej Publishing; Kolkata; Third edition; April 2000; Page 28-29.
Translation on 20 January, 2012, Mymensingh.
অনুপ সাদি বাংলাদেশের একজন লেখক, কবি, প্রাবন্ধিক, গবেষক ও চিন্তাবিদ। তাঁর প্রথম কবিতার বই পৃথিবীর রাষ্ট্রনীতি আর তোমাদের বংশবাতি প্রকাশিত হয় ২০০৪ সালে। তাঁর মোট প্রকাশিত গ্রন্থ ১২টি। সাম্প্রতিক সময়ে প্রকাশিত তাঁর সমাজতন্ত্র ও মার্কসবাদ গ্রন্থ দুটি পাঠকমহলে ব্যাপকভাবে সমাদৃত হয়েছে। ২০১০ সালে সম্পাদনা করেন বাঙালির গণতান্ত্রিক চিন্তাধারা নামের একটি প্রবন্ধগ্রন্থ। তিনি ১৬ জুন, ১৯৭৭ তারিখে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন। তিনি লেখাপড়া করেছেন ঢাকা কলেজ ও ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে। ২০০০ সালে ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে ইংরেজি সাহিত্যে এম এ পাস করেন।