By Burnett Munthali
The news media plays a particularly important role during election campaigns. Voters need information about the parties’ programmes, the candidates and possible coalition arrangements after an election. The media also provide critical analysis of the policies and past performance of parties and candidates.
A communication platform such as social media is persuasive and often works to change or influence opinions regarding political views because of the abundance of ideas, thoughts, and opinions circulating through the social media platform.
The best definition of politics (from Ancient Greek πολιτικά (politiká) is the ‘affairs of the cities’) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.
Politics takes a significant toll on a range of health markers-everything from stress, loss of sleep, or suicidal thoughts to an inability to stop thinking about politics and making intemperate social media posts.
The main roles of the media is that they educate, inform and entertain through news, features and analysis in the press. They also produce documentaries, dramas, current affairs programmes, public service announcements, magazine programmes and other forms of programming for radio and television.
The influences of mass media (or ‘media effects’) are observed in various aspects of human life, from voting behaviors to perceptions of violence, from evaluations of scientists to our understanding of others’ opinions.
Politics is the way that people living in groups make planned decisions. Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries. In large groups, such as countries, some people may spend a lot of their time making such agreements.
By covering news, politics, weather, sports, entertainment, and vital events, the daily media shape the dominant cultural, social and political picture of society. Beyond the media networks, independent news sources have evolved to report on events which escape attention or underlie the major stories.
Role in democracy
In conclusion, ideally the news media’s role is to: provide the public with in-depth, factual information to inform their political decision-making. act as a watchdog against abuses of power. offer a forum for the exchange of opinions, experiences and perspectives.
