Political Movements and Changing Media Environments

Advances in Journalism and Communication

2013. Vol.1, No.2, 13-17

Published Online June 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ajc) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2013.12002

Ankesrapu Nagraj

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism,Tezpur University, Assam, India

Email: nagrajhcu@ h otmail.com, nagraj@tezu.ernet.in

Received March 19th, 2013; revised Apr il 1 9th, 2013; accepted May 3rd, 2013

Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the

original work is properly cited.

In the last few decades the media has played a vital role in liberating colonized nations and those under

autocratic forms of governance. The oppression of the state leads to the creation of alternative forms of

representation; the literature that comes out of the oppressive regimes not only highlights the facts that

exist in society but also encourages the people to participate in the resistance. The printing press of

Gutenberg was put into use by the revolutionaries in the French revolution, giving a new role and direc-

tion to the media. The various political and social movements that happened after the Indian independ-

ence in various parts of the country have indeed helped the growth of media, specially the non-Hindi and

English print media during the emergency period. Today the political and social movements are once

again increasingly vulnerable to the political, religious and corporate groups. People continue to resist the

oppression of the state and express their concerns from alternative sites of media, especially with the New

Media. However, we are again entering a phase in human history when knowledge and information are

in the process of being monopolized.

Keywords: Non-Hindi; Non-English; New Media; Public Sphere; Media Ecology; Media Environments

Introduction

Political movements are inevitably shaped by media. Today

societies depend on media more than ever before; especially,

the impact of political or social movements wrests on the mo-

mentum that media is able to generate locally and globally. The

success of the movement is measured by public participation

and the wide publicity it acquires through media. The symbiotic

relation that exists between the political movements and media

is not new; the two have been evolving and growing stronger

with mutual support. The political movements with their dis-

tinctive ideologies have changed the notion of media in the

course of history (printing press to Facebook, from Johannes

Gutenberg to Mark Zuckerberg). In the last few decades par-

ticularly, the media has played a major role in liberating nations

that were once colonized and also those reeling under autocratic

regimes. The oppression by the state has always given birth to

new and ingenious forms of response by the people; for in-

stance, the literature of the oppressed not only highlights the

facts of society, but also encourages people to participate and

resist the domination. Literature can also enlighten the common

public on various issues thereby generating mass awareness and

finally leading to mass movements. Literature that is critical

about the state and the functioning of its institutions is sup-

pressed around the world and being branded as anti-national.

It is said that a nation’s tolerance can be measured by ana-

lyzing the freedom of its press. But with the emergence of new

technologies, especially in media, governments are finding it

increasingly hard to exercise control over it. The boom in in-

formation technology has opened the floodgates in so far as the

immediate ac ce ss to a wide ra nge of au die nce is conce rne d. T he

option for the publication of literature is wide open: books, for

instance, need not be printed any more to strike an immediate

chord with a large number of people; it is enough to release the

information on the web. However, this openness of media has

come under the scrutiny of the stringent laws adopted by some

countries. Once the information is in the public domain neither

the government, nor the public can afford to ignore the issues.

Many political and social movements were largely unknown to

the rest of the world a few decades back; with the increased

connectivity among the world citizens aided by the latest com-

munication tools, no event goes unnoticed.

In this environment of ever growing connectivity among the

world citizens, political and social movements no longer die a

silent death. It is said that the French revolution sustained itself

by relying on the explosive growth of media (press), a phe-

nomenon that is visible even today in many parts of the world.

The printing press of Gutenberg was put to use by the revolu-

tionaries during the French revolution, giving a new role and

direction to the media. This idea of using the printing press has

not stopped with one nation; indeed it was an inspiration for

many such revolutions that followed in Europe. Education and

media that were once exclusive to the elites, were put to the

service of the masses by the French revolution. This use of

media and its support was visible in all the revolutions and

social movements that soon followed the French revolution.

The media, especially the print and the pictorial representations

of events (Picture Journalism), including the satirical carica-

tures, gained popularity during these movements and thereafter.

Today things have changed; print is gradually being replaced

by the New Media (Internet) that is put to use by the revolu-

tionaries around the world. The New Media played a major role

in the Arab spring, where people used texting and audio/video

A. NAGRAJ

clips to garner massive support to overthrow an autocratic gov-

ernment in the Middle East.

India first witnessed the power of print media on January 29,

1780 when James Augustus Hickey published the newspaper

called Bengal Gazette. Hickey was sent to jail for questioning

and defying the East India Company’s role, and the atrocities

committed by enacting draconian laws. Hickey’s act motivated

many Indians to question the hegemony of British rule.

In this period of over two centuries of the existence of the

print media, the nation engaged with new ideas that helped in

the spread of the ideals of a democratic society. Raja Ram

Mohan Roy highlighted the plight of women and other issues in

his magazines like Brahmonical and Sambad Kaumudi. In the

twentieth century, Gandhi put forward his ideas through the

Young India and Harijan. Social thinkers and freedom fighters

carried forward the Indian struggle for independence and the

socialist ideas and social movements played a vital role in the

emergence of the nation. In the post-colonial phase, the media

was put to use for purposes of nation building exercise. There is

no doubt that the changes brought about by the media have

unified the Indian nation, making it the largest democracy in

the world.

Importance of Oral Communication

Oral communication in India has always been very powerful.

Of course, the hold and power of oral communication was on

full display during the freedom struggle and many other

movements that followed. Although the literacy rate was very

low during the freedom struggle, the important role played by

the media in the circulation of information by what now seems

to be the “limited” impact of print media among the masses is

notable. For those who were illiterate, the messages and infor-

mation sent by couriers was read loud by the few educated

people. The common masses were made aware and educated

about their basic rights and the importance of participation in

the freedom struggle. The oral communication educated and

helped the masses to actively participate in these movements;

people were made to be fully aware of the issues there were

fighting for.

Even today the literacy rates in India are low; one may still

wonder how the social and political movements continue to hog

the limelight in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Especially the tribal

movements in the mineral rich states have grown in strength;

the movements for land rights and forest rights in many parts of

central India have been successful. If one examines the illiter-

acy rate (officially the average figures stands at 35% in these

states; however, unofficial sources claim that the figure is much

higher (2011 Census). Thus, even today oral communication is

one of the most preferred means of communicating ideas and

information. Verbal communication has always been more

influential than non-verbal communication, especially in multi-

lingual states like India. Apart from illiteracy, many tribal

movements are forced to rely on oral communication as some

of these linguistic communities do not have any written form of

language.

Political and social movements help in the growth of the me-

dia (including the oral forms of media) to expand and also to

improve their popularity and circulation among the people. In

the Indian context, such movements have given birth to the

regional language newspapers (non-Hindi and non-English) and

at the same time has played a vital role in the social and politi-

cal transformation. The non-Hindi and English print media saw

a surge during the emergency period in India. It has been ar-

gued by Robin Jeffrey (1987) that:

“Involvement in great social and political campaigns, or

other exciting events, during the freedom struggle fuelled

newspaper growth and circulation and built up the credibility

and image of particular publications. Literacy, basic communi-

cations and adequate technology are essential to the develop-

ment of a daily newspaper culture. But momentous events pro-

vide the link between these developments and politics—the link

that seems to send circulations shooting upwards” (Jeffrey,

1987: p. 608).

The Jai Prakash Narayan movement, the Mandal commission,

Ayodhya movement, Assam agitation in Assam, the Telangana

movement, and the latest Anna Hazara anti-corruption move-

ments have indeed helped in the tremendous growth of media,

(Print, Radio, Television, New media). The movements not

only helped the verbal communication but also revived the

non-verbal communication (Traditional media); movements

like Telangana have helped to revive (Janapada kala, Oggu

kadha, Burra katha) the traditional way of narrating stories

through songs and dances. These forms have become prominent

and pose an alternative to the mainstream media. The various

media formats used by the people involved in the movements

reflect the aspirations and angst of people. The growth of media

has helped in assertion of community identities and cultures;

this trend is particularly visible in the regional media. The

dominance and monopoly of Hindi and English daily newspa-

pers over the media is being challenged locally. There are many

reasons for growth in popularity of the non-Hindi and non-

English dallies. Firstly, it has to do with the growth of literacy

and easy understanding of the regional language that people

speak (mother tongue). Secondly, it is related to a sense of

pride in one’s own language. Thirdly, there has been an accusa-

tion of biased reporting by some national papers and also mis-

interpreting the facts and even of completely ignoring the issues.

As literacy rates started increasing, people have become more

interested in local news; the regional language newspapers

started to fulfill the needs of the people by introducing the re-

gional and local editions.

The growth of the regional media has ensured a wider reach

for the media in general considering the vastness of the country

and its multilingual set up. The regional media has helped to fill

up the gaps in building what seems to be an elusive pan Indian

view for the media. People get to look at the different versions

of the same story from different perspectives. Talking about the

institute theory, Habermas refers to refudalization; he traces its

origin to the 19th century and this refudalization, according to

him, has transformed the public sphere:

“The transformation involved private interests assuming di-

rect political functions, as powerful corporations came to con-

trol and manipulate the media and state. On the other hand, the

state began to play a more fundamental role in the private realm

and everyday life, thus eroding the difference between state and

civil society, between the public and private sphere”.

What we see today is the nexus between the politician, busi-

nessmen and the media, that has crept into the editor’s room

long back, and was clearly visible in India from the period of

early-1990, when India’s most trusted newspapers deviated

from their goal for revenue generation through advertisements

(Sumir, 2010: p. 27) Today we can see the nexus operating

A. NAGRAJ

more overtly; some media houses are inclined in favor of select

political parties. The changed trend is clearly visible in the

news reporting and articles carried out by the media houses.

The common men has no option left, but speak out openly

through other forms of media, and choose alternative forms to

give expression to their sense of being marginalized in the

so-called “mainstream” media. The Indian media is today

caught in the currents and cross-currents of “legitimate infor-

mation”. Who speaks for whom and how representative that

media is to convey the legitimate aspirations for people have

become questions of immediate relevance. The dynamics of

media in India is thus intricately and intimately linked to issues

of identity politics.

Even the alternative media chosen by people and groups are

been closely watched by the political and government agencies.

The expressive behavior of communities is manifested in the

form of songs, literature, art, and films. This expressive behav-

ior as projected in the media have helped in putting forward

people’s ideas, ideologies and arguments on various issues

concerning the day-to-day lives of people. Governments across

the world ban groups and individuals who speak their mind and

express their opinion on issues and events that have an immedi-

ate relevance to their lived experiences. We are witnessing an

increasing trend in suppressing the freedom of expression by

political, religious and other groups including the corporate

houses. In the wake of suppressing the movements people have

taken the advantage of social media, which is increasingly be-

coming popular among the citizens who have found in it an

alternative media to express their opinions on various issues.

Citizen’s Participation and News from the

Common Man

Today the information comes in from multiple directions; we

are now called information overloaded societies or Infosocieties.

The information in the form of texts, images, music and video

is not limited and confined to one particular region, but for

everyone around the world. The citizens in the infosocieties

have the option of rejecting the information but not ignoring it.

The information overloaded societies is an offshoot of global-

ization. Marshal McLuhan had predicted that the introduction

of communication tools would turn the world into a global vil-

lage (McLuhan, 1964).

Communication tools are playing a vital role in carrying the

information from one-to-one and one-to many, as and when the

events happen around the world. Professional reporters of news

agencies, who are in the forefront of reporting the latest news,

are today increasingly replaced by non-professionals and indi-

viduals. Majority of the news and events are reported by pro-

fessionally untrained citizens, who are playing a vital role in

placing the issues and events before the global community. In

one of the essays written by Roy Greenslade (2010) titled “This

Way To The Egress” in the Outlookindia Magazine, he foresees

the end of top-down journalism, that tell people what they

should read, see, and hear to be replaced by bottom-up journal-

ism. In this new form of journalism, the audience plays an ac-

tive role in news-gathering. The monopoly over information by

news agencies is being seriously challenged by the new com-

munication tools, especially with the coming of the new media

platforms. I feel that this changing trend in dissemination of

information has a powerful impact on society. The New Media

has given scope to the rise of citizen’s journalism wherein the

individuals are able to put forward their own stories, which are

otherwise ignored and go unnoticed. With the new technologies

available for citizens, there is no easy suppression of informa-

tion. Earlier the editor of a publishing house or the channel

head had the choice of suppressing a report or issue, (Sir Evans,

2010: p. 156) and not publishing it in newspapers, tabloids, and

magazines or television channels. Today the reporters as well as

the ordinary citizens have the choice to publish the same infor-

mation for the rest of the world to read/watch with the help of

New Media (Internet) and draw the attention of the general

public to an issue or event. We are witnessing an increase in

reporting of information and many issues and events are posted

on various websites or personal blogs, including on social net-

working sites like Facebook and Twitter. People have the

choice of posting the information that may help millions of

others; numerous accounts of anomalies are exposed by indi-

viduals.

Talking about the tools Marshal McLuhan said, “We shape

our tools and afterwards our tools shape us” (Mcluhan, 1964).

The various media tools that the people are using have become

part of our life; these tools are put to use for magnifying the

issues relating to society. The public sphere (Habermas) is more

visible and effective in the virtual environments than in public

places. People are connected to each other by communication

tools, and are in continuous engagement with information; in-

formation is circulated and shared within the community, and

some times, also with the global community. One post/message

by an individual on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or any other

platform can bring about a radical change and unite millions for

a cause.

One Billion Rising

The call given by the women’s organization for the one bil-

lion rising has indeed helped millions of people to come out of

their homes. This is particularly notable in the subcontinent

where women in large numbers protested against the atrocities

on women around the world. The website had millions of hits

and especially, many women have joined the organization.

When one opens the website it reads

“One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in

her lifetime. One billion women violated is an atrocity. One

billion women dancing is a revolution” (One-billion-rising).

This message was endorsed by many noted celebrities, in-

cluding Anoushka Shankar daughter of legendary singer Ravi

Shankar, playing a vital role in creating awareness through their

blogs and tweets on various social networking sites. In India

people have received the messages and reciprocated with action

on streets culminating in peaceful protests against the brutal

gang rape of a medical student in Delhi.

The Gano Jagaran Mancha (Bangladesh)

Many social and non-governmental organizations, including

the social and political movements across the world are in-

creasingly using the New Media to connect and make people

aware of many events and issues especially using media tools

like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut. The Gano Jagaran Mancha also

known as the “Mass awakening platform” that started in Bang-

ladesh turned out to be the largest revolution till date in Bang-

ladesh; in this, the people demanded the death sentence for the

war criminals of the 1971 Bangladesh liberation. The informa-

A. NAGRAJ

tion was shared through the social networking sites like it hap-

pened in the spring revolution (Arab spring). Thousands occu-

pied the center of Shahbagh Square (Bangladesh); the partici-

pation of the people from all walks of life has indeed helped to

give momentum to the ongoing movement.

Many atrocities that are committed on various social and po-

litical leaders are always suppressed by the state: these are also

ignored by the mainstream media, as many of the publication

houses are associated with political parties and governments.

But with the latest media technologies (smart phones) in the

hands of the common man, people are able to interact and up-

date and post what is happening at ground zero, including im-

ages. The images that are released into the media environment

are not confined to one region but are carried and circulated

throughout the world; the reactions and repercussions depend

upon the content of the information released. The Arab spring

in the Middle East was successful because of many such media

tools and technologies in the hands of the common citizens.

Freedom of Speech

The increasing control over the media by corporate and po-

litical organizations is clearly visible. The passive consumption

of news is now challenged with the rise of the media tools,

specially the Internet, where people are slowly but steadily

becoming active participants and consumers. Political parties

and governments are keenly watching the new developments

happening through New Media. There is a continuous and visi-

ble/invisible war that transpires within the media environments,

as one set of media tools are controlled by corporations and

governments, the other by the individuals themselves, where

things are accessed and opinions are aired and shared freely. In

the last few years the balance is slowly but steadily tilting in the

favor of individuals and New Media (Internet). Slow and steady

but radical changes are taking place with the use of New Media

platforms that are giving a voice to the voiceless.

The freedom that we are enjoying today by sharing the in-

formation about issues and events is controlled by big organiza-

tions. Possibility is that, this freedom may come to an end very

soon and people have to search for or generate other alterna-

tives; the acquisition of free service providing companies by

Multi-National Companies is on the rise. The free platforms

that are been used by millions of citizens across the world for

airing their views and opinions are being sold to these media

corporate giants. The future would be more challenging as we

are again faced with the same situation that we were faced with

at one point of time in history when knowledge and information

was in the hands of a select few. Today, monopoly over

knowledge and information once again threatens to be limited

to few who control and dictate.

Conclusion

Today the growth and consumption of media is most visible

in the internet environment; the public sphere is more vocal and

active in this environment, according to Douglas Kellner (2013)

who arguing in Habermas, the Public Sphere, and Democracy:

A Critical Intervention says.

The public sphere keeps on changing or shifts with the rise of

new social movements, technologies and with the creation of

new public spaces.

In the last few centuries we have seen this happening; tech-

nologies have been put to use to achieve larger goals. Media

tools have transformed the society more than any other tool, by

disseminating the knowledge required, with the introduction of

the Guttenberg press, Telephone, Radio, Cinema, Television,

Mobile phones and now the computers (internet). These have

all played a vital role in transforming the societies with the

information that is freely accessed and shared at the level of

local and global communities. Each new tool that has been

added to society has created a deep impact. People participating

in social and political movements on the streets to the silent

voting that shapes the global opinion on the Internet have cre-

ated new public spheres and promises a lot for the future. The

internet has thus given new directions and changed the func-

tioning of social and political movements around the world.

Media environments are constantly undergoing change to take

new forms and shapes in the fast growing media landscape.

Vinton Cerf (2013), Google’s chief internet evangelist and

father of the Internet worries about the internet freedom, fore-

sees a threat from governments in various countries and also

from major private organizations. This is particularly true in the

case of countries where the dictatorial regimes are functional.

In the past few decades the internet has given freedom and

liberty to many citizens around the world. The media and

communication tools have empowered and have given more

power to the individuals than organizations. The communica-

tion tools have made a lot of differences to the knowledge pro-

duction and sharing among the universal community. With an

increasing connectivity among the universal citizens, the pain

and joy is shared not just by few individuals or groups, but by

majority of the people around the world. Internet provides and

acts as one of the single largest platform in helping and sup-

porting individuals, groups, organizations and nations. With the

integration of various media tools the mass political and social

movements are thus growing in strength around the world. It is

not just the social and political movements but also the move-

ments for greater cause of humanity, many organizations

around the world are being helped by millions of people who

lend their support either in cash or kind. We see this happening

with most of the humanitarian and other social organizations;

we have also seen how media tools can be used for collaborat-

ing with each other and exchanging information through vari-

ous media platforms for the execution of the works, and we are

also aware of how different media environments are coordinat-

ing with each other in the digital world and creating a new

world.

REFERENCES

Douglas, K. (2013). Habermas, the public sphere, and democracy: A

critical intervention.

http://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/papers/habermas.htm

Jeffrey, R. (1987). Culture of daily newspapers in India: How it’s

grown, what it Means. Economic and Political Weekly, 22, 607-611.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man.

New York: McGraw-Hill

One-billion-rising URL (last chec ke d 21 Februar y , 2 0 1 3) .

http://www.onebillionrising.org/home

Ram, N. (2011). The changing role of the news media in contemporary

India. Indian History Congress 72nd Session Punjabi University,

10-13 December 2011.

Roy, G. (2010). This way to the egress outlook magazine (1 November

Issue 2010).

Sir Evans, H. (2010). Press, the neuralgic nerve’ outlook magazine (1

November 1 Issue 2010).

A. NAGRAJ

Sumir, L. (2010). Why I quit the media’ outlook magazine (1 Novem-

ber 1 Issue 2010).

Vinton, C. (2013). Father of the internet: Why we must fight for its

freedom.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/29/business/opinion-cerf-google-inter

net-freedom/index.html?iref=allsearch

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