MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY- A CRUCIAL RELATIONSHIP

Abstract

A system of government in which all the people of a country choose and elect their representatives’ is called Democracy. Putting famously in the words of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people, wherein the power is exercised by the government to provide protection to civil rights. Democracy is a popular political notion in today’s world. Fair and free elections are the prerequisite of democracy and rule of the law, protection and freedom of human rights and supremacy of the constitution are important elements in true democratic system. The term ‘Democracy’ has always attracted much debate in socio-political context. The relativity of the concept of democracy arising out of its relation with the society it descends from, the socio-cultural settings of the territory, the kind of economic and political environment that the state patronages has given rise to vivid typology of democracy, including both classical and modern concepts. For a democratic country, access to information is essential, freedom to read or write is an important element to expose and reveal the truth, to ensure self-development and self-fulfilment of citizens and to help ensure participation of citizens in a democracy. Reliable information resources are an important constituent of any democratic society. This is where media steps in. A list of the core characteristics of democracy includes people’s sovereignty, rule of law, social and political equality, elected government by means of universal adult franchise, free and open competition for political positions and institutions, periodic elections for legitimizing government, fundamental rights and civil liberties, multi-party system, independent judiciary and free media.