ROLE OF MEDIA IN GOOD GOVERNANCE
WRITTEN BY: VAIBHAV GUPTA
{B.COM. (H) FINANCIAL MARKET}
{SECOND YEAR}
{STUDENT ID: BCF2018009}
Abstract
The role of the media in promoting good governance is clear. All elements of good
governance are facilitated by a strong and independent mediascape within a society. Only
when journalists are free to monitor, investigate and criticise the public administration’s
policies and actions can good governance take hold. Independent media are like a beacon that
should be welcomed when there is nothing to hide and much to improve. Indeed, this is the
concrete link between the functioning of the media and good governance the media allow for
ongoing checks and assessments by the population of the activities of government and assist
in bringing public concerns and voices into the open by providing a platform for discussion.
Instead, all too often governments devise laws and informal means of keeping their activities
hidden from public view or only available to media favorable to their viewpoint. In recent
years, many governments have tried to co-opt journalists by paying part of their salaries or by
giving them certain kinds of access on condition that they will not report from other
perspectives. If the media are to function in the public interest, governments have to protect
the independent functioning of the media and allow various viewpoints to flourish in society.
Keywords: promoting, mediascape, beacon, devise law, co-opt, flourish
