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The alternative media
Thomas Carlyle attributed the origin of the term to Edmund Burke, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787, on the opening up of press reporting of the House of Commons. The potential of the media was realised back then.
“Burke said that there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate, more important far than they all.”-Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle attributed the origin of the term to Edmund Burke, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787, on the opening up of press reporting of the House of Commons. The potential of the media was realised back then.
Like every year, the world celebrated ‘World Press Freedom Day’ on May 3. The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
With the advent of technology, an alternative platform has come to the fore and we now have a self-styled fifth estate, which is as equally powerful-social media. Social networking sites are proving to be a powerful platform, where one can express thoughts freely.
“We have seen the immense power of social media in the recent past. There are many incidents, where media did not cover things but were made known to the world, thanks to social media players,” says Shailaja V, a software engineer and social media enthusiast.
However, in the recent times, it has also become a grievance redressal platform for the people. Nonetheless, social media has become the voice for voiceless. Many issues, big or small, which have not seen the light of the day in the traditional media, were published on these social networking sites and they garnered momentum.
There are instances across the world when a blogger who had posted his perspective on the web, which was seen as dissent, was physically attacked, sending chills down the spine of various bloggers.
“Recently attackers in Bangladesh killed a liberal blogger, Nazimuddin Samad because he had different views from others. This can happen anywhere in the world. I think along with press freedom, some kind of laws should be framed to curb incidents like this. This is the future media. It ought to be classified as press,” says blogger Dinesh Reddy.
Social media is a very good platform for people to express themselves. They have the power to start a revolution and topple governments; history is the witness of these events. However, as they say, when boon turns bane, this medium can have adverse effects also. People should use it with utmost responsibility as it also has the power to ruin lives. The netizens also should not be quick to jump to conclusions.
By Navin Pivhal
