The 21st century faced us with many challenges. Disinformation has shown how fragile a society can be. Propaganda attacks are a strong attack on the public. They can cause chaos. Separation and divisions, intense communication and pre-explosion situations, rather than dialogue for understanding and normal communication. That’s why the media are so important. They are the fourth pillar of democracy.
The media play a key and responsible role in informing the public. They must therefore take seriously the responsible role they play as a pillar, which in turn contributes to the stability or vulnerability of the society. Irresponsible media behavior contributes to creating a climate where the public is misled.
Media workers, and even their owners, should benefit financially as a compensation for their hard work and time spent. But this goal must not be more important than the public interest in the truth. The public’s interest should be primary. It has to get to know the truth, always and without exception.
Thanks to the Internet, news today travels fast and easily. The messages that go with them are very simple to reach the audience. This is a key point that indicates that the media has the power to shape the events. This power should not be abused.
The trend of disinformation suggests exactly that, misuse of the media space in order to lead the audience towards wrong conclusions. The disinformation easily won the media space, in a way removing the position of professional media research. Many studies support the fact that fake news travels faster than the real one.
Responsible media must be the harness that will strongly influence powerful propaganda attacks. The public must not be misled. The media have a responsibility to accurately research and interpret the facts. The end product of journalistic analysis must not contain elements of business, personal or political interpretation that will affect the objectivity of presenting the processed information.
Responsible and ethical media penetrate deeper into the problems they investigate. At no time do they lose sight of the role of a constant public educator. This is essential for dealing with propaganda methods, which today float easily through the social networks.
The media are obliged to help citizens in the realization of their rights in the correct way. Independent media are essential to democracy. They help the public understand what the government and the opposition are doing, regardless whether it’s something good or bad. But without manipulation and propaganda. Responsible media report impartially, contributing to real democratic freedoms. Responsible media deal with sensationalism, which can often be a step towards propaganda rather than objectivity. The media must always balance ethics, morals, quality journalistic work, but at the same time not violate individuals’ personal rights or endanger the stability of the society.
The truth must not remain trapped because of the disinformation that are published in the media. Rather, it should remain the key objective of any responsible media. The public deserves the truth. And yes, the public deserves responsible media.
Viki Ristoska
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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