Mass Media Role in Modern Politics

An integral part of the modern politics is mass communication. Politics requires special means of information exchange for establishing and maintaining permanent links between its subjects to a greater extent than other type of social activities. For example, the economy can operate on the basis of self-regulation with limited, mainly direct, human interaction. As for politics, it cannot function without mediated forms of communication and special communications between power-holders as well as between the state and citizens. In the postindustrial society, power of knowledge and information, that is the power of the mass media, becomes crucial for the administration of the society, pushing into the background the influence of money and coercion of the state. The mass media should be considered as significant leverage that may control people’s minds and as the factor that plays a vital role in the modern politics.

Functions of the Media in PoliticsFunctions of the mass media are diverse. Nowadays, they perform a common set of political functions:1) The informative function. It is perhaps the most crucial function of the media. It implies receiving and disseminating information on the events that are of profound importance for citizens and authorities. The information that the mass media obtain and then transmit includes not only detailed television and photographic coverage of certain facts but also journalists' commentaries and evaluation. Not all distributed by the media information (e.g., weather, entertainment, sports, and other similar messages) are of political nature. Political information includes data that has public importance and requires the attention of the public authorities or affects them. On the basis of the received information, citizens form an opinion about the activities of the government, parliament, political parties, and other political institutions, which are economic, cultural, and other constituents of social life.2) The educational function. It is fulfilled by reporting of certain data to citizens, giving them the possibility to adequately evaluate and organize information received from the media and other sources. The mass media, accompanying people throughout their lives, largely affect the perception of political and social information. At the same time, under the guise of political education, pseudo rational structures, which may distort reality, can be formed.3) The function of socialization. The educational role of the media is closely related to their function of socialization. However, when political education involves systematic acquisition of knowledge and enhances cognitive and evaluative capabilities of the individual, political socialization means internalization, assimilation of political norms, values, and behavior patterns. It allows the person to adapt to the social reality.4) The function of criticism. This function is carried out in the political system not only by the media but also by the opposition as well as specialized institutions of procuracy, judicial, and other controls. However, criticism of the media is different due to its width and a vast variety of objects, which include the president, the government, the court, and other areas of politics and the media themselves.5) The function of control. This function is based on the authority of public opinion. Although the media, in contrast to the state and bodies that have economic control, cannot impose administrative or economic sanctions against violators, their control is often more effective or even more severe because they provide not only legal but also moral evaluation of different events and parties.6) There is also the function of articulation and integration. The mass media not only criticize shortcomings in politics and society but also fulfill a constructive function of articulation of different social interests, the constitution and the integration of political subjects. they provide representatives of various community groups with an opportunity to express their opinions publicly, find and unite like-minded people, rally to share their common goals and beliefs, articulate and present their interests in public.7) The mobilization function. All the above mentioned functions of the media are connected with the function of political mobilization, directly or indirectly contributing to its implementation. This function is expressed in encouraging people in certain political actions or conscious inaction, involving them in politics. The media have great potential impact on the minds and feelings of people, their way of thinking, evaluation criteria, styles and political behavior. After all, without the radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, even a well-educated person is not able to make responsible decisions and properly navigate in the complex mosaic of conflicting political processes. The mass media allow a person to go beyond narrow confines of first-hand experience and make the world politics manageable, but through the prism of its own vision of the political reality.The political functions of the media are not limited to the above-named. Some scientists, approaching the subject from different positions, consider additional media features. For example, an innovative one, manifested in initiating political change, broadly and persistently discussing certain social issues and bringing them to the attention of the authorities and the public. The is also the operational function because the mass media support policies of certain parties and associations. Another important function distinguished by scientists is the formation of public opinion. Many functions performed by the media lead to the conclusion that the press has practically unlimited possibilities in the field of political influence. Moreover, due to the constant progress of the media, this effect can become more and more efficient.The Relationship and Interaction of Politicians and the MediaThe Subjects of the Impact on the Mass MediaThe main subject of the impact of the media is a state system of the government. The state determines the status and standards of the media through different governmental and administrative institutions, adopting appropriate legislation. It is carried out by parliament, government,, and presidential decrees. These acts, for example, prohibit propaganda of violence, overthrow of the constitutional order, etc. As a result, the media cannot act against the main objectives and interests of public policies. The state influences the purchase of the mass media, their use, and sale to private individuals or financial-industrial groups. This economic lever may have an impact on the political side of the media. In addition, the mass media experience direct influence of other political entities, such as political parties, public organizations, some political factions within the ruling elite, and military control bodies. They tend to use the media to promote their interests.Influence of the Media on Government PolicyOn the other hand, the mass media, being a system governed by the policies, have the opposite impact on the government policy. In modern conditions, this influence is so great that the media are characterized as the "fourth power" (along with legislative, executive, and judicial ones). Of course, such a characteristic is relative, because the media do not have the attributes of power; their ideas and recommendations are not imperative for citizens to implement. They "exercise authority" over the minds of people, affect the mood and behavior of the general population;, thus, the political process and politics in general. Today, it is impossible to imagine political activities without the press, radio, Internet, and television. They intrude into all areas of political leadership. The mass media can serve a variety of political purposes: beginning from supporting particular political power to misinforming the population in favor of some opposition groups. Therefore, in the society, as a rule, there is an open or hidden struggle between various political forces that want to have influence on the print and electronic mass media in order to use them in for their own interests: political, economic, ideological, and others.Using of the Mass Media during Election CampaignsIt is important to start from the moment when there is the formation of the government. The a change in its composition during an election campaign is very important. None of presidential or parliamentary elections are held without a wide use of the media. Long before the election day, various socio-political, economic, financial-industrial groups that rely on one or another candidate for president, deputy, governor, develop a detailed plan for the electoral technology. The main purpose of this technology is to create an attractive image of the candidates for voters. Here, the main means is the television and Internet. Professional image-makers present applicants for government positions on the TV in the most modern clothes; they dictate them how to conduct in front of potential voters. Besides, the content of their speeches is carefully worked in pre-election headquarters. All this aims at creating a positive image of the future political leader among voters.Organizers of election campaigns and some of the candidates are not always concerned about whether there is financial and other resources to fulfill their campaign promises. The main goal is to create the right understanding of this politician to win votes. As a rule, no one economizes money on advertising. Nowadays, a significant portion of the costs for election campaigns is spent on the media. Particular importance is given to television debates between competing candidates for senior positions.Uncovering of the Public OpinionWith the help of available methods, the mass media study public opinion in relation to the composition of the new government, ranking the highest officials of the state and political relations in the society in general. One of the main methods of uncovering public opinion on a particular issue is a survey. This issue can be put in front of the mass media by political leaders as a "social" order, but the subject of the survey can also be initiated by journalists from the TV, Internet, radio, or newspapers. Opinion polls are a means of political intelligence, identifying the positions of certain population groups on issues of a political nature as well as on economic, social, cultural-spiritual life. They reveal what citizens think of this or that political leader, what specific life issues they care about, and what solutions people expect of him/her.The politically engaged mass media often turn the results of social opinion surveys into the instrument of focusing attention on certain decisions of the authorities concerning political and other issues with a view to supporting the domestic- or foreign policy of the government. Here the correlation between politicians and the mass media is the most evident. In general, surveys give the government a real picture of the attitude of the population and its separate groups, especially negative sentiments, before they are manifested in behavior, in uncontrolled or destructive actions. Intelligent leadership of the nation take into account public opinion before planning various national events. They often make appropriate adjustments in their positions, changing tactics so as not to cause a negative reaction of their population.PropagandaIt is another important area in which politics and the mass media work closely. Propaganda spreads resolutions of the top political leadership of the country through the press, television, radio, explaining each individual citizen or social group how to implement these orders. An important task of the media is objectivation and disclosure of the need in the so-called "unpopular" measures, for instance, increase in the prices of goods and services, "freezing" of wages or pensions during some periods, and so on). The mass media play particularly great role during transitional periods of social development, because it is impossible to change political consciousness, values, and goals of the general public without their active work. Besides, massive support of any social transformation policy cannot be achieved without the help of the mass media too.Data ManipulationThe society should be aware of the fact that the mass media, especially those applying new information technologies, can be used to control actions and thoughts of people. The mass media play an important role in the preparation of easily managed, manipulated subject of the political process. In a society that has not yet been ideologically and politically consolidated, in a word, in a divided society, information is the most important strategic resource, a means of creating manageable political consciousness. Strong and well-designed informational- political injection into the public consciousness becomes a kind of compensatory vaccine against unfulfilled expectations of citizens. Data manipulation is primarily a form of control over people's personal freedom. Therefore, only when the media turn into a public generator of knowledge, advocating for the ideas of cooperation and normal, without revolutions and counter-revolutions, development of the whole society, one will get the opportunity to shape a political culture in accordance with free choice, political attitude, and pattern of political behavior. Huge opportunities for active influence of the mass media on political consciousness and behavior of citizens demonstrate the essential role of the "fourth power" in today’s society. Some researchers of mass communication even say that the era of "mediocratism" or media governance is coming, which not only reflects and interprets the reality, but constructs it by own rules and discretions.The experience from the history, and especially the recent political history, shows that the media today have all the technical and ideological capacity to serve different political goals. It can educate people, develop their sense of self-esteem, the desire for freedom, and social justice. It can promote and assist in competent participation in politics, enrich people. At the same time, the mass media can spiritually enslave, misinform, intimidate, incite mass hatred, and sow mistrust or fear. The future of the society chiefly depends on the mass media's position on this difficult question. The mass media, combining their rich potential with a unified information space, may actually contribute to the development of a common information policy aimed at consolidating the society and forming a national idea, and maybe even an official ideology. However, they can, on the contrary, contribute to the growth of social tension, disbelief in the institutions of civil society, alienation of the society from the state, rooting distrust-in-the-democratic-structures stereotype in a mass consciousness, including distrust of the media themselves. Also, it is undesirable that power over the media is concentrated in hands of a narrow group of people that put their personal ambitions above the demands of the society.

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