Debarati Ganguly

In the words of Anthony Giddens, globalization is defined as “the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa”. In other words, globalization is the concept and process of developing interconnections beyond borders. These interconnections are broadly divided into economic, political and cultural dimensions.

“Ashaant hokar chale gaye Sushant“, was the headline that began doing the rounds on a popular Hindi news channel moments after the media got wind of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Things went from bad to worse when another one of those ‘popular’ news channels began harassing the late actor’s relatives for a byte. To put things simply, the Indian media is veering from information to ‘chaos’. Gone are the days when journalism in India was synonymous with quality and credibility.

Someone recently stated in their criticism against media that “instead of  doing its job as the watchdog, the media, nowadays, has transformed into a lapdog of the government.” When we look into the role of the media in a democracy, it plays a vital role, which is why it is considered as the fourth pillar of a democracy. In a democratic setting, the media acts as a watchdog in between the government and the public.