The media in almost every democratic country in the world today play a huge role in public life and, in fact, have long been turned into an instrument of political struggle. And politicians of the most diverse views and beliefs do not hesitate to actively use the media in their interests.
Instruction manual
1
This sounds paradoxical, but with the development of democratic processes in society, designed to protect the freedoms of citizens (primarily freedom of choice and freedom of speech), the media are turning into a powerful tool to limit these very freedoms.
2
The reason for this phenomenon is the ever-increasing role of the media in the political struggle. For in the current situation they have a huge impact on the consciousness of the masses and the formation of public opinion. Each of the subjects of politics, whether it be state power, political parties or independent political figures, strives to subjugate the media as much as possible, to make them an instrument of their policy.
3
Conventionally, all media can be divided into dependent and independent. With the political orientation of the dependent media, everything is quite simple. They do not hide their bias and, for example, in print media in their output data clearly indicate the name of their owner - government agencies, political parties, etc. In democratically developed countries, they do not exert too much influence on the political consciousness of the masses, unless, of course, these are state television channels.
4
But with the so-called independent media, everything is much more complicated. Despite the fact that these cannot be a priori, a huge number of print media and mass media position themselves precisely as independent. Although, in fact, it is not always the case, they can only guarantee their independence from state power.
5
It is these media that are usually the main tool of politicians in the struggle for the consciousness of the masses. Moreover, in this case, as a rule, methods of undercover fighting are used.
6
In the midst of political battles, the media lose their impartiality in assessing certain events. They form communication strategies that are beneficial to them, using norms and methods of a manipulative type.
7
Having become at the service of a particular political trend, the media use various methods of manipulating public consciousness. This can be a harmless silence of any information, and the dumping of compromising material, and outright falsifications.
8
Aware of the enormous potential of the media for the electoral audience, politicians are waging a tough battle for influence on certain media. Therefore, now, unfortunately, the political struggle is often won not by the politician who has the best election program, but the one who most competently managed to use the media.
