The role of media in promoting good governance

Historically, the media came into being from the need to protest against feudal oppression. In Europe, the print media played an important role in transforming a feudal society into a modern one. Besides, during the French (1789) and American Revolution (1775-83), the print media was widely used to shape people's will.
In the twenty-first century media is not only confined to printing or electronic devices. It has successfully created a platform for interactions of all sorts known in common parlance as social media, capable of exerting tremendous impact on people's mind.
The role of media in a modern society is not limited to reporting and analysing specific events only. Rather, it has immense role, as a watchdog, to bring to scrutiny the functioning of democracy. It is often referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy. The significance of the media in depicting how well or not the state executes its functions can best be captured in the argument by Joseph Pulitzer, an American citizen of Hungarian descent who waged courageous and often successful crusades against corrupt practices in government and business in the US. In May 1904, writing in The North American Review in support of his proposal for the founding of a school of journalism, Pulitzer summarised his credo as: "Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself. The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations."
What Pulitzer was essentially saying is that the media can make or break a society by picturing the way and manner it functions. What Pulitzer predicted in May 1901 became true in 1974 by the resignation of the American President Richard Nixon, being accused of the Watergate scandal. This, as we know, was mainly the result of efforts by two journalists at the Washington Post who disclosed the incident through their reporting.
The importance of media in promoting good governance is unquestionable. Indeed, there is an integral link between the functioning of the media and good governance. Good governance is a pretense when there are ineffective, inadequate, limited or bad laws blocking transparency and accountability. The key factors that should predominantly determine the terms of the media in promoting good governance may be summed up as below:
PARTICIPATION: Greater participation is crucial for good governance because greater participation by citizens in the decision-making process allows greater transparency and can help ensure that political decisions are adapted to the needs of the people affected by them. The role of independent and pluralistic media in fostering participation is critical as the media report on aspects of the decision-making process and give stakeholders a voice in that process. Freedom of the media allows formation of a public sphere in which a wide range of debates can take place and a variety of viewpoints represented. The citizenry can thereby use the media to express their assent or dissent or explore aspects of issues not considered through official channels. Government has a responsibility to allow the media to contribute to the participation process, especially in areas where face-to-face participation is not possible.
HUMAN RIGHTS: By reporting and denouncing cases of human rights violations, a free and open media can increase awareness among citizens about their rights and act as a reliable source of information on the basis of which civil society organisations and public authorities can work to bring down the incidences of arbitrary abuse. However, ensuring freedom of expression and press freedom should, therefore, be regarded as a priority as they are rights that make it possible to advance and protect other human rights.
THE RULE OF LAW: The rule of law is fundamental to the stability and smooth functioning of society. Only when rule of law is respected, the citizens can have confidence in a democratic process and contribute to the society in a sustainable manner. Rule of law depends heavily on the development of an independent and honest judiciary and the will of any particular government to restrain itself and show respect before the law. The media has a crucial function in this regard, which can be conducted through fostering investigative journalism, promoting the openness of court, legislative and administrative proceedings, access to officials and to public documents. The government has a key role here in protecting the independence and pluralism of the media, especially during critical moments of these processes.
ANTI-CORRUPTION, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Corruption is one of the burning issues countries like Bangladesh face in the governance process. Corrupt practices rob governments of the means to ensure the best life for their people, while many in the government may feel that exposure of corruption erodes their legitimacy. As state bureaucracies have grown into large, often opaque entities, practices of secrecy often cover the hidden struggles and interests of particular sectors and civil servants beyond their stated missions. In some cases, the social networks that link civil servants and the broader society lead to conflicts of interest in the practice of governance that are hidden by the secrecy of administration. An independent media that is guaranteed access to public documents and to decision-making processes is able to bring possible conflicts of interest to light and assist the government in maintaining clarity in the execution of its directives.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION: Ensuring wider access to information, through the enactment of freedom of information legislation, ensures greater participation of citizens in governance. This allows for maximum verifiability of information and puts all stakeholders on an equal plane.  
POVERTY REDUCTION: The Millennium Declaration adopted at the Millennium Summit, New York, in September 2000, states as its first goal reduction of the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015 with a view to eradicating poverty. Eradication of poverty is indeed a vital condition for global stability, democracy and peace. As long as the poor are excluded from participation in global growth, sustainable peace and development will remain out of reach.
Besides, a free media can contribute to the empowerment of citizens through educational programmes and public health programmes such as HIV/AIDS education campaigns.
As for Bangladesh, the journey of the country to the status of a middle income country will depend a lot on the role played by the media. It needs to focus on the real issues, which are mostly social and economic in nature.
The writer is a student of     Public Administration, University of Dhaka. [email protected]