Burning Issues in the Indian Media

Media's role in a democratic system is crucial. But unlike in the past when media were considered a zest, a mission, a zeal and a force which could bring about social change and social development keeping the public good as their main objective, media's function is changing now. If the present trends continue, the media will soon lose their identity as a fourth pillar in India's democratic system. They will only remain a tool in the hands of the market forces. The threat faced by the media today is internal as well as external. They are losing credibility due to various factors which include-corrupting the popular taste, drop in editorial status, failure in prioritization of news content, speculative journalism, hyper activism, crass commercialism-the list is endless. The need of the hour is to address the issues that question our basic value systems. All current trends indicate that the burning issues in India are ignored by the media, despite their technological progress and professional improvement.