The media as both friend and enemy of the state

Fasakin, A. and Oyero, Olusola and Amodu, L. O. and Okorie, Nelson (2017) The media as both friend and enemy of the state. International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences (IJASOS), 3 (9). pp. 954-959. ISSN 2411-183X

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Abstract

The mass media – radio, television newspaper, magazine and the internet – are very relevant in every society. They are the channels through information and messages are propagated simultaneously to large number of people in different areas. They are agents of socialisation and education as well as development. The mass media surveys the environment for news, analyse issues of people‟s interest, provide entertainment and also help the propagation of the societal cultural norms and values. However, in spite of the important roles of the media in the society, they as well have their disadvantageous roles in the society. The study evaluated the mass media as both friend and also as enemy of the state. According to this paper, the media act as friend of the state by serving as watchdogs, agents of cultural transmission and agents of political orientation to the people in the society. However, the media act as enemy of the state as they are used as channels for people, especially politicians to throw abusive words at one another, huge contributors to decadence in our society and they aid the spread of violence and hatred through propagation of hate speeches and words that can incite people into violence. The researcher concluded that the media have been both constructive (friend) and destructive (enemy) to the society. The study recommended that the media should keep to their social responsibility functions and adhere to the ethics of the profession in all their operations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Watchdog, Cultural transmission, Social responsibility
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Humanities
Depositing User:	Dr O S Oyero
Date Deposited:	30 Jan 2018 09:26
Last Modified:	30 Jan 2018 09:26
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/10117

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