Role of Media in the Development of Education Dr. Radhika Kapur Abstract

The Significance of Mass Media

The significance of mass media has been depicted in numerous areas and these would in turn contribute in enhancing educational opportunities amongst the individuals: (Nasir, 2013).

Entertainment - The original awareness behind the creation of various kinds of media was to make provision of entertainment to the masses. Radio, television, cinemas and magazines spend most of their resources directing on entertaining sources and programs. The individuals listen to radio programs, watch television shows, movies and other programs to entertain themselves as well as to acquire knowledge. Due to the increase in the population and development of lifestyle, the demand for more entertainment is increasing. Magazines, newspapers and articles also make provision of knowledge as well as entertainment for the individuals, who mostly take pleasure in reading. Every year billions of dollars are traded in the entertainment industry.

News and Current Affairs – One of the major duties of media is to make people aware and incur knowledge within their mind-sets about news and current affairs. In higher educational programs, it is very important for individuals to possess information about news and current affairs. News and current affairs include all important areas such as, weather, politics, war, health, finance, science, fashion, technology, diet and nutrition, crime and violence, education, industry, business, management, employment opportunities and so forth. There are individuals who are interested in acquiring knowledge about more than one field, hence, they mainly obtain access to three major sources of media, which are radio, television and various kinds of magazines and articles.

Political Awareness – Media is considered to be the chief of the political system. Honesty is an important aspect that should be present, if media plays its part in an honest manner, then it will certainly render a proper contribution in the building of the nation. It plays a great role in building a relationship between common man and the leaders. All kinds of information and details regarding major political situations, decisions, developments and scenarios are communicated to the individuals through the media. In this manner, the individuals are able to understand their rights and duties in a better way and make improved decisions.

Education - The power of media is regarded to be widespread and massive, it can be utilized in an efficient manner to educate people with less cost. In leading to improvement in the field of education, it is important that the number of students within the classroom should be adequate, which can be manageable by the teacher, there should be provision of teaching-learning materials and one of the fundamental areas is usage of technology, as technology arouses interest and enthusiasm in the mind-sets of the students to learn. Therefore, the role of media is significant in the development of education.

Public Announcements - Various authorities, organizations and agencies utilize the power of media to spread informative messages to the public. This may include warning against a storm or an epidemic, delay in arrival or departure of flights and trains, and so forth. In some cases, it is legally binding to publish notices in newspapers like tenders, change of property ownership, and so forth. Therefore, media plays a fundamental role in making public aware about various messages and notices.