Role played by media in a Democracy

Yellow journalism is a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts. ... Once the term had been coined, it extended to the sensationalist style employed by publishers in their profit-driven coverage of world events.....(google search)

 The role played by media in a democracy cannot be understated and with greater proliferation of online platforms - the impact of media is only going to grow further. At the end of the day media houses need to pay their bills and salaries to employees. So some 'entertainment' stuff is acceptable but media can help better by focusing on the following areas:

1. Status and progress of key infrastructure projects by state or region. Details on financials and cost overruns, time delays etc. Governments are spending thousands of crores on infra projects and common people may not have the time and inclination to look for these details.

2. Last mile delivery issues - last mile delivery needs continuous monitoring - it does not end in one day. Al though people in the highest offices have great intentions the grass root level realities of welfare schemes can be quite different.

3. Important aspects of bills being introduced before the commencement of legislative sessions.

4. Issues impacting the incomes of different segments of the society on a seasonal and permanent basis.

5. Key economic indicators for different regions on a periodic basis- compare and contrast.

6. Highlight the availability or lack of basic necessities - food and water, healthcare, housing, education, infrastructure etc  in different nooks and corners of the country.

7. Key investments by domestic and foreign private sector players.

Media is the watch-dog of people's rights!

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