RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Media

These comprehensive RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Media will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Media

→ Communication Medium (Media): The term media refers to the various ways through which we exchange ideas in society. In this way everything ranging from the stall at the local fair to the programme that you see on TV can be called media.

Mass media, TV, radio and newspapers are a form of media that reaches millions of people, or the masses, across the country and the world and, thus, they are called mass media.

→ Media and Technology:

• The technology that mass media uses keeps changing.
• Changing technology, or .machines, and making technology more modem, helps media to reach more people.
• It also improves the quality of sound and the images.
• It also changes the ways in which we think about our lives.
• Television has brought the world closer to us.

→ Media and Money:

• The different technologies that mass media use are expensive.
• Lot of money is spent on getting the latest technology.
• Due to these costs, the mass media needs a great deal of money to do its work.
• Advertising is a major way of earning money through mass media.

→ Media and Democracy:

• In a democracy, the media plays a very important role in providing news and discussing events.
• Given the role that the media plays in providing information, it is important that the information be balanced.
• A balanced report is one in which any topic is discussed from every point of view, then the readers are left to form their own opinion.
• For balanced reports, media must be independent.
• The factors affecting the freedom* of media are
  • Censorship,
  • Control of business establishments,
  • Dependence on advertisements, and
  • Make the stories interesting for public support etc.

→ Setting Agendas

• The media also plays an important role in deciding what stories to focus on, and therefore, decides on what is newsworthy. 
• By focusing on particular issues, the media influences out thought, feeling and actions, and brings those issues to our attention.
• There are several instances when the media fails to focus on issues that are significant in our lives. For example, drinking water is a major porblem in the country.
• Recognising that the media will not be interseted in covering ‘small’ issues that involve ordinary people and their daily lives, several local groups have come forward to start their own media. Like-documentary films, Khabar Lahriya etc.