Press and media have a massive role in politics and huge impact on political behaviours of the society by the nature of its functioning. Different formats/platforms of media provide a voice for political actors along with their campaigns. They not only give the opportunity to politicians to speak and broadcast but also shape the course of events when they have the power. During election periods media channels such as the TV or newspapers may share their opinions by expressing views on the behalf of their preferred party whilst criticising the opposition party creating a propagandistic environment. Media definitely has the power to create a moral and political climate when not suppressed violently. This power may result in the change of behaviours of the politicians or the political actors according to the reactions of the collective voice of the readers/consumers of that media platform. The journalist-pundits -a journalist or a columnist who is accepted as an authority on politics- might have an immense impact on the beliefs of their audience who may belong to a certain political class via building trust and confidence with their abilities on gathering political information along with their expertise on interpretations of the political atmosphere. The columnists/journalist will either use politicians as sources or they’re former politicians/political actors themselves either keeping their sources in secret or public. Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary Bernard Ingham who wrote for the Daily Express is one of the examples.
After briefly discussing the effects of media and journalism on politics and how media actors have the power to give a new shape to the understanding of political events, it is probably reasonable to look at the investigative journalism example of two Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. “All the President’s Men" sinks into the details of the Watergate Scandal and of course the downfall of Richard Nixon. Throughout the movie these two investigators are after gathering information to complete their story about the scandal. They constantly try and fail at either gathering the useful information or proving that it can actually be used on the newspaper to the editor. They try to contact campaign contributors, attorneys, lawyers, unnamed sources and many others who are close with the Nixon administration to solve out the scandal. Their struggle and hustle to complete the missing parts never ends. The last sequence of the movie ends with the inauguration of president Nixon on TV as if the reporters were not successful but then cuts quickly to the typewriter announcing the resignation in 1974, celebrating the victory of the free press.
The movie adapted from the book is a great example of how media can hold the politics accountable for its actions. Governments and other political actors being capable of doing anything for their benefits can be caught and revealed with the influence of media. Digging deeper into the story to solve the corruption even though the reporters were not at all supported by any means from whoever turned out to be a success and a memorable victory. Media as a political actor must then be free in order to chase the corruptions in the system for a better and more democratic political environment.
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