Government Publicity & Its Values

Seram Neken *

Journalist Award Winners on the occasion of National Press Day on 16th November, 2013 :: Pix - Bullu Raj

The Voiceless Speaks congratulates the editor of this esteemed Daily Satyajit Usham and staff reporters Ratneshwori Goswami and Maisnam Karnajit of Hueiyen Lanpao, and a host of other journalists on their winning various journalist awards on the occasion of National Press Day this year. Such an encouragement on the part of the government will go a long way in sustaining the freedom of the press in Manipur.

Other than Roti, Kapada and Makaan, information nowadays has become the fourth basic necessity of life. A man can not live without communicating with his fellow beings, just as he lives on food, lives in the house and covers himself with clothes. The pace of human civilization becomes faster with up-to-date information reaching the eyes and ears of its inhabitants. The development of a nation can be gauged on the basis of the quantum of information flow to its people, the government and the various organizations. The need for accurate and timely information is felt most in the democratic form of government, where people have to take important decisions on governance.

An effective two-way communication system is the foundation on which democracy is built up. In this way, media is said to be the fourth foundation of democracy, the first three being Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Representative democracy has no meaning without effective media organizations. The power of the media in a modern state gives room for its privileges. Nature and quality of the government are manifested in the amount of freedom vested in the media. Likewise, the longevity of a certain government depends on the importance it pays on the media.

A government may do lots of development works for its people. If such activities do not reach the eyes and ears of the people, the government will ever be portrayed as dormant. In the same way, if the government does not collect feedbacks from the people on its various activities, its popularity will be diminished. Media is in fact a bridge between the people and its representatives. As both the government and the people have faith in the media, any person or organization or government may take the due advantage to expose its activities.

The present government of Manipur has taken up a number of popular programmes and policies for its people during the last few years of its tenure. Numerous development projects have been taken, flagship programmes have been implemented. The government, via the various communication channels, needs to inform the people of such activities and collect feedbacks from them for rectifications and further development.

Hence, it can very well gain popularity, when it utilizes the available media judiciously. The government and political parties need not worry for huge election campaigns, whenever they resort to routine exposure through media. Election campaigns should not be limited to the few weeks or days ahead of polls. It must be throughout the year and throughout the period of governance.

In 1995 Lok Sabha Elections, the Indian National Congress with Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Congress President Sitaram Kesari got an overwhelming defeat. One of the reasons for the defeat was the lack of public awareness on the activities taken up by the Narasimha Rao led government. In 2004 Elections, Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated. Reason for the defeat was attributed to the wrong use of media in the campaigns of the government.

In the media campaign, the government showed multi-wheeled vehicles plying on wide and smooth roads. The people, by that time, thought that these developments were meant for the rich urban people, and not for the poor village farmers.

Most important factors in the use of media are the target groups, reach of the particular medium, access of the people to the medium, the message content and mechanism for feedback collection. The Manipur Government has an Information and Publicity Department which is supposed to serve the information needs of the people, as well as the government.

However, the activities of this department have not been effectively demonstrated till today. It appears that the state government has neither understood the potential of government publicity nor has it paid due importance to information department. With effective implementation of media strategies, the government or political party which is to expected to be in power for 10 years can well extend its popularity for another 10 years.

Nowadays, the works of the Publicity Department are limited to media coverage of functions, VIP visits, press conferences and observance of national press day and Information days etc. The department, perhaps the government has not taken up effective measures to inform the people of its development policies and programmes. The union government issues effective advertisements and displays reflecting the pro-people flagship programmes in the national newspapers, as well as the Doordarshan and Akashvani. However, the newspaper readers, radio listeners and TV viewers very rarely see such development portrayals in respect of Manipur state.

Moreover, media is not limited to newspapers, radio and TV. There is ample room for the traditional media, which are widely accessible, appealing to the hearts, cost-effective and local in nature. Traditional media such as the Shumang Lila, Dramas, Folk plays and Folk Music of various communities may also be a good communication tool by which the government disseminates its development messages to the people and earn the much-hyped popularity.

Coinciding with the election atmosphere, the state government may activate the Information and Publicity department of Manipur to boost the information flow to the people or electorate. People will believe in what the media speaks, not in what politicians say. Only media can inform, educate and motivate the vast number of people in the state.

This is only through media that one can earn one's popularity and support of others. It is only through media that the various communities of Manipur will be emotionally integrated. It is only with media that the state will be ahead of its counterparts.