EXPLORING THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN DEMOCRACY AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This article seeks to compile an understanding of the role of media in sustaining democracy and national development. The media place the public agenda and act as the caretaker of public issues. The need to belong to a common national life has changed with the inception of modernization and democratization processes. The media is also said to be an aggregation of all communication channels that use techniques of making a lot of direct personal communication between the communicator and the public. The mass media constitute the backbone of democracy. Many multicultural and multiethnic countries have adopted democratic values, institutions and processes to hold their societies together. Media are particularly important in facilitating nation-building, especially of post-colonial societies and those experiencing ethnic and religious diversities. The real influence of the media in national development depends on the media themselves, the societies in which they function, and the audience they accomplish.