When The Fourth Pillar Crumbles

To uphold democracy, there are four pillars. First is the legislature, the second is the executive, the third is the judiciary, and the fourth and a very crucial one — the media.

But when these pillars erode, democracy too erodes, until it completely collapses, giving birth to a society where there are no pillars left to hold up power.

Even if the first three pillars give up, the latter is expected to always stay upright — even in troubling times, reigniting hopes that accountability shall be claimed. But when even the latter finally crumbles, hope is lost, as the truth gets buried in eternity.

In this day and age — an age of capitalism — nothing is spared from being under the control of tycoons. And one of the victims of those purchases are traditional media houses.

Media companies that swear by to unbiased journalism often accept payments from political parties to twist narratives, propel propaganda, and carry out smear campaigns. This kind of subjective reporting — at times subtle, at times evident — disguised to be objective, shifts the perspective of the people.

Objectivity and independency are core principles of media. When those principles are sacrificed, media houses are betraying their true purpose — informing the public, holding those in power accountable, and questioning what needs to be questioned.

It is concerningly easy to shift popular perspective. Citing recent events, for example, after the protests at Jantar Mantar, a lot of media outlets have called the protestors at the peaceful march “violent” — especially when it was the protestors that were subject to lathi charges, that have left many injured. Some media outlets manufacture this twisted narrative to convince you that the protesting students are public enemies — that they are anti-national. Gen Z chose to have enough, and what they did is use democratic means to exercise a fundamental, constitutional right. So while reading anything you come across, take a moment to think twice before making conclusions.

In a healthy democracy, dissent should be encouraged. Constructive criticism can help build a nation. But shunning dissent doesn’t help.

This essay does not, and will not claim that the fourth pillar has crumbled completely. This does not say that all media is corrupted. I still respect and acknowledge media houses that truly embody the purpose of journalism. As long as there are at least a few media houses that practice editorial independence, the fourth pillar, though significantly chiselled, would continue to prop up what is remaining of democracy.