Contribution of media reform movements towards social change

Media reform is a proposed trial to transform media and technology policies towards a plan that is more concerned with the public interest and free from perceived bias towards the political, government, or corporate biases. On the other hand, social change is the gradual change in human interactions and relationships that reform culture, beliefs, norms, and social institutions. It takes place over time and has long-term consequences for society. Such changes result from social movements, which are expressions of the actions and beliefs of individuals, groups, and organizations who come together to deal with a social issue that needs to be recognized and legitimized through actions. Social movements are based on the solidarity of the ethnicity embrace all in the movement. Social movements give rise to new values and identities that bring about social change. Media reform and social change are related to each other as both are from particular movements. This paper discusses the issue of media reform movements, their pros and cons, and some theories related to them. 

Contribution of Media Reform Movements Towards Social Change 

Media reform movements are social movements involved in education, protest, and advocacy aimed at democratizing the media, making media policy more inclusive ( Castells, 2011) . Media reform movements greatly contribute to social change in society. These movements aim to democratize the media, make inclusive media policy, expand access and coverage to the media, and freedom to lay out transparent information ( Newman, 2017) . It has a mission of providing genuine information that has not been altered for the best interest of society. Due to such movements, the media have the authority to initialize, organize, mobilize, and communicate to the public about the social movements that will bring along the social change ( Newman, 2017 ; Roberts, 2018)) . 

Media provide coverage and validation of social movements and their standing within mainstream news discourse to broaden the scope of the social conflict. Besides, it makes social movement influence public consciousness for more support that brings the desired social change ( Castells, 2011) . The media do social movement framing to emphasize the ideology and encourage audiences to support the issue. All these can be achieved by making media free from external influence and independent ( Chaffee, 2021) . The success of a social movement depends on the size of the demonstration, which is made possible by the help of the media ( Newman, 2017) . People use social media, the internet, and blog posts to help bring changes in society. 

For example, the MKSS organization in India was able to turn the right to information into a means of social change. It brought advocacy and mobilization, provision of Public Services, education, operation of fair price shops, food security, and resolution of community disputes ( Newman, 2017) . Similarly, Media Empowerment Programs like the Commonwealth of Learning developed a program to reach out to disadvantaged groups by increasing their access to information and communication technologies ( Newman, 2017 ; Roberts, 2018)) . They used media such as videos and audio to address the local community issues in their local languages, and they managed to reduce the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS ( Castells, 2011) . Besides, they managed to educate the locals on how to prevent its transmission in the Gambia. They also dealt with the issue of poverty. 

Successful Media Reform Movements 

Several media reform movements have successfully protected the rights of the media from scrutinization by political leaders and other government institutions. First, the Free Media Movement is an organization established by journalists from Sri Lanka to protect the freedom of the media ( Chaffee, 2021) . It was formed in 1991 following the introduction of a Media Commission by the Sri Lanka government ( Castells, 2011) . Since then, it has been vigilant in all areas associated with media freedom, protecting the wide principles of democratic and human rights. Besides, it covers legislation reform, intimidation of media personnel, and defending the journalists’ rights and media people ( Roberts, 2018) . The second successful reform is the U.S. Media Reform Movement, which has immeasurable value for media-political economists ( Newman, 2017) . The political sector of the media has the vision to understand the work of media in societies like encouraging social justice and open governance and that involvement in making policies and structures that shape media system and content ( Newman, 2017) . It is signified by fairness and accuracy in reporting and avoiding biasness in mainstreaming, especially from the political side. 

Moreover, the Union of International Telecommunication authority is a United Nations agency for information and communication technologies ( Castells, 2011) . It distributes satellite orbits and universal radio spectrum and establishes the technical standards that makes sure technologies and networks interconnect smoothly and without seams. It also strives to improve access to remote communities globally ( Roberts, 2018) . In addition, Electronic Frontier Foundation is an organization that protects the freedom of speech, innovation, privacy, and consumer rights in the networked world ( Chaffee, 2021) . Another successful media reform movement, Prometheus Radio Project, establishes an engaging radio for social justice, organizing a voice for community expression ( Chaffee, 2021) . It helps grassroots organizations build communication channels to strengthen their communities and movement. 

Furthermore, the Right to Information Movement in India attempts to stifle human freedoms like freedom to communicate, speak, and think ( Castells, 2011) . It protected the citizen from censorship, propaganda, control of ideas by the state, religious institutions. The right to access the right information gives the public a chance to give their ideas to formulate social policies and government decision-making. It promotes openness in government and allows transparency to the citizens ( Roberts, 2018) . RTI became a successful movement in India and was involved in many sectors of the country, from political discussions and debates, anti-corruption factors and government accountability. 

The postwar Media Reform Movement witnessed in the 1940s was composed of intellectuals, religious organizations, African Americans, educators, and labor activists ( Castells, 2011) . It succeeded in registering significant victories and laying the necessary foundation for future reforms in the media and media policy issues despite being quelled by reactionary forces from outside. The rise of media monopolies, lack of local accountability, and obtrusive advertising, and the rise of media monopolies led to extensive public discontent with media institutions, which led to the rise of postwar media reform movement ( Chaffee, 2021) . During this movement, there were essential policy debates concerning media’s role in a democratic society, and the resolutions of such debates aided in defining the relationship between media institutions, the state, and different publics ( Chaffee, 2021) . The movement's founders pressured broadcasters and Federal Communications Commission via petitions, campaigns, and letters requesting them to advance programming and democratize the public airwaves ( Roberts, 2018) . It led to the protection of public interest and more engagement from local societies to keep media institutions accountable ( Newman, 2017) . Despite the ups and downs of this media reform movement, it gave basic foundations for present and future reforms. 

Media reform movements in the United States of the Media Action Center Movement were formed in 2011 ( Roberts, 2018) . It aimed to remind people of their broadcast airwave ownership. Besides, it reminded them that radio and tv stations must address public interest for them to be fully operational ( Newman, 2017) . Through media reform tours and media coverage, the message reached many parts of the country. They held protests which every newspaper and tv station covered in Sacramento. Due to the protest, the Media Action Center received a letter from management to offer the community a progressive station from the corporation ( Chaffee, 2021) . Little by little, there was progress in management to improve radio in the community. Also, the Free, Open-Source Software Movement (F/OSS) supports social justice. Its main goal was to utilize the concept of social movements to give digital freedom and social justice ( Newman, 2017) . It rose to challenge and criticize the copyright laws, which developed many variations on the nature of freedom in software development and artistic expression, restrictive licensing, source code imperialism, and software patenting ( Chaffee, 2021) . Free software provides justified information that has been altered for social goods. 

Pros and Cons of Media Reform 

There have been several contemporary media reform movements such as the media literacy movement, the communication rights movement, the women and media movement, the citizen journalism movement, and the community radio movement. These movements have their advantages and disadvantages on the media structure and the media policy, as discussed below. 

Pros 

The first advantage of media reform is that it promotes openness in government. For example, the Right to Information (RTI) movement in India brought about transparency and accountability in government ( Roberts, 2018) . The citizens were now actively involved in decision-making, which brought clarity to the key sectors of the government. Besides, the movement was against corruption as the corrupted politicians and state officials were exposed in public without any fear of government interventions ( Castells, 2011) . 

Contemporary media reform brought about economic and social equality. The fight for media reforms was to have a just and democratic society where everyone had an equal opportunity to access the right information. The reforms also gave media powers more of public interest without influencing political or government institutions ( Chaffee, 2021) . The fight was against inequalities created by those in government and had powers to amend media policies to their advantage and oppress the marginalized communities ( Roberts, 2018) . The communication network was to be all around the country without neglecting certain remote areas. 

The reform supports a diversity of culture and ideas. The media reforms to make media democratic and media policy more inclusive ensured that social media platforms allow people from different backgrounds and opinions to reach out and share what they know ( Chaffee, 2021 ; Roberts, 2018) . In 1945, there was an antitrust ruling by the supreme court calling for the state to promote antagonistic and diverse voices in media and advocate for more public affairs and local news ( Newman, 2017) . Community Radio Movements supports the local culture and traditions of the community. 

Moreover, the media reforms provide dialogical rights to the public. The movements to have a free press and freedom of the media provide public spaces that allow sharing of ideas publicly by the citizens. It gives room for opinions, views, information, and experience on common matters of the public, from political discussions and debates to decision-making platforms ( Chaffee, 2021) . In addition, there is equal availability of different types of information, entertainment, orientation, or other to the citizens at any time without restrictions. Media reforms have enabled media to reach the marginalized communities and preserve the culture and traditions of the society ( Roberts, 2018) . Due to such inclusiveness, the media have the power to validate, mobilize, and provide coverage for the social movements in a country to bring the desired social change ( Chaffee, 2021) . It has the power to watchdog the democracy of society and expose the corrupt political leaders without the government's intimidation ( Newman, 2017) . Lastly, it is due to the media reforms that an individual's private life can be protected from unnecessary publicity. Protection of personal data from being processed by authorities or businesses alike without your consent. Individual rights must be protected, and in case of any personal data requirement, legal ground and principles must be adhered to. 

Cons 

Despite having several advantages to the media personnel and citizens, media reforms also have some disadvantages. First, due to the freedom of individuals giving views and opinions, some media can give a platform to citizens with extreme views that are not newsworthy information and knowledge to the public ( Chaffee, 2021) . Second, press freedom has allowed publishers to bring out whatever they wish without any form of responsibility and therefore tends to serve the business interest of the media owners ( Newman, 2017) . Sometimes, media reports can deliberately leave out a key piece of information or give only one side of an argument hence misleading the citizens on a particular matter. 

Media reforms also lead to unreliable media reporting that spread fake news, especially for the people with power and influence ( Chaffee, 2021) . As a result, it leads to violence and people coming to harm. It also leads to the loss of people's privacy. In addition, some media are fond of using clickbait sensationalist headlines to attract attention which may not be true ( Newman, 2017) . According to Chaffee ( 2021) , such sensational headlines blackmail the public and give media personnel a business advantage, not caring about the people's interests. But since they are self-regulated, none can be held responsible. Such advantage can also be used in a democratic society by politicians or states liaison with the media to blackmail the public and drive their agenda. 

What Will Take Media Reform Movements to Become Global in Scope 

Most of the media reform movements have local and national scopes as most movements try to democratize the media within a country. Their major aim is to protect the media from government and other bodies ' intervention and regulation that will lead to alteration and censorship of state information, hence misleading the society ( Chaffee, 2021) . Therefore, for the movements to become global in scopes, it will take several factors. First, the movement will need mainstream media as a means for widening the scope of the reform ( Roberts, 2018) . Through the mainstreams, the movements can obtain global communicative networks that will validate the standing of the movement and mobilize other allies to join the movement ( Castells, 2011 ; Chaffee, 2021) . For example, European media helped build a boycott in Europe that pressured change in the far West of Canada ( Chaffee, 2021) . Secondly, the tactical innovation of organizing conferences and campaigns with the value of celebrity power to build a strong movement. With the all-star celebrities present, the movement will gain global support from the followers of celebrities who are around the globe. 

Moreover, media reform movements can improve globally through regional approaches where advocates from different countries come together to create a platform for collective action rooted in local demands for media reform movements ( Castells, 2011) . Building solidarity across borders by the media sector shareholders to form coalitions that will drive for the reforms in the media in the regional scope rather than in individual country ( Castells, 2011 ; Roberts, 2018) . Regional movements will mostly benefit countries under authoritarian governments, less developed countries not involved in policymaking forums. Furthermore, launching a movement supported by Global Media Governance involves institutions, negotiations, and processes at a global level ( Chaffee, 2021) . It is at the Global Media Governance were making and enforcement policy is made that controls the structure and operations of the media at global, regional, national, and local levels. 

Involving intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations like Commonwealth and World Health Organization to empowerment programs and media policy changes can also give it a global scope ( Chaffee, 2021) . Through empowerments like the Commonwealth of Learning, there is increased access to information to marginalized communities through media and even cheaper radio stations. Such organizations will make any genuine media reform movement have a global scope since it will be covered in many nations worldwide ( Roberts, 2018) . Lastly, the movements should engage in media democratization, expanding the opinions and views accessed through the media ( Castells, 2011) . Media democratization will help build a participatory and egalitarian public sphere that promotes the practices and values of maintainable democracy within the media and outside the media and counteract the economic and political inequalities found elsewhere in the globe ( Chaffee, 2021) . 

Advances in Theory That Relate to Media Reform 

Several theories try to relate to the changes in the media that took place over some time. For example, the theory of libertarian supports that the media should be a free place of ideas that allows airing of diverse opinions and views without fear of oppression or suppression ( Block, 2019) . It indicates that the press should be a channel where evidence, opinions, and arguments are presented to the public. It argues that state regulations should not interfere with the press to avoid oppression and expose corrupted politicians ( Block, 2019) . Libertarian theory warns journalism of serving society intelligently and honesty without autonomy ( Block, 2019) . According to the theory, the press will be held accountable by the media market, and therefore they should serve the public's interest ( Block, 2019) . The libertarian theory protects the democracy of the media in any media reforms being undertaken. 

The second theory is the neoliberal theory of press which applies the concept of neoliberalism, meaning the free enterprise, impartial state, or system of competition ( Dougherty & Natow, 2020) . Freedom is the key feature of the theory. The neoliberal ideology is the state establishing a favorable condition for the private sector like media to grow in business. The government should also ensure media ownership is fairly played by responsible parties. However, it posits the government involvement in private sector operations is a threat to press freedom ( Dougherty & Natow, 2020) . The press should be privately owned, self-regulated, and have the autonomy required to fulfill its informational role in democracy of serving the interest of the public. Also, the theory of social democracy supports the state as the custodian of public interest journalism and accepts the government's involvement in press regulation to ensure press accountability ( Dougherty & Natow, 2020) . Statutory regulations should not block the media from fulfilling their watchdog role in a democracy. Despite having pros and cons, these theories form the basis of reforms in media policy. 

Conclusion 

Media reform attempts to change media policies so that the media can have the power to fulfill its role as a watchdog in a democratic society. Social change is the gradual change in human interactions and relations that reform culture, beliefs, and social institutions. Media reforms and social change emerge from media reform movements and social movements. Such media reform movements bring social change by mobilizing, framing, and validating the concerns of the social movements that will lead to social change. There have been several successful movements initialized by individuals and/or media personnel that brought changes to the media policy. Media reform movements can become more effective if they can make adjustments to obtain scope in the globe. Media policy reforms draw their argument from the advances in theory which tries to explain the importance of the freedom of the press as the only way to ensure the public interest is given priority in the media. 

References 

Block, W. E. (2019). Libertarian Punishment Theory and Unjust Enrichment.  Journal of Business Ethics ,  154 (1). 

Castells, M. (2011).  The power of identity  (Vol. 14). John Wiley & Sons. 

Chaffee, S. (2021). Mass media effects: New research perspectives. In  Communication research—A half-century appraisal  (pp. 210-241). University of Hawaii Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824887070-011 

Dougherty, K. J., & Natow, R. S. (2020). Performance-based funding for higher education: how well does neoliberal theory capture neoliberal practice?.  Higher Education ,  80 (3), 457-478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00491-4 

Newman, R. (2017). Book review: Strategies for Media Reform: International Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1742766517699342a 

Roberts, J. (2018). Media Movements: Civil Society and Media Policy Reform in Latin America.  International journal of communication (Online) , 863-867.