Roles and functions of the mass media

 Provision of info
 Entertainment
 Construction of national regional and diasporic identity
 Promotion of cultural experience and exchange
 Responding to cultural imperialism
 Promotion and defence of rights and citizens

Social justice
 Concepts of social justice
 Natural rights
 Welfare
 Mutual advantage
 Welfare Vs. Mutual advantage
 Ageism
 Gender discrimination
 Racism and class discrimination
 Police brutality
 Levels of social inequality
 Productivity levels
 Quality of life
 Democratic rights
Roles and functions of the mass media
What is the mass media?
This is technology intended to reach a large or mass audience. It is the main means of
communication used to reach the vast majority of the general public
Examples: television, the internet. Radio, newspapers and magazines
Forms:
 Electronic/broadcast media
 Print media
 Digital media
 Outdoor media

Provision of Information
Remaining informed is a vital means of survival. The media fulfils this need by
providing many forms of information at different levels for various audiences with various
purposes.
Example: an educational blog for students
The basic need of this provision of information is to fill a knowledge gap which
empowers those who receive it allowing them to make informed decisions hence advancing
human development. The flow of information is usually in one direction: from the source to
the audience. In recent times due to the internet, the audience is now able to participate more
than before.
The media filtering information is one problem associated with the provision of
information. Media outlets often owned in whole or in part by large co-operations or
government, provide information that has often been edited selectively. In this way, the
general public often falls victim to the perceptions of these institutions and so are influenced
in the ways that they think.

Areas of provision of information

EVENTS
 Locally: these could include elections, cultural festivals and political speeches on
crimes, instances of pollution, racism etc.
 Regionally: they could include trade events, CARICOM summits or sporting events
such as CARIFTA
 Internationally: they could provide information on disease outbreaks and worldwide
conflicts.
TRENDS
 This would include local and regional issues such as tourism, education and crime
rate. The media can also provide information about global issues which impact us
here in the Caribbean
INSTITUTIONS
 The media provides information to, and education people on regional and
international institutions like CARICOM, the CCJ, the WHO and the IMF, all of
which impact Caribbean life.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
 The media provides information of the government manifesto and policies which
enables them to form opinions and make informed decisions to benefit themselves.
GOODS AND SERVICES
 The media does this through advertisements of goods and services. This allows the
public to be informed enough to give them the freedom of choice to choose the
product and the market that they think is best.

Entertainment
The provision of entertainment is imperative in fulfilling the role of mass media.
Through digital and printing media, information is transferred to audiences capable of
accessing it. Forms of entertainment can be placed under 3 categories:
1. Local; examples include media coverage of Grenada music festival
2. Regional; examples include media coverage of regional events such as sports
3. International; examples include media coverage of international events such as the
Olympics or the Grammy.
Regional forms of entertainment such as the promotion of artistes, example Rhianna and Bob
Marley has proved to be beneficial to the Caribbean in facilitating international recognition.
As a result, this promotes development.
Entertainment is an effective means of communicating important messages in an entertaining
and relevant way. It provides a platform that enables individuals to develop themselves by
empowering them to make choice and enhance their productivity. In addition to this,
entertainment promotes one’s well-being by offering stress relieving activities such as games,
videos, music etcetera.

Construction of National Regional and Diasporic identity

National Identity
The mass media helps to connect those persons even in the most rural places of countries.
This keeps them up to date with the local affairs of the nation; especially if there are
upcoming cultural activities, political campaigns etc. the recognition that a strong cultural
identity would strengthen a sense of pride and unity led the Jamaican leader Michael Manley
to establish a Jamaican Cultural Development Committee shortly after independence, with
radio and television highlighting the main cultural activities it promoted.

Regional Identity
Regional mass media tends to be country based. Many organisations such as the Caribbean
News Agency (CANA), which operates under the rule of the Caribbean Media Corporation
(CMC) have been set up to help promote regional news and entertainment, however they find
this task difficult because they receive a lot of international competition. In 1970 the
Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) was set up by CARICOM as a non-profit association
of public service and commercial media broadcasters with the intention of promoting
integration. This union later merged with CANA in the year 2000.

Diasporic Identity
Those persons who have left their country and now live in the diaspora are at a high risk of
having the culture washed away. The streaming of regional programmes such as CaribVision
lessen this loss of cultural identity.

Promotion of Cultural Experience and Exchange

The media serves to promote different forms of culture both within and outside of the region.
The advance in technology also has increased the reach of information that goes with these
broadcasts. Examples of this would be the streaming of the carnival events of different
Caribbean countries both regionally and internationally. The cultural industries of the region
have also been boosted since the advance of technology. Artistes are constantly hired to
perform internationally, especially in diasporic events such as Caribana or Notting Hill
Carnival.
Mass media exposes everyone is the world to different art forms, norms, religions, cultures,
modes of dress, attitudes, social behaviours etc.; this helps greatly to ease the process of
diversity both within the region and around the world.

Responding to cultural imperialism:

Cultural imperialism comprises the cultural aspects of the creation and maintenance of
unequal relations between civilizations for example the United States of America vs. the
Caribbean.
The Caribbean has been and continues to be bombarded with a flow of mass media from the
US which highly influences the mode of dress, religion, social beliefs, family styles etc here
in the Caribbean. Although some argue against it, it is believed that this influence stirs desires
with the people of the Caribbean, especially the younger folks, to emigrate. This process is
yet to be stopped or decreased, because the borderless nature of the mass media makes this
influence nearly impossible to be shut out and commercial gain from airing US shows would
make companies reluctant to do so. Some possibilities of alternative solutions are:
 An increase in the quality of regional productions
  Educating the people of the Caribbean about the “real world” as opposed to the ideal
lifestyle the US media portrays.
 An increase in the awareness of the effects and influence of the US mass media on the
Caribbean people.
 The establishment of watchdos to outline inaccuracies and bias in the US programs
 The establishment of regional policies to counteract the effects of the US media on the
region.

Promotion and defence of rights and citizens

The media has an important role to play in the social, political and economic rights of the
people and can help to counteract instances of breaches of social justice that infringe people’s
rights and impede development. Ways in which this can be done:
 Investigative reporting publicises shortcomings of government and societal
institutions.
 Talk shows and call-ins can give the people who are often marginalized to voice their
opinions and/or seek assistance.
 The media can highlight problems faced by groups/individuals and keep the matter to
the forefront even if powerful groups are against this
 Broadcasting of programmes which address the matters of racism and gender and
lifestyle choices
 The defence of basic democratic rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, the
right to peaceful protest, the right to freedom of worship etcetera.
 Provision of information on the people’s legislative rights, consumer rights or social
rights.
 Social Justice
Comprehensive Overview
1. Knowledge of competing concepts of social justice, example, recognition of natural
rights, welfare and mutual advantage
2. Discrimination on the grounds of age, gender ethnicity, race, class and sexual
orientation; police brutality
3. Indicators of development affected by breaches of Social Justice
 Levels of social inequality
 Productivity levels
 Quality of life
 Democratic rights

Topics to Be Covered Under Each Heading

1) Knowledge of competing concepts of social justice, example, recognition of natural
rights, welfare and mutual advantage

a) What is Justice?
b) What is Social Justice?
& Definition of key terms: natural rights, welfare, fairness, equity
c) Role of Social Justice
d) Function of Natural Rights
e) Welfare: how it functions
& Impact of Welfare on Development
f) Mutual Advantage: how it functions
& Impact of mutual advantage on development
g) Welfare vs. Mutual advantage

2) Discrimination on the grounds of age, gender ethnicity, race, class and sexual orientation;
police brutality
a) Ageism
b) Gender discrimination (link to feminism)
c) Racism and class discrimination (refer to earlier discussion)
d) Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation Police Brutality
e) Impact of discrimination on development

3) Indicators of development affected by breaches of Social Justice

a) levels of social inequality
b) productivity levels
c) quality of life
What is Justice?
According to Oxford Dictionaries (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/justice),
justice can be defined as ‘The quality of being fair and reasonable.’

Social Justice
Using the former definition as a reference, social justice is defined as a concept promoting
equity, fairness and valuing diversity through just distribution of wealth, opportunities and
privileges in a society. This idea enables human beings to access their inalienable (cannot be
taken away under any circumstances) human/ natural rights afforded to them by different
entities.
Legal justice (the law) upholds the tenets of social justice.
Social justice is a multi-faceted concept that can be explored from many different
perspectives.
Here are some words to be familiar with in regard to social justice:
Role of Social Justice
Social justice is a concept that promotes equality, fairness and valuing diversity through just
distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges in a society.
The need for social justice becomes evident when the rule of law is neglected. The role of
social justice is to:
1. Make sure that people’s inalienable human rights are not denied.
2. Ensure that there is no discrimination of gender, race, religion, class etc. but rather an
equal treatment of all the groups.
3. Allow equal access to all resources and opportunities
4. Promote implementations of legal systems that would seek to lessen corruption and
discrimination.
5. Ensure that entities such as the government as well as religious leaders effectively
carry out their responsibilities without any elements of prejudice.
6. Empower people to seek out an improved quality of life by accessing useful tools
such as a valuable education and medical care.
These roles can only be effectively carried out when government bodies protect individuals’
natural rights and put the necessary systems in place; for instance, welfare or applying
concepts such as mutual advantage.

Natural Rights
Natural rights are rights that are naturally conferred at birth and which are considered
inalienable (a right that cannot be taken away). It is imperative that these rights are upheld so
that social justice functions effectively.
The main functions of natural rights are:
 To protect human beings from enslavement and forced labour systems
 Protect ethnic groups from being marginalized
 Ensuring citizens have access to the judiciary system and a fair public hearing.
 Protect economic and social rights of all citizens and promoting equal access of to
education, employment, amenities and right to property.

Welfare
Welfare is another means by which social justice is upheld. It is defined as the distribution of
resources through social programs designed to aid vulnerable groups to gain access to the
basic necessities of life (food, clothing and shelter). Welfare systems traditionally aid citizens
who: are unemployed, fall below the poverty line and those with grave medical issues.
Welfare programs are usually financed by the state. The funds, however, are usually
generated from involuntary contribution of taxpayers’ dollars. Deductions (for example pay
as you earn) are usually made from salaries to facilitate welfare contributions. These include
Education tax, NIS contributions and the National health fund.
Impact of Welfare on development
The more equally distributed wealth is among the citizens of a country, the better the chances
the disadvantaged can make significant contributions to the development of the country.
Welfare systems promote development in the following ways:
a) They consist of health care programs under the welfare system which helps to fight
illnesses and thus increase productivity in the workforce.
b) Access to tertiary level education assists in training and preparing individuals for the
world of work.
c) Creates systems that aid in employment.
Despite the immense benefits of welfare there are some negative factors to consider:
& It can lead to dependency on the government to provide funds
& Some individuals might exploit the system, eg. Those unmotivated to find
work.
& It can put a strain on the country’s economy.

Mutual Advantage:
Mutual advantage is a concept which involves an unwritten contract of reciprocation between
the state and citizens seeking to gain benefits from its welfare system. Citizens taking
advantage of the welfare system should use its benefits to get themselves out of poverty and
thus contribute to society or economy later on.
Some individuals exploit the system by:
& Seeking to benefit from state’s resources without making a contribution
& Exaggerate certain illnesses to get overcompensated and live off of the state
& Relying on the state to deal with the consequences of their own poor life
choices. For example: Drug abuse.
Hence, mutual advantage is implemented as a means of protecting the state’s resources. One
way in which it is put into practice is: making arrangements for unemployed persons on
welfare to gain training in a skill as a condition to continue receiving the benefits of welfare.
Mutual advantage has immensely impacted development. This is due to the rehabilitation of
individuals in the welfare system which has lead to the introduction of many productive
members of society. As a result of the increase in productivity, development is further
increased.

Welfare VS. Mutual Advantage:

The welfare system seeks to aid individuals incapable of meeting their own needs whereas
mutual advantage is an extension of the welfare system that seeks to promote a beneficial
relationship between the state and individuals on welfare based on reciprocation.
Discrimination
Discrimination can be referred to as the act of treating others unfairly; or any form of unjust,
hurtful, harmful or belittling action, perception or statement made against individuals based
on negative stereotypes of the individuals’ or groups’ race, religion, culture gender, health or
nationality.
Key-word:
Prejudice: any baseless assessment made of any individual or group to show one’s
disapproval, hatred or disdain.
Institutionalized: embedded within a society’s culture through its economic, political and
educational institutions.

Common examples of discrimination include:

o Creedism: discrimination on the basis of religion
o Classism: discrimination based on socio-economic class.
Main forms of discrimination in the Caribbean community:
 Ageism: discrimination against a certain group of people based on their age. This is
mainly directed toward the older members of society (older than age 60), who may be
discriminated against, for example, in the job market. Ageism could also be observed
through social life, cultural life and government policy.
 Gender Discrimination: this is also known as sexism and describes any form of
discrimination based on general expectations and assumptions of an individual’s
gender rather than their talent, achievements and contribution to society.
 Racism: this is one form of institutionalized discrimination; actions based on the
belief that an ethnic group (uniform and cohesive cultural group) is superior or
inferior to another because of their biological or cultural differences.
 Class Discrimination: any form of discrimination against the poorer people of a
society who are commonly classified as the lower social class
 Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation: also known as homophobia, this refers to
discrimination against individuals who engage in sexual acts with a partner of the
same sex.
o Sexual Orientation: ‘a person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to
which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or
bisexual.’ (Oxford Dictionaries).
 Police Brutality: the use of unnecessary and excessive force on civilians beyond what
is considered safe or humane. This includes all acts where police use unnecessary
force to detain a citizen or manage conflicts; and when they are verbally abusive or
abuse their power.

Impact of Discrimination on Development

Type of Discrimination Impact on Development

AGEISM  Perpetuates the generation gap between citizens of the

region
  Death of cultural heritage as the elderly may not be
encouraged to share traditions. These traditions serve as
part of the tourist attraction, so lack of these traditions
would hinder development
GENDER DISCRIMINATION  When women suffer injustices, it directly affects those
dependent on women (e.g. Children). Resultantly, this
would negatively affect the future generation, he
 Character expectations of women (docile, submissive) have
led to abuse of women at work and at home. This is
expensive for the government. They would attempt to build
shelters and put programs in place to assist the abused,
hence more money (welfare resources) is being directed
toward these efforts, rather than others.
 Sexist labour practices (paying women less than men for
similar or the same work) makes it difficult for impoverished
female headed households to climb out of poverty
RACISM  Racial tensions have led to political divisiveness in countries
like Guyana. This means at times the elected president is put
into power based on race not qualifications. Due to this,
development may be adversely affected as the president
may not be who’s best for the country.
 Employers focus on ascriptive criteria rather than attained
criteria, meaning they give the job based on appearances,
not qualifications. So, those who are poor stay poor as they
do not have the ascriptive means by which to progress.
CLASSISM  General dissatisfaction among classism victims with the
state of affairs, leading to rioting and protests which causes
great economic loss on the affected countries
Discrimination based on SEXUAL  Violence against those who choose to make their alternative
ORIENTATION sexual lifestyle known. Larger worldwide bodies have made
threats of withholding funding from Caribbean countries
that had a strong anti-gay (hence anti- equality) sentiment
 Investors withhold funding from musical talents which
promote violence against this group in song
 The mindset of the Caribbean people may lead to a qualified
person being denied a job based solely in their sexual
orientation
POLICE BRUTALITY  Police brutality upsets the basic foundation of society by not
following their duty, ‘to serve and protect’
 Distrust of law enforcement
 Difficulties faced by government in disciplining police
officers, while at the same time trying to deter criminals
 Increased fear of police in the population leads to lower
productivity
 Negative press coverage on these issues discourage
potential tourists from visiting.

Indicators of Development Affected by Breaches of Social Justice

 References
Caribbean Studies for CAPE Examinations: An Interdisciplinary Approach Jeniffer
Mohammed
Collins CAPE Revision Guide Caribbean Studies (Collins CAPE Caribbean
Studies) Kathleen Singh