Media Power: Roles of Mass Media in Local Political Development

Abstract

This academic article aimed to present a perspective on the roles of mass media in helping to develop local politics under the principles of democracy. Local political development was the use of mass media as a tool to support the creation of communication processes to create knowledge and understanding that will result in the creation of public consciousness, which was the starting point for the creation of good political behavior. The mass media was considered the heart of communication and had a main role in creating awareness and learning in the governance approach through emphasizing and passing on values, ideas, and ideologies. When analyzing the roles of mass media according to the principles of political communication together with political development, it was found that the important roles of mass media should be: exposing the truth, presenting true information honestly, and being able to provide knowledge to encourage political participation in a neutral manner, presenting information fairly, creating norms for society, and creating a good political culture according to the principles of democracy. From what has been mentioned, it will be a factor in the development of quality local politics in the future.