“Political Parties Should Be Encouraged To Take Part In Media Programmes”

We have observed an increase presence of members of political parties on various media programmes of late especially during the week-ends. What in your opinion could account for this?
Political parties are by their very essence or definition, associations of individuals who are citizens of a given political system or nation who have decided by virtue of their mutual understanding and conception of the way to govern the society through a common ideology have decided to create a political party based on the freedoms or laws that exist. As such, political parties are therefore like political enterprises which have to compete given the freedoms that exist with other political parties which have also been created for the same purpose. The essence of any political party is to be able to achieve power and to be able to preserve that power through competition with other political parties. Now, in the process of seeking to attain political power and by virtue of their very essence, political parties have to know as we teach in political science that, for every political party to succeed in its mission, it has to have a certain number of characteristics. Amongst which are; it has to have as many members as they can and membership in political parties should be voluntary, they have to be able to have a political programme or platform and they have to have an ideology. They equally have to have strategies in organisation, campaigning, recruiting members and communication. The media has become in modern democracy and in the modern world of governance, one of the most instantaneous and the most effective means of communication. Political parties cannot therefore help but use the media and that is why they go to the media and participate in various political debates.
Does their presence on the media not deprive the population such as sympathisers of political parties the opportunity to meet and talk face to face as was the case before?
Media outings do not deprive the population from meeting with the political parties face-to-face because the fact they meet with the media and take part in media programmes does not and should not stop them from using the traditional or classical methods which I just mentioned earlier. The population has an opportunity to listen to them when they participate in the media programmes but the population equally has the opportunity to meet with them in political rallies, town hall meetings, and debates when they do what they call “meet the people tours”. These are alternative methods to media outings and the population always has the chance to meet the political actors face-to face in these other meetings. Political parties should not only rely on media outings. 
Is the choice of the media programme a sign of political vitality or lack of a clear ideology?
Participation in media outings is a sign of political vitality and not a lack of ideology because every political party that is serious in the modern world should be involved in political debates.  This is because it is the most effective, modern and instantaneous way of communication especially with the age of the internet and social media. You attain a wider public by going through the media.  It shows that politically, you have vitality. It is not a manifestation of lack of ideology. The more you participate in the media, the more it shows that you are vital and that you have something to say. Political parties should ...