What is the issue?
The news media is under threat due to various internal factors.
What are the problems in this regard?
- Paid news had been a long debated issue that was used to describe malpractices in newspapers.
- This is now being rephrased into “advertorial” content to legitimise and blur the distinction between reportage and paid content.
- Ex: A government policy keeps appearing in news in the form of advertisements from the known beneficiary of that policy.These in essence are politicised news.
- The prevalence of bribed reporters, lobbying senior editors and politically biased journalists questions the legitimacy and ethics of the news media.
- Corporates have huge financial stakes and significant control over print or visual media.
- This has allegedly led to blurring of distinction between managerial/ownership activities and editorial jurisdiction.
- It is also being the cause for corruption and conflict of interest which are increasingly operating in the news media.
- TRP (Television Rating Point) and sensationalism are being the driving factors as they determine the advertising revenue.
- The legislative and regulatory powers of the Press Council of India (PCI) is inadequate to take stringent measures against all these.
What should be done?
- Some ownership restrictions on cross holdings and aggregate holdings have to be legislated.
- Legislation must also define the distinctions between managerial and editorial departments to avoid conflict of interest.
- Working on labour standards to let journalists work without fear of retribution, to refuse any form of work that infringes upon their professional codes or conscience is essential.
- Creating genuinely independent and transparent systems for assessing circulation and ratings of media is needed.
- Introducing internal systems for disclosing potential conflicts of interest and to deal with complaints.
Source: The Hindu
