NEW DELHI, Nov 16: Vice President Hamid Ansari today called upon the media world to take corrective action to set straight the systemic distortions brought in by certain developments like erosion of the role of editors, paid news, cross-media ownership and disregard of media ethics.
Mr Ansari also wanted immediate attention to be paid to the working condition of media personnel, including the need for their security and safety.
“Each of these is the subject of vigorous ongoing debate. There is an imperative need to put in place the required correctives,” Mr Ansari said while inaugurating the National Press Day function organised by the Press Council of India here.
The corrective required that press must, scrupulously adhere to accepted norms of journalistic ethics and maintain high standards of professional conduct, while exercising its freedom, he said.
The Vice President said today the Press and media scene in India was veering from reasoned debate, under-stated expression and moderation in views, to polemical overstatement, hysterical outpouring and plain misinformation.
“When this happens in a number of languages, over a wide geographical spread and virtually around the clock, it constitutes the din of democracy and often creates more confusion than intended. It nevertheless upholds the principle of free expression, within the law, and remains an essential part of a functioning democratic system,” he said.
He said the freedom of speech and expression within the four corners of the law were guaranteed as a fundamental right by the Constitution, and the freedom of the Press and Media was a logical corollary.
“The Press Council is a mechanism for the Press to regulate itself. Its raison d’etre is rooted in the concept that in a democratic society the press needs at once to be free and responsible,” Mr Ansari said.
Underlining that India soon would be having millions of young voters who would, to act as responsible citizen, require an understanding of the functioning of the country’s democratic system, Vice President Hamid Ansari said press and media had role both as communicators and as persuaders, so that the national debate could be enriched and the democratic structure strengthened.
“There is another aspect of the responsibility of the Press and Media that I wish to highlight. This relates to the need to articulate consistently and effectively the Indian discourse on a wide range of global issues in a world that is increasingly becoming interdependent and in which the weight of India has grown over the decades,” he said.
In this context, he spoke critically of the role of media in relation to the economic liberalisation that was launched in 1991, saying that the mainstream media had generally adopted a laudatory tone and tended to underplay its negative socio-economic effects, though there had been some excellent exceptions.
“India’s Press has a long and venerated history and played an important role in the freedom struggle. Gandhiji himself was perhaps the most influential editor and journalist of his time. He used his writings to give Indians a sense of pride and dignity, apart from motivating them to unite and fight for freedom,” he said.
Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju in his remarks also spoke of the very important role of the media in giving to people information that was necessary for them to gain knowledge and form opinion, but underlined the great responsibility that entails this role.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tiwari in his address touched upon various issues like the corporate ownership of the media, the change in the media landscape with the arrival of the internet.
“What still has not been analysed in depth and detail is how this democratisation of news creation, aggregation & dissemination, bottoms up process sans editorialisation is impacting both print & broadcasting newsrooms in addition to transforming the contours of the media space,” he said.
He also called for empowering the working journalist as well as creating the necessary wherewithal that supports truly independent media initiatives. (UNI)
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