[icernet] Journalism on the cheap - Kuldip Nayar

[Arul Selvan]

Many among us are unhappy with what is happening in the media. 
Tittle-tattle has come to be treated as news. A cheap populism is hawked 
in the name of modern journalism. Take television, for instance. Two or 
three media-savvy politicians from different parties are regularly 
invited to the studio where the anchor invites them to comment on a 
sensitive subject on the spur of the moment. The more irresponsible 
their remarks, the better. TV networks are concerned about their 
ratings, not the effect on the viewers. Newspapers may be a little more 
cautious because they come out in black and white. But the old dictum 
that the news columns are sacred is being increasingly replaced by what 
is called ‘investigative reporting’, which by and large means reporting 
with a slant. One is likely to read the editorials in the news columns 
and vice-versa.

The print media can at least be arraigned before the Press Council of 
India but not the electronic media. I have argued in vain for the last 
10 years for converting the Press Council into a Media Council. But the 
government’s reply has been that the Convergence Bill will take care of 
everything. The Bill is yet to get Parliament’s approval. The biggest 
drawback of the Press Council is that it is too legalistic in its 
approach. Its proceedings are like those of a law court. When the 
Council was constituted the purpose was that journalists would be judged 
by their own peers. But it has ended up becoming another law court. And 
why should a judge be its chairman? In fact, a top journalist will prove 
far more effective in that role.

Source:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=21607