Is “Free” Indian Media Free of Unethical Practices?

 Is "Free" Indian Media Free of Unethical Practices?

Reading famous English daily or watching your favorite news channel while drinking tea or coffee after a nice healthy morning walk is a routine most of us love to have.  We normally believe in what's said in the newspaper or what's shown on the television. We do not question the sanctity or righteousness of the news, and implicitly, start believing what is presented to us.  We never doubt the author’s intent behind the story; never check the editor or owner’s dubious associations, if any.

Two recent events not just questioned media’s credibility, but its behavior as a responsible constituent of our democratic structure.  Without substantiating the facts, two news items were published.  First was the CAG report on coal blocks, and the second was the porn-gate in Gujarat.  Either it was over enthusiasm or deliberate attempt to mislead the facts.  In both the possibilities, media displayed lack of professionalism.

This has once again brought to the forefront the issues raised by Justice Katju a couple of months ago.    There are several other issues that have come to light with regards to the media's conduct such as ownership of media houses, blackmail, sensationalizing the story, intentional breach of ethics, paid news, etc.  Clearly, the self-regulation is failing to regulate the media.

Today many journalists lack professional skills, commitment to the profession, and do not feel the need to take time to collect all the facts and to cross check them before publishing the story.  Therefore, the stories that come out of their fold are of very poor quality.  Although journalists are not liable to any poor reporting, certainly, they are responsible for what they write and hence can lose credibility and a faithful reader.

Deliberate breach of ethics due to ownership or otherwise is an issue that has got more prominence than before.  Today, headlines are twisted and turned so that a win can look like a loss and a loss can look like a win. Today, most media houses have political affiliations and hence their intent of airing the news is very controversial.  No wonder we see friendly media jumping to defend their respective political parties more vehemently than even the party spokespersons in a television debate.   Deception is the order of the day.

Nira Radia tapes have shown how the media can go overboard and start power broking instead of doing their duty of honestly putting facts in public domain and let the people judge them.

Here are few lines quoted by someone on media’s unethical behavior: The media is but a tool in the pockets of the corporate, political, and financial establishments that seeks to mold and even manipulate public opinion in the favor of those who have vested interests in various channels around the globe. What is needed today is discretion, critical thought, and the ability to read between the lines, gauge the information being churned out, and accordingly judge whether the source is indeed being unbiased or not. The answer will be no in almost all cases, and if you look carefully, you will see that each media conglomerate has a leaning, inclination, or affiliation with a certain party, group or organization that seems very subtle at first, but is actually extremely pronounced through the method of reporting and presenting information – (Unconfirmed source).
 
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum – even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate. - Noam Chomsky
 
After taking all these things into consideration, one should be aware of the possibility of the fact that the news may not be true at all or there could be a deception in what is presented to us. Facts could be entirely different. There could be vested interests in what we are reading, seeing or hearing.  Therefore keep your eyes, ears and above all, you mind open in a true sense.