Sceptre of Paid News
By Dr Arvind Kumar
The sceptre of ‘Paid News’ haunting the media in India has been instrumental in eroding media’s credibility to some extent in public eyes. Another contributory factor quickening the process of erosion is that privately-owned media serving the interests of the owners has seldom discharged its responsibility to the society at large. The practice of media barons’ censoring news to suit their needs leave the readers and the audience helpless in distinguishing between paid news and routine news. In recent times, the media has come to enjoy too much power without accountability. How can a handful of media elite who hijacked the decision-making of millions be allowed to get away? Should they not be barred from reporting? Unless we act against them, we will soon have a “paid democracy.” The issue of paid news has not received the attention it deserves. Honesty is the first requisite for a journalist or a media house. We need a strong law and, perhaps, a regulatory authority to tackle the issue. We also need to create greater awareness on paid news.
The exposure of the attempts to drown the pay-to-print scam by the media should be addressed by civil society. Unless it is done on a war footing, democracy would be under a great risk of being subverted by the cosy monetised relationship between the media, the corporate sector, and the corrupt sections of the political spectrum. Controlling the media is not possible. Self-restraint alone can work. Unfortunately, the media resists any type of control.
