Media in the dock over shady practices

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL

27 March, 2011

Most of the media organisations in the country have an un-written code of not exposing the wrongdoings of each other. This code, however, has been broken by the Radia Tapes and now media houses are coming out against each other with vengeance.

MY VAST experience in dealing with journalists (both print and electronic) due to RTI activism revealed that there used to be an un-written code amongst media-groups, which ensured that they did not expose each other. Journalists from most print and electronic media had refused to reveal an RTI response from army (and subsequent CIC verdict) about an infamous TV-shot by a renowned TV journalist of a prominent TV channel during Kargil-war, which resulted in killing of some Indian soldiers, because as per the unwritten code most media-groups hide each others faults.

But exposure of an allegedly ‘sold’ media through infamous Radia tapes has broken the unethical code. Now ‘India Today’ (4^th April 2011) through its write-up ‘Off the Air’ has leveled serious allegations against a leading channel on various aspects of ‘delayed’ and ‘doctored (diluted)’ presentation of its sting on the infamous cash-for votes scam on trust-motion in Parliament.

Media is the fourth (latent) pillar of democracy, where the other three are already in the dock. It is time that the news channel answers the questions on its credibility by airing a special programme on serious allegations leveled by former staffer Siddhartha Gautam, who is now with a rival channel.

Accountability in media has become a necessity. It also time to know the reasons for the sudden exit of a senior person like Prabhu Chawla from India Today group.