Pen is more expensive than the Sword !

Paid News Syndrome :

The Rot lies at the Root

News is defined to be the concoction of contemporary events and truth. But it seems to be an aging one in the new domains of public sphere. Editors Guild of India has observed that political parties are victims of 'paid news syndrome' during elections, and the opposition parties are favouring amendments in the Representation of the People Act to declare such news as an electoral malpractice. The facts demand much wider attention. It has taken many years for this malaise to come to the centre stage of media criticism. The syndrome is no more the apt word. It has become cancerous now.

The issue is now acting from both the sides of media and politics. The Political icons keenly ready to pay for an inflated image whereas media tycoons are double ready with their rate charts. This vicious circle (Money – Media – Politics) needs cure from political action as well as media conscience. When Congress CM of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, revealed with such an ease that he paid a media establishment for painting his ‘proper’ image it shows the depth of the disease. 

First it was a meet of South Asia Free Media Association (India chapter) in Mumbai during the first week of December last year, where the issue of paid news was officially discussed with serious concern. Then came the annual general meeting of the Editors' Guild of India during the fourth week of December, where most of the members expressed concern at the growing tendency of a section of media groups (both print and electronic) to receive money for some 'non-advertorial' items in their media space. 

Media, by and large, is the generator of public opinion and reflector of social discourses. It is the same function that the vested invested groups want to exploit. Media exercises the legitimizing function with the definite ideological bent. This complicates the situation further. The entire cluster of all this is the media business of our day. By this very existence as a profit making and profit craving entity, contemporary media is loosing all the credibility in the public sphere. 

But unfazed by this trend of history, media barons are showing arrogance just to attract the honeycomb they hold –even the ‘editorial space’ for sale. Just to note here, political masters are not innocent either. It is their clumsy politics and the way they are detached from public that make them afraid of ‘paid news’ black mailing. Now the ‘good, bad and the ugly’ have come out in the public to reveal the devastating extent of this malaise. And that can make a different twist to this story. 

Every eyes and nerves of press loving people are tuned to watch out what the recently formed ethics committee of Editors Guild will do in this scenario. It can engage media in a monitoring and regulating exercise for sure. But the problem does not end there, nor it is rooted there. It lies at the core of the Business model centred on sheer profiteering. And it is striking chords now only because it has started to intrude into the sheaths of political society. 

In Parliament, BJP leader Arun Jaitley has described paid news phenomenon as ‘Bribery of the media’. “It interdicts the process of free and fair elections. It violates the limits set out by the Election Commission for expenditure in elections. Black money, in consideration of ‘paid news’ violates provisions of the income tax act.” He said. Jaitley argued that “paid news” was not free speech and, therefore, not protected by Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution — which guarantees the right. It can, he said, be restricted by enacting a law that empowers the Election Commission to refer “paid news” matters to a tribunal headed by a serving judge, and provides for exemplary punishment.

The CPM’s Sitaram Yechury wanted government ads stopped to those purveying “paid news”. The press council has set up a sub-committee to look into the issue, and its report is expected soon. After that, the government is expected to draw up rules giving the council more powers to tackle the problem.

Conceding these measures to be partially effective, we should march ahead extra miles to think beyond the issues it has created to the electoral system. Beyond the consternation of politicians, ‘paid news’ is a far departure from the duties that the press owes to this country and the right for information. In this context the argument by N.Bhaskara Rao, the founder chairman of CMS Academy of Communication & Convergence studies is worth noting. He is arguing for bringing Media under the purview of RTI. In addition to this he has advocated that Government media campaigns, other than on specific occasions, be discouraged six months before elections. 

The paid news phenomenon or otherwise known as ‘packaged journalism’ is not form of corruption practiced by a few journalists, says renowned journalist P.Sainath. He accuses that it has become a media-run game worth hundreds of millions of rupees. And it has grinded axe at the very foundation of our democratic process. For taking cure of this, the ongoing structural changes in media should be regulated immediately. If not, rather than supporting the three pillars of the state, media will transplant or supplant the entire state with its own market propaganda. Let’s keep eyes on nerves.