“The truth, no matter how bad, is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run.” - Ben Bradlee
Democracy refers to a system of government that is ‘By’ the people, ‘For’ the people and ‘Of’ the people. Media and democracy are very closely related and provide meaning to one another. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. In India, media came into existence in 1780 with the introduction of a newspaper named ‘The Bengal Gazette’ and since then it has undergone significant changes over the years. Traditionally, the media is considered to play a crucial role in shaping a healthy democracy. It is the backbone of democracy. The media, often called a watchdog of democracy, in its ideal form is a reflection of the multiple facets and realities of life.
It makes us aware of the various socio-economic and political events taking place around the globe. A plethora of examples can be cited where the media has undertaken path-breaking efforts and uncovered some of the darkest secrets. ‘The Watergate Scandal’ is perhaps one of the most landmark events wherein the investigations by the journalists namely, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein both working for The Washington Post revealed the role of the President of the US in the conspiracy of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee office, leading to Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974. In India, the Tehelka portal is renowned for its investigative journalism. It exposed the corruption in the Indian Defence procurement process under "Operation West End". It also brought out the match-fixing scandal among many others.
The media is undergoing evolution and is slowly and steadily realising its full potential. From basic black and white newspapers to radio to televisions to online media portals to news podcasts, the media has come a long way and is continuing to grow. The media has become fairly accessible nowadays. It exposes and unmasks the undiscovered realities of our lives. It brings out the loopholes in the functioning of democratic institutions and keeps a check on almost everything that affects the entire community as a whole. It ensures that each and every element of the civilization is properly taken care of. The main mission of the media is to hold people in power accountable which makes it extremely vital in a democracy.
However, in recent years, “Press Freedom” has been largely compromised both globally and in India. In the Global Press Freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, India has dropped two places to be ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in the annual analysis 2020. The organization in its analysis further states that “there have been constant press freedom violations, including police violence against journalists, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials”.
Since 1992, 48 journalists in India have been killed and 34 were targeted for murder. Of the 34 murders, 32 were murdered with “complete impunity,” according to the CPJ database. In 23 years, only one journalist’s murder, that of Midday’s Jyotirmoy Dey, has been prosecuted and the murderers sentenced, according to NDTV reports. Most notable among the slain journalists are Gauri Lankesh of Lankesh Patrike, Navin Nischal of Dainik Bhaskar, Sandeep Sharma of News World, and Shujaat Bukhari of Rising Kashmir.
The most worrying figure is the near ‘ZERO’ conviction rate in these cases. It threatens the entire profession of journalism and thus leads to a systematic dismantlement of the institution as a whole. A threat to journalism anywhere should be considered as a threat to humanity everywhere and therefore proportionate action must be taken against the accused after proven guilty. The state must put the safety of journalists on their high priority list and act accordingly. The direct impact that ‘Zero Media Freedom’ has, is quite disastrous. It leads to gradual hollowing up of the entire democratic structure just like termite hollow wood up from the inside. In the long term, it leads to a situation of chaos and widespread anarchy and democracy thus ceases to exist.
‘Press Freedom’ is further compromised when the media becomes polarized. In today’s “New India” the media is highly polarized. The mainstream media, instead of practicing journalism, is busy running political propaganda of different political parties. The direct result of this has been that ‘Indian Media’ has considerably lost its credibility over time. The recent rise of right, far-right and radical nationalist governments that don’t allow dissent in multiple nations across the globe has played a major role in infringing upon media rights. In fact, according to a survey released by the World Economic Forum, the Indian media was ranked as the second most untrusted institution in the world. Can you believe that the media of the world’s largest democracy is considered an untrusted institution?
Media companies like Zee Media, Republic Media Network, India Today’s Aajtak among many more, virtually act as the propaganda wings of the ruling party. A considerable amount of time is spent in running a nationalist narrative especially against Pakistan and hosting totally irrelevant and ‘hilarious’ debates. The real issues that impact the general public seem to be lost on these channels. On the other hand, media houses like NDTV & The Wire among many others are fully dedicated towards running an anti-government narrative and favouring certain other political parties. They very frequently end up criticising way too much, thus diluting the credibility of the news. So strong is the bias of Indian media companies. Similarly, in the United States, the President’s personal favourite Fox News is always propagating Republican ideology along with whitewashing Mr. Trump’s image. White supremacist propaganda, too, finds place quite frequently on this channel. On the other hand, Mr. Trump has openly termed CNN and The New York Times as ‘fake news’ that too multiple times. In the Philippines, a very famous journalist Ms. Maria Ressa, a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his violent drug war, has been convicted by the court of cyber libel which is the latest blow to press freedom in the country. This clearly establishes the extremely high degree of media polarization across the globe which is directly impacting the freedom of media everywhere.
Since time immemorial, Dissent has been considered an integral part of democracy and forms the very basis of it. It acts as a catalyst for improvisation. Media is an important source of dissent as it is a platform where people can come and express their disagreements. But governments have started to crack down on media outlets expressing dissent. This is a huge blow to ‘Right to freedom of expression’ and must be a wakeup call to every global citizen to rise and fight for their rights. Social media has been very effectively used by governments to manipulate information which is another way of quashing dissent. Many prominent personalities have regularly underlined the fact that Indian media is in a state of ‘crisis’. Rather than reporting real issues, electronic media is busy in the TRP war and thus, end up showing anything to attract increased viewership, often compromising on the relevance of their content. It is quite natural for human beings to mould the facts and present in a way that suits their interests. However, Indian media has come a bit too far resulting in the news being adulterated and directly impacting its own credibility.
The real issues that actually impact the common people are not being covered by the media. Issues like poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, poor health infrastructure among many others are being downplayed by the mainstream media. Instead of being the people’s voice, a majority of the news outlets have morphed themselves into state machinery. Whenever there is a real crisis looming in the nation, the mainstream media brings out different types of narratives, like India vs Pakistan, to diverge public attention and gain increased viewership.
However, there are certain journalists and media companies who are fully committed to the principles of journalism and keep bringing out the truth. However, a number of them also have had to face repercussions. The biggest example being Shri Punya Prasun Bajpai Ji. In an article that Bajpai Ji wrote for ‘The Wire Hindi’, he is quoted as saying, “'From being told not to take Narendra Modi's name on my show or show his image on any program critical of the government to a sinister blacking out of my show, Masterstroke, what happened was nothing short of censorship”. Many journalists along with Bajpai Ji have resorted to resignations in protest of the increased government control on state media. During the Emergency of 1975 imposed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, censorship was officially practised. Back then, many newspapers like The Indian Express protested it by leaving the editorial section blank. Many intellectuals believe what is being done by the governments today is the ‘Modern Day Censorship’.
No one is perfect in this world and the same goes for the media. Significant steps should be taken to ensure that the media is able to freely express the needs and grievances of the people. A solution must be found to end the polarization of media as well as to eliminate government influence. The media is for the people and that is the way it should be. The government must introduce legislation at the earliest to ensure greater freedom for the media. The earlier it is done, the better it shall be. Media Houses, which are owned by corporate firms, end up displaying biased news just to gain favours either from the government or other political parties. Ownership of media houses by corporate firms must be banned. Media Freedom can also be further guaranteed by ensuring funding of media companies from the taxes collected. A panel similar to the Central Information Commission must be constituted consisting of sitting High Court/Supreme Court judges to monitor media freedom and enough power must be accorded so that it can’t be manipulated. Media Freedom must be reviewed from time to time. NGOs and other pressure organizations should also play a huge role in pushing forth these changes and act as protectors of media freedom.
The true essence of Indian Democracy i.e. The Indian Media must be strengthened so that people’s faith in Democratic Principles continues to be as strong as ever. Long live India and Long live Indian Democracy!
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