Journalists in Pakistan have faced the twin challenges of military dictatorships and religious fundamentalism. A few days ago news, the Taliban blew up a press club in the Swat valley and killed a TV journalist as a warning to the media. At least 10 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006. Media is a powerful medium in communication theory. There are dual pressures for the journalists. They have to abide by the rules of their work holdings and also by the expression of their professional ethics. Either of them cannot be ignored else his life is in danger. And that leads to his choice to reporting the safe report than making a challenging effort or playing with risk factors.
Freedom of the Press was one of the constitutional guarantees persistently demanded by India's freedom fighters during British colonial rule. But recently a reporter of a leading newspaper was recently threatened for publication of some facts. The right to free speech is an integral norm in democracy. But the reporter was threatened by a lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana high court for putting out a series of reports about the indiscriminate mining in the Aravalis. Press is for the people and publishing something factual is an eye opener to safeguard and protect the concerned.
Today media is looked upon as a medium to generate money. Money power drives them therefore they go after what is profitable rather than the truth as such. Media and press are for the people. They should work in favour of truth and justice. But the fact is that in a country like India where democracy has flourished, democratic values, which include freedom of speech and expression, are not shared uniformly. Media is supposed to be the voice that seeks to protect the democratic rights of citizens. Through this medium there can be brought great changes to the rule and system of functioning of the constitution. It is the voice of the voiceless.
A lawyer stands for in the constitutional judiciary in favour of the truth. He is sworn by oath to protect the rule of law. But he allegedly chose to attack the media when he should have been concerned about the charges that mining firms were flouting directives of the Supreme Court. The water bodies like Delhi Badkhal Lake, Surajkund and Damdama Lake, around the place Aravali have become stone dry. This is destroying of the nature and building up of farmhouses on its dry bed. This kind of sheer nuisance of violation of the laws. And instead of standing for the truth, it is acting against the truth, which is a crime.
It is the right of the media to keep the people informed. It is the tool to disseminate news then why is it suppressed in the hands of the few in power? If the only means to showcase the truth is concealed, how can one think of fair and acute reporting!
But who is bothered…? Unfortunately, public institutions expected to safeguard the freedom of expression have preferred to bow to the dictates of liberal groups, rather than stand by the media. Corruption has reached such an extent that with money everything that one desires can be bought. And thus can be said that for the accused everything goes on well. But what if the accused is not guilty but does not even have any help to claim his sincerity. Here lies the weakness and ultimately money wins.
The primary reason for attacks on the media is that, it is an institution that has consistently upheld democratic values in the trying times. It even substitutes for the official political opposition in some countries and also has resisted authoritarian tendencies in politics and society. But to a certain extent it is facing a great danger in modern times where there is a big control by the corrupted ideologies and huge market force driving it out to unexpected track.
Today Media is in danger. It is misused. The fact is that media is driven by the market forces eventually leading the credible reporting and dissemination of news to an absurd i.e. mainly concerning to definite category of people’s choices instead of standing by the right and truthful broadcasting media houses who don't toe to the line of unbiased behaviour.
There should be an earnest effort by the media channels to be aware of the menace they are causing by such kind of political bent and ideologically devoted news dissemination. And moreover to bring out the truth and fair report the channels have to be independent to stand by their objectives in fair reporting. Then only the media can establish themselves with the standard of a successful industry.
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