Freedom Of The Press
~ By: Srisha Poddar
“We have to uphold a free press and freedom of speech — because in the end, lies and misfortune are no match for the truth.” — Barack Obama
Imagine your father sitting leg-crossed on the sofa, sipping his tea and reading the daily newspaper to keep up with what’s going on in the country and around the world in numerous domains such as the economy, sports, gaming, entertainment, trade, and business — except you don’t have to imagine anything. Isn’t that how everyone starts their day? With the exception of the leg-crossed sitting and tea, this is the sight in nearly everyone’s life. Reading the newspaper or keeping up with any form of media and press not only helps us learn about current events across the world, but it also helps us develop our personalities and confidence.
The press, being a rigorous instrument of political communication, consists of print media such as newspapers and magazines, news delivered on radio and television, and the Internet, which contains multitudes of blogs and videos that share educational and economic news with the general public on a daily basis.
“The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”
India’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Critics, on the other hand, claim that press freedom is restricted, and that the government only fosters speech that benefits the government by keeping it in the spotlight. The right to freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and is not a politician’s prerogative. It’s also not a journalist’s prerogative. Journalists are merely practicing their freedom to free speech in their daily profession.
According to the annual assessment, India has been classified as a ‘partly free’ country in terms of democracy and free society for the second year in a row. Freedom House, a US-based NGO that analyses political rights and civil freedoms, released a report titled “Freedom in the World 2022 — The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule.” In 2022, India received a score of 66 out of 100. In 2021, the country received a score of 67. Until 2020, India was a free country, with a score of 71.
IMPORTANCE OF FREE PRESS:
· Individuals may fully participate in political life, make informed decisions, and strengthen society as a result of free media, which is especially important in a vast democracy like India.
· The open flow of ideas, information, and knowledge, as well as arguing and expressing diverse points of view, are essential for democracy to work well. Because the free media is the voice of the people, it gives them the right to express themselves. As a result, in a democracy, free media is essential.
· People will be able to exercise their rights by questioning government policies thanks to Free Media. Only when press freedom is realised can such an environment be formed.
As a result, the media is rightly called the fourth pillar of democracy, alongside the legislative, executive, and judiciary.
CHALLENGES FACED:
Although the media plays a vital role in creating a country’s democracy by giving a platform for ordinary citizens to voice their concerns and ideas, it has frequently overstepped its bounds of fair reporting and intruded into personal lives. The media frequently portrays events in such a way that they appear to be a trial. Because such media trials are likely to harm the judiciary’s reputation and legal proceedings, they interfere with the judiciary’s ability to function. Paid and fake news have the ability to alter public perception and incite hatred, violence, and conflict among society’s diverse communities. In the absence of impartial journalism, the deceptive presentation of truth occurs in society, influencing people’s perceptions and attitudes.
To re-establish trust in the media without jeopardizing its freedom, public education, strengthened regulations, and efforts by tech companies to develop appropriate algorithms for news curating will be crucial. In this age of new media, anyone can manufacture and spread news for undisclosed gains, therefore any proposed laws to combat fake news should take the big picture into account rather than blaming the media and reacting in a knee-jerk manner.
Editors are also subtly forced to self-censor and journalists are denied access to legislatures or imprisoned on false charges for calling for government accountability, which shakes the very fundamentals of transparency in any country’s democracy.
It’s no surprise that India is ranked 142 in the World Press Freedom Index for 2021, and that its ranking has been steadily declining over the years. Geeta Seshu, Senior Journalist and Co-Author of Getting Away with Murder, and her team took upon themselves to find out more about the kilings and murders of the journalists between the period of 2014–2019 to make people aware of the happenings and to break the silence. The numbers they discovered are bound to astonish you.
Since 2014, there have been 200 attacks on journalists in India, with 0 convictions for attacking journalists. 40 journalists have been viciously killed between 2014 and 2019, with 6 deaths in 2019. There have been 198 serious attacks on journalists in India since 2014, with 21 being killed for professional reasons. Families of those who were killed or died were astonished to receive a response from Geeta’s team because they had not expected anyone to remember them after the cases were originally publicised. In terms of conviction rates, it’s pitiful to say the least.
Journalists have been shot at, blinded by pellet guns, made to drink urine-laced liquor, urinated on, beaten, and had petrol bombs hurled at their homes in India. They have been attacked by enraged mobs, religious sect supporters, political parties, student groups, lawyers, and the police. Many journalists were targeted for their reports even during the Covid-19 outbreak, which strongly suggests that India is still a dangerous place for journalists. If this trend continues, we will undoubtedly face rising concerns about misinformation, data manipulation, and populism.
CONCLUSION:
It is critical that the media adheres to fundamental values such as truth and accuracy, transparency, independence, fairness and impartiality, accountability, and fair play. It is necessary to strike a balance between freedom of expression and other societal and individual rights; and I believe this obligation should not be held solely by the judiciary, but by all who benefit from these freedoms; afterall it’s high time we redefine the connotations set by the society, isn’t it?
REFERENCES:
Check out the Author:
Instagram: @unicorn.diddy
