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“More Indians want media without government control”

Survey released to commemorate World Press Freedom Day

Washington: More people in India want the media to be free to publish news and ideas “without government control” than those who would prefer some state intervention, a worldwide survey on freedom of press said on Thursday.

The survey by “WorldPublicOpinion.org,” released to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, also found that a “modest” majority of Indians realised the importance of media freedom.

Views from 20 nations

As many as 52 per cent of those polled in India said it was important to have freedom of the media, and an equal number said that people should have the right to read whatever was on the web, the poll that included views from 20 nations, said.

While a plurality (42 per cent) favoured the media to be free to publish news and ideas without government control, one-third (33 per cent) of the respondents said the government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing things that could be politically destabilising.

Further, 56 per cent said that people should have the right to read publications from other countries, including those that could be considered enemies.

However, one-third (33 per cent) said people should not have this right, the most of any public asked.

Interestingly, only 29 per cent thought of the media in the country to be having “a lot” of freedom, while 26 per cent said it had “some.”

More freedom

On the question of more freedom for media, Indians were somewhat divided, with about 36 per cent backing the proposition and 19 per cent favouring status quo.

Interestingly, however, 32 per cent actually favoured restriction of freedom for the media in India, the poll said. —PTI

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