Media freedom has come under attack from multiple sources, said N. Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Group of Publications Private Limited.
He was speaking at a panel discussion organised by the Foundation for Media Professionals and The Lede at the Asian College of Journalism here on Sunday.
The discussion, in which senior media professionals participated, focused on how the State’s overreach, extremist ideologies, social media harassment and intimidation have put journalism and journalists at risk, and whether the political class is making the media irrelevant. “India belongs to the notorious club of shame under the ‘Global Impunity Index’ compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists. It is one of the countries where investigation into murders of journalists is pending for years,” Mr. Ram said.
The laws dealing with criminal defamation are one of the most illiberal legislations and journalists in India are facing more hardships and threats now than what they had faced when the Bofors scandal was exposed, he noted.
Faye D’Souza, Editor, Mirror Now , said journalists now tend to allow online abuse to pass. She also recalled the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and how the social media was used by trolls to discredit her and her work.
“It is an organised attack. When one journalist is under attack, where is the rest of the fraternity? Why aren’t we standing up online? Unfortunately, we are allowing a lot of these to happen,” she said.
Ms. D’Souza said there were “enough elements of the media that are playing for one team”.
Journalists should keep themselves as honest as possible so that when they get a chance to deliver on big issues, they will get strength from their honesty, Ravish Kumar, senior editor, NDTV India, said.
Veteran journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar said it was time for journalists and media organisations to introspect. “The link between journalists and the community has weakened. Whom are we trying to serve?” questioned Mr. B.R.P. Bhaskar.
Ma Foi K. Pandiarajan, State Minister for Tamil Development, Culture and Archaeology, said politicians too face intimidation from certain sections of the media who seek favours and money.
PTRP Thigarajan, head of the DMK’s IT wing, said the issue of access – for journalists towards those in power – depends on a situation and whether someone is in power or opposition.
Mukund Padmanabhan, Editor, The Hindu , said journalists need to start thinking about how to engage with people on social media platforms and should undertake their jobs with objectivity and fairness.
