I received a set of questions from some critics in response to my column, “ Silencing the media is political suicide ” (June 5, 2017). What do I mean by enabling environment? Where does the freedom of the press end and the normal course of law begin? Does news media seek an exception from being scrutinised by other institutions?
There was also an attempt to conflate the roles of different institutions, where even the fair criticism against the use of human shields was invoked to say that the news media needs to be ‘put in its place’. However, these critics of the media did not say what that mythical ‘place’ is.
Detecting overreach
The four estates — legislature, executive, judiciary and media — define democracy and each of them has its role defined and its remit spelt out. It is not rocket science to detect overreach when it happens. An enabling environment for the media is one in which the other estates do not infringe on its independence, trample on its freedom or stifle its watchdog role.
This is not a claim for any exceptionalism for the media. It is a vital requirement for it to deliver on its mandate of carrying out the critical, adversarial role of examining the facts. In this context, any move by the legislature and/or the executive to try the media should first pass a few tests. Some of the obvious tests involve making sure that: the action is not mala fide in its intent; there is a prima facie case against the media that will stand the legal scrutiny of the courts; and the case is not in the nature of a ‘SLAPP’ suit.
SLAPP suit
The ‘SLAPP’ suit that takes myriad forms when it comes to stymieing the media is a complex phenomenon. Coined by two professors in Denver, the term ‘SLAPP’ stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. Rajeev Dhavan, the well-known Supreme Court lawyer, in his book, Publish and Be Damned , explained the contours of these suits. He contended: “The purpose of a ‘SLAP[P]’ is more than simply getting a ‘gagging’ writ. It is a strategy used to put people on notice, ensnare them in the legal process, put them through all the trouble and hassles this involves, and make them give up their cause if not silence them forever… Those entrapped in litigation had to go through it, pay for it and suffer its consequences. If they were defiant before the litigation started, such defiance soon wore off with the prolonged and expensive proceedings which, if lost, would also result in paying damages to the victor. The penalties for filing suits was always less intimidating than the dividends to be obtained from a successful ‘SLAP[P]’.”
Dominance of the digital
The second and the more important fact we have to bear in mind is that the present information age is dominated by the digital devices. Historian Hampton Sides, in his address to the outgoing students of Colorado College, recently explained the challenges in front of the media brilliantly. He first explored the present status of the information world: “It’s been said that we live in an age of ‘truth decay’. That we inhabit a post-factual world. A world of fake news and alternative facts. A world in which every story is tainted, the product of leaks and hacks, black ops and active measures, propaganda and disinformation — spread by trolls, replicated by Internet bots, amplified in echo chambers deep in the dungeons of the web.”
Then he looked at the nature of the self-defeating certitudes that the digital possibilities create among the users: “Never in the history of the world has so much knowledge been so instantaneously available at our fingertips — and for free. Yet ironically never before have we been so disdainful of facts: Because they are so easy to come by, they are no longer precious. Why do we need to be smart, when we have smartphones? Why do we need an appetite for knowledge when we can just get the app? Why do we need to know when we can Google-know?”
Mr. Sides ended his talk with those wonderful lines from William Wordsworth: “Bring with you a heart that watches and receives.”
For news media to remain a heart that watches, receives and transmits in good faith, it is incumbent upon the other three estates to create and maintain a conducive atmosphere.
readerseditor@thehindu.co.in
