INDIAN MEDIA STANDS AT THE CROSSROADS. IT WILL HAVE TO EITHER BOW DOWN TO TREMENDOUS POLITICAL CLOUT OR BE THE WATCHDOG RATHER THEN BEING THE LAP DOG.
THE INDIAN MEDIA CONUNDRUM
BY PARSHAD DESAI
For centuries anon, public perception has decided the fate of many empires & nations, tyrannical kings & benevolent dictators and invincible kingdoms as well as tiny nations. Public perception could make or break the establishment of structural authority. The advent of democracy leads to the birth of the free contemporary free which was removed from the shackles of the state. Now it was the press who could have a decisive impact on the pulse of the masses. The press had the ultimate weapon to either keep governments in power or disgrace them and flung them out of the corridors of democracy.
A free press is an integral feature of democracy. It allows people to have an unbiased & unhindered view of the government’s acts and proceedings. As Thomas Jefferson, the draftsman of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and the nation's first secretary of state rightly said “The only security of all is a free press”.
To say that the mainstream media is dancing to the tunes of the government would be a gross exaggeration. The control is more subtle and the propaganda more nuanced. Nonetheless, a certain degree of autonomy does exist & a new online trend is emerging which has the potential to disrupt this façade. What remains to be seen is how the government adapts to the new challenge and how the masses embrace this new form of media.
In this report, I will throw some light on the structural issues rotting Indian media, legislative policies, political interference as well as yellow journalism. But most importantly, I will discuss the solutions i.e. how to get rid of these issues and make the media freer.
CORE ISSUES & SOLUTIONS
1. AD DRIVEN MODEL
Contrary to media houses around the world, the revenue sources of the Indian media are lopsided. Such companies have two main revenue streams: Subscription fees & advertisement. The subscription fees in India are regulated by TRAI (Television Regulatory Authority of India). As part of its fleeting reforms announced in the early days of 2020, TRAI capped off the price ceiling for subscription at Rs. 160. Although this move made channels cheaper & more accessible for the masses, its repercussions were felt by news channels whose subscription fees were amongst the lowest ranging between Re 1 to Rs. 5. This severely diminished the subscription revenue for all the news channels. To gain some perspective, let us compare the revenue stream of Indian & American news channels.
SOLUTION: Make a two-tier subscription model. Let the channels decided whether they want to cater to middle & upper-income consumers or lower income consumers. This will result in a better quality of journalism which will have documentaries, facts, better edits & on-ground reports. Social media can play a pivotal role in spreading this type of journalism to lower income users so a gulf in information is not created.
2. POLITICAL PANDERINGS
In a democracy, it is inconceivable to think that members of the Parliament would own media houses. However, the world’s largest democracy has many such wonders! Popular & mainstream media houses are owned by those close to or related to politicians of national-level parties of national-level parties like INC, BJP & CPI. Some examples are:
Network 18, owned by Mukesh Ambani who is close to the BJP.
NDTV- owned by Abhay Oswal- who is the father-in-law of Congress Ex-MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal.
SUN group- popular in Southern India- Kalanithi Maran holds 77% share of Kal Media Services Pvt. Ltd. who is the grandnephew of DMK president Karunanidhi.
Zee Group owned by Subhash Chandra- An aspirant for the BJP ticket from Hisar, in the 2014 Haryana Assembly Election, supported BJP candidate Dr. Kamal Gupta.
SOLUTION: Pass legislation banning direct or covert ownership of any media company of any scale, size & location by a member or relative of any political party.
3. HIGH ENTRY COST
The cost of setting up media outlets like newspapers, channels and radio stations require various licenses and permits. The cost/fees of all these are very astronomical to the tune of tens of lakhs of rupees. Such absurd figures put enormous pressure on these entities to rake in revenue as soon as possible. They tend to resort to yellow journalism (sensationalizing news) to attract eyeballs (as revenue is ad-driven as described in point 1). Hence, the overall quality & content suffers.
SOLUTION: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting must initiate action to curb excessive levying of charges & fees. These costs should be reduced by keeping the interests of both the government as well as the media in mind.
4. POOR TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS
When Jamaal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate, the world was up in arms & KSA’s King Mohammed Bin Salman was heavily scrutinized. However, when Gauri Lankesh was murdered outside her house in Bengaluru, the reaction was very mild. The treatment of activist type journalists is truly baffling. According to Reporters Without Borders, India ranks 142 out of the 180 countries surveyed with Kashmir being described as a “vast open prison” & being one of the reasons for the fall in rankings below two places.
SOLUTION: The current top dog of Indian media associations called All India Communication and Media Association seems to be more concerned about organizing events rather than fighting for rights. It's time to revamp the association & fill it with people who are more concerned about the plight of the media. Since 1998, more than 40 reporters have been killed while on duty. No astute legislation has been passed by the government to preserve & protect the rights of journalists. The hard-hitting fact is that Maharashtra is the only state in India that has laws protecting journalists.
PARTING THOUGHTS
The environment for the mainstream media in our country is becoming extremely fragile. Incidents like:
Expulsion of Amnesty International
Jammu & Kashmir blackout
The proposed amendment to the RTI Act if passed can undermine the autonomy of the Information Commissioners making it a constitutional illusion.
Blockade of media in Hathras
Ownership of media houses by political elements
All these instances have completely undermined the free position of the media. India has tilted towards becoming a “flawed democracy”. A Flawed democracy is one in which free and fair elections are held and basic civil liberties are fulfilled but there is undermining of the free press & media and repression of public protests. The situation can become more volatile if the public is not educated about the changing situation. In such a precocious position, a diligent introspection on our behalf is imperative. A beacon of hope is the youth, the impartial judiciary and the fairly autonomous bureaucracy of the nation. In these tumultuous times, someone will have to step in for the media.