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English Articles
Mr. Durgesh Kumar Dubey

Is There a Crisis of Credibility in the Indian Media?

Durgesh Kumar Dubey - Assistant Professor

Department of Economics, K.P.B. Hinduja College of Commerce, Mumbai

This Essay was Awarded the First Prize in the
‘All India Dharam S. Hinduja Essay Writing Competition for Lecturers'

After seventy-five years of independence, the fourth pillar of democracy (the Media) seems to be trembling. There has
been a growing suspicion on the media from all sides. Many allegations have been leveled against the media as well as
paid news. This is why many intellectuals, as well as the judiciary and common people, have also begun pointing fingers
at the Indian media. However, the questions that have been raised on the media haven't taken any serious form.

Today, media technology is at its peak, and media has reached every corner of the country. This is an age of rapid
technological advancement. There are thousands of newspapers and hundreds of communication channels in the country,
each of which exemplifies democracy in its own way. India which is the largest democracy of the world gives citizens a
fundamental Right to Expression under Article 19 (1) of the Constitution. This Right applies to the country's media as
well and it is through this that the media has gained the status of being the fourth pillar of democracy, even without legal
recognition. A question, however, that arises in current times is whether the Right is being used correctly. The advocacy of
curbing the media by former Supreme Court Justice M. Katju, President of the Press Council of India, also reveals the
media's condition and direction.In fact, the nature of media in the country today is quite different from what it used to be a
few years ago. Journalism was then not a profession, but a mission. Its purpose was to inform the public of the
responsibility of its citizens. Due to this, all newspapers played a unique role during India's freedom struggle. Several
people, including Gandhiji, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Lokmanya Tilak adopted
journalism as a weapon during the freedom struggle. At that time, they were only concerned about society. They had
nothing to do with advertisements and TRP. If we compare that to the present times, now some journalists tend to be
involved in brokerage, lobbying and a variety of other activities since they don't have capital. It seems that a news
channel's primary function is to degrade the character of media.

The history of news channels is not that long. It is noteworthy that news channels were established after the country's
communication revolution. In the name of TRP, many channels are trying to steal the spirit of the fourth pillar by running
24 hours news a day. As a result of news channels that support superstitions and obscenity, the credibility of media in
society is declining every day. The corporate world's stake in the media house has further disfigured its face as well. Many
newspapers and channels that were once missions have now become a part of corporations and their owners are the
uncrowned kings of the market. These questions arise because of the nexus between the media and corporate houses. This
nexus has led to a new form of paid news in the media. As a result, paid news has become increasingly dominant on 24-
hour channels and newspapers in recent years. We also know that to shine their image, whether it is the Central
Government or the State Government, they take the support of the media. Thousands of crores of rupees are spent every
year on this. This money is received by the media for showing paid advertisements.The importance of media can be well
understood by the following quote by Gandhiji:

“I realized that the sole aim of journalism should be service. The newspaper press is a great power, but just as an
unchained torrent of water submerges whole countrysides and devastates crops, even so an uncontrolled pen serves
but to destroy. If the control is from without, it proves more poisonous than want of control. It can be profitable only
when exercised from within.” (An Autobiography or the Story of My Experiments with Truth, p. 321-322)

95 "Too many people spend mon they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." (Will Smith)

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