In a very lively and well-attended seminar on ‘Sincerity and Ethics in Journalism’ speaker after the speaker expressed concern over the declining trends in the two most sterling ingredients of effective and credible journalism. It was held on 25th July 2019 in the Press Club of India of New Delhi. All the participants were of the view that as a result of it, the journalism now no longer enjoys the as much respect from the people and the society, as it used to have a few decades ago.
It hardly needs to be emphasised that while the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive are the tripod of the constitution of India, the journalism has acquired the place of the fourth pillar in the democracy by virtue of its own sincerity and ethical values that it has espoused from the pre-independence days. In fact, journalism is the watchdog of all three organs of the constitution to keep them their toes and it should not be allowed to become a lapdog.
It must be noted here that famous political philosopher Thomas Carlyle had attributed the term of the fourth estate in his book on ‘Heroes and Hero Worship’ to Edmund Burke, who said in a parliamentary debate looking at the reporter's gallery in the House of Commons of Great Britain in 1787 that ‘Yonder sat a Fourth Estate more important than they all ( the judiciary, the legislature and the executive)’. And right from that time the press is respectfully called as the fourth estate or the fourth pillar of the democracy.
The seminar was to be inaugurated by the Union Chemical and Fertiliser Minister Mr Sadananda Gowda but he could not come because a whip was issued for all members of parliaments belonging to the Bhartiya Janata Party to be present in the Lok Sabha in view of the Bill on Triple Talaq which was presented on the floor of the house. Bill was later passed by the Lok Sabha. He, however, sent a message for the success of the seminar.
The seminar was organised by a public-spirited journalist Koudle Channappa, who is also the Editor of a trilingual newspaper ‘Deshahitha’. The newspaper comes out from many places including Mandya, Bengaluru and Delhi. The seminar was presided over by a senior journalist Shri Vijay Shankar Chaturvedi, who told the gathering that because of the stringent policies of the government toward small and medium newspapers thousands of newspapers across the country have either been closed or on the verge of closure. The government policies have rendered lakhs of newspersons to unemployment. He was very critical of such harsh laws as are meant to blow the death knell to the small and medium newspapers. Shri Veerabhadra Rao, the editor of a Telugu daily published from Visakhapatnam said that the journalists will have to ensure that the sincerity and ethics are never compromised. He compared sincerity and ethics with the salt, which is of no use once its salinity is gone. He said that biggest danger to the journalism is from those who indulge into flattering, brokering and touting for personal gains. Fake news and the paid news are like twin sisters. He exhorted the journalists to guard against the evil of the paid to save the integrity of the profession of journalism.
Shri Alkshendra Singh Negi, the President of Delhi Union of Working Journalists (DUWJ) regretted that despite the clear orders of the Supreme Court, most of the newspapers have not even bothered to implement the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board. The governments are sitting idle over demonstrating their helplessness before the newspaper barons. Thousands of employees are on the roads and are starving because of their unemployment but that makes no difference for the owners of the newspapers because they are making money and enjoying life as usual. The morality and sincerity are expected from the journalists and not from the proprietors of the media houses, he wryly said. This trend can be changed only by the concerted and united efforts of the media persons in cooperation with the conscientious section of the society.
The Vice-President of the Press Club of India, Shri Dinesh Kumar Tiwari said that it is ironical that those who are most insincere and unethical they speak loudly about the sincerity and ethics but in their real life, they follow the contradictory philosophy. They make good connections with the powers that be to take all advantages, but they preach simplicity for others. Shri Arti Bhardwaj from Kashi Patrakar Sangh said that journalists should follow the teachings and deeds of the great journalists like Baba Vishnurao Paradkar, who did not spare anybody, howsoever powerful he or she might have been. Paradkar ji is credited to have coined the word ‘Rashtrapati’ for the ‘President’ and ‘Shri’ for the English word ‘Mr’. He said that journalist should be fearless and gave an example of a celebrated editor of the daily Aaj newspaper of Varanasi, who used to get removed advertisements for accommodating the important news items but today’s editor have been converted into managers and they cannot have the courage to take such bold decisions. Another journalist from Varanasi Shri Subhas Singh, who was also the President of the Kashi Patrakar Sangh said, that today’s journalism is no longer a missionary journalism which it used to be in the pre-independence days. We must have to train new generation of journalists to follow in the footsteps of the missionary journalists, who always worked for the welfare of the society and the country.
The organiser of the programme Koudle Channappa in his initial remarks said that such programmes to educate the journalists would be organised at different places in the country. Another journalist Shri Negi, who after retiring from the Akashvani is pursuing the freelance journalism said that journalists will themselves have to work to bring back the credibility of journalism He said the that the new media, which is more known as the new media, has created the crisis of credibility and it needs to be regulated. IFWJ Secretary General, Parmanand Pandey also spoke in the seminar and underlined the need for a comprehensive amendment to the Working Journalists Act so as to bring in its fold the journalists belonging to the electronic and internet media also. Journalists from various states participated in the seminar and they all laid emphasis that the small and medium newspapers should not be ill-treated to pamper the big newspapers. All of them were of the opinion that in view of the changed scenario the protection to all journalists should be provided.
Parmanand Pandey
Secretary-General, IFWJ
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