Accusing the media of trivialising the news, the Press Council of India stressed for the need of a Media Commission to evolve a code of self-regulation
Accusing the media of trivialising the news, the Press Council of India (PCI) on Tuesday stressed for the need of a Media Commission to evolve a code of self-regulation.
"There is angularities in the news. If this continues, a time will come when people will stop believing the media," PCI chairman GN Ray said while inaugurating a seminar here on 'The Future of the Print Media.'
Any attempts at pre-censorship of the media were bound to face resistance, Ray said adding that he had recommended to the government to set up a Media Commission so that a code of self-regulation could be worked out, mainly for the electronic media.
The government, however, is yet to take a decision on the PCI proposal, he added.
"I am sorry to say that many eminent newspapers are resorting to tabloid-type journalism. There is also extreme trivialisation of news. Important issues are not receiving due attention and the personal lives of cine stars are being highlighted," the chairman said.
The two-day UGC-sponsored seminar is being organised by the Journalism Department of the Surendranath College for Women.
He added that another disturbing feature was "trial by the media of any crime", which put tremendous pressure on the lower judiciary.
"The media picks up an incident of crime and without verifying the facts goes on reporting in a manner that creates a tremendous public opinion. This becomes difficult for the poor magistrate trying the case and it often results in his acceptance of the media's views," Ray added.
Faced with this difficulty, the Supreme Court approached the PCI for holding country-wide seminars to provide some in-service training to the reporters on court coverage, he said adding, seminars were accordingly held at Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Mumbai.
The PCI had also conducted a short term course in collaboration with the IGNOU to teach journalists the nuances of court reporting, Ray said.
Earlier, Calcutta University vice-chancellor Suranjan Das said that the challenge before the print media was to counter the growing influence of the electronic media, while maintaining its objectivity.
He also said that the media in developing countries should make efforts to break the monopoly of the developed world.
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