The institution of media is an effective tool for mass
communication, telecasting information at real time basis to ensure seamless
sharing of recent happenings across the globe. At a time, when the world is
transforming into a global village with hardly any geographical and cultural
constraints, the world of media is witnessing a huge surge in the viewership
and acceptability. And this significant increment in the rating scale and scope
of the industry have given a rise to some grave ethical and moral concerns that
seems to blur the thin line between reporting and influencing.
Media ethics largely covers four broad aspects namely
– truth & authenticity, sensationalism, conflict of interest and
appropriateness of media contents. Any compromise on any of these tenets in the
garb of freedom of speech and expression can have extremely detrimental effects
on the thought process of the society. Truth and authenticity are the two prime
principles of ethics that form the basic platter for any kind of media content.
It covers not only the commitment to tell the truth without fear or favor, but
also to resist from spreading half-truth or made-up information specifically
intended to deceive the audience.
Sensationalism is a devil in disguise that seeks to
promote the culture of TRP craving journalism and attempts to overlook the
critical issues of the day by sensationalizing sequence of events, resulting in
wilful manipulation of the story. Media ethics doesn’t preach any such
tinkering with the facts and figures to suit anyone’s vested interests.
Moreover, in order to portray the parent organization and the entire media
profession in an accurate and impartial light, the reporting should be
extremely cautious and devoid of any fear, favour and conflict of interest.
Last but not the least, the contents shown on the print, digital and tele-media
are required to be in sync with the moral and ethical standards of the society
because they are perceived as the manifestation of the social realities of that
country and act as an opinion maker for the audience.
In a sensitive & complex socio-political panorama
like India, media has been playing a significant role in resonating the impulse
of the country time to time. Apart from the traditional role of reporting, it
has diversified its scope in recent times and has emerged as a dynamic entity
having its own discretion, taste and take over a wide range of issues, often
intruding into the veil of neutral and responsive journalism.
At a time, when the entire media fraternity is
regarded as the fourth pillar of a robust and thriving democracy, it is
imperative upon the conscientious section of society to ponder upon the need
for accountability and self-restraint in this arena. In the last few years,
there had been plentiful of instances where media overreach and hyper- activism
had caused wilful influence and unwarranted media goof-ups. The live
coverage of 26/11 Mumbai attacks by media houses came under extensive criticism
for prioritizing vested commercial interests over national security.
The undue competition among themselves in showing
exclusives on minute-to-minute basis had nearly jeopardized the strategic
planning of the security forces out there. Even across the border, the
wall-to-wall coverage of Nepal earthquake had come in for severe denunciation for
the alleged disaster tourism and had brought disrepute to the entire
fraternity. These two instances clearly violated the two ethical concerns of
sensationalism and appropriateness of media contents. Notwithstanding with the
authenticity and due diligence shown in the act, the scintillating and chilling
effects coming from such human tragedies proved extremely embarrassing and
eye-opening for the media.
With the paradigm shift in the way people perceive and
elect their political representatives, meritocracy & performance-driven
electoral politics has been in the limelight. And for this very reason, media
houses are seen to be instrumental in offering a plethora of opportunities to
political parties in the form of conclaves, studio debates, talk-shows and live
telecast of the rallies and legislative business. Not only it acts as an
effective check on absolute power and influence over the citizens, but also it
counts for accountability and facilitates equitable opportunities to political
parties. And in the process, this symbiotic relationship between the two has
given rise to an ideological divide and political patronage among sections of
media, posing serious concern to the idea of free and fair journalism.
Being an oligopoly market model, the setting of agenda
and the flow of the discussion is often subjected to political considerations
of powerful media houses that have the potential to the extent of transaction
of business in the legislatures. No doubt, the new and hard-hitting talk-shows
and live debates have changed the narrative of journalism by justifiably
questioning each and every aberrations in public life, the dissemination of
information lacks uniformity and suffers selective attention and distortion.
With each passing day, the distinction between reporting and influencing is
seemed diluted with the rise in verbal onslaught and online bullying in support
or defiance of any contentious issue on social media, news studio and other
digital media platforms like never before.
The selective attention and distortion of media
contents exhibited in the TV shows is tantamount to breach of ethical
standards. The irrelevant obsession with the corridors of power in Delhi at the
cost of ground realities in the farthest corners of the country is totally
unprofessional. This may seem contrary to the freedom of expression, but it
carries the essence of moral obligation of journalism. The classic example of
this preferential treatment was seen last year when non-stop coverage of high
profile Sheena Bora murder case overshadowed the plight of flood victims in
Chennai and Assam. The list is exhaustive and disappointing at the same time.
The eve-teasing incident of Jasleen Kaur that was much
sensationalized and the morphed anti- India sloganeering video in JNU case was
portrayed as twisted truth in the media which resulted in an extensive media
trial in an aggressive, intimidating and brow-beating style treating the
accused as guilty within no time. When outrage on beef consumption and
sloganeering by fringe outfits was preferred to be aired on national media to
critical issues like rising inflation and the farmer suicides, the gap in
credibility widened. Today, when political melodrama & factless rhetorics
surcharge the prime-time slots at the cost of other contemporary issues, the
misplaced priorities of the both the media & the panelists become evident
and it shows influencing over reporting.
India deserves much better. In a country of thriving
intellectual capital, the institution that voices the opinion and aspirations
of the people should be out of any vested interests. The media industry bears a
huge responsibility in moulding the thought process and enhancing the
conscience of the society which in turn demands integrity & accountability
from them. Such is the impact of media that it can make or unmake any
individual or an institution. Though it has the virtue of questioning others
and has the right to collect information from primary authentic sources, it is
mandated to follow certain ethics by ensuring authenticity, observing restraint
on sensationalism and following fairness and objectivity in reporting. The
principles administering media ethics can’t be followed cast-iron or absolute
rules of law. They are a moral sanction which guide journalism towards the
state of rectitude –
‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held
high
Where knowledge is free
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country
awake’
(This article is submitted as an entry to Communique, the annual media conclave of XIMB organized by the IlluminatiX, the media and PR Cell of XIMB.)
Credit: https://insideiim.com/ethics-media-thin-line-reporting-influencing
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