Well-known journalist and columnist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta advocates a statutory regulatory authority for the Indian media, which should be allowed to function independently along the lines of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. “There is a self-regulatory mechanism for media at present. This works only to some extent. We also need a statutory regulatory authority funded by the government, still autonomous, to function independently like the CEC, the CAG etc.,” he said while delivering the 10th Prof. S. Bashiruddin Memorial Lecture on ‘Media Ethics’ at ASCI-Banjara Hills, here on Thursday.
Expressing concern that intense competition in the Indian media has resulted in sharp lowering of standards, Mr Guha Thakurta said, “Issues relating to sex, violence, tragedy, comedy etc. have been finding prominence in the media. The intensification of competition in the media has not resulted in improvement of standards.” Taking a dig at the “unholy nexus” between politics, business and media, he remarked, “We love each other and hate each other. But we can’t live without each other.”
Mr Guha Thakurta added, “Media was part of the solution. It was held in high esteem. People trusted journalists more than anyone else. Unfortunately, the journalists, media and mass media have become part of the problem, not the solution.” Referring to the menace of “paid news”, he said that the Press Council of India should be given legal powers to not just admonish or pass strictures, but to also impose penalties against errant individuals and organisations.
“A proposal to amend Section 15(4) of the Press Council Act, 1978, to make the directions of the Council binding on government authorities, has been pending for a long time and should be amended to provide the Council more teeth,” he said. Mr Guha Thakurta was one of the two authors of the PCI sub-committee’s report on paid news. A recent documentary film by him, Blood and Iron, focused on illegal iron ore mining in Bellary. He is currently working with The Hoot on a report on media ownership in India.