Freedom & accountability of media (original) (raw)
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Freedom of Press and Media Ethics: A Comparative Study
International Journal of Media, Journalism and Mass Communications, 2020
If there is a first stage of freedom in any country, then it is the freedom of expression. If the person will not have the freedom to speak, then surely there is no other freedom for him. The right to express itself gives birth to all other rights. The whole world looks at the media to have access the true and correct information. But with the increase of Paid News and Yellow Journalism, the legitimacy of information given by media is vulnerable. As the unethical characters are coming out of the media industry and forced the policy makers to think about it to introduce new laws and regulations to maintain its place in the hearts of common man. Section 19-1 (a) of constitution tells us about the freedom of speech but one has to be very clear about the use of these rights given. If we fail to do so then needs arise to put cap on that, which is inhuman and unethical as this deprives one to access its rights.
MEDIA ETHICS: A Call to Responsible Journalism
2008
For many years now, globally, the media has assumed and reinforced its important role as a legitimate reflection of public interest and opinion. This is very true of the Malawian media which is fast becoming a strong pillar, catalyst and tool of democracy since 1994 when Malawi re-embraced multi-party democracy with a liberalised, plural media. The power and apparent influence of the media was long realised time in memorial. All governments since independence, corporate organisations, influential and powerful politicians and individuals have sought ways and means to control and regulate the media not only by wanting to limit its legitimate right to write, broadcast and publish freely but also to posse it, manipulate it, subject it to mere puppets that can be pulled by the string and as we observe today to reduce the media to tools of third grade propaganda. Luckily, global, regional and local trends in good governance coupled with a Malawian constitution that provides for freedom of expression and above all media institutions that safeguards the freedom of the media through self- regulation and advocacy, seem to be working in favour of the media by advancing the principle that a free media is one of the pre-requisites for good governance and a legitimate voice of public opinion and interest. However, the threat to media freedom seems to be beyond the powers that we know to have an insatiable desire to restrict the media. Malawian journalism, in some of its quarters, plays betrayal. This presentation discusses what might be a grey area in the Malawian media, the ethical conduct that brings about a responsible and credible media that can truly be a representative of public interest.
National Conference on Freedom of Press, Media Self-regulation and Mass Communication Ethics
National Conference on Freedom of Press, Media Self-regulation and Mass Communication Ethics. Although freedom of press is not separately mentioned in the list of Fundamental Rights, (part III of Indian Constitution) yet it is the soul of freedom of speech and expression.Generally, it is believed to be the cornerstone of our democracy. It is defined as "the very life of civil liberty" in the Constituent Assembly Debates. The freedom of press serves a larger purpose of the right to be informed about the broad spectrum of facts, views and opinions. It is the medium, through which, people gain access to information and ideas. It is an essential component of a functioning democracy. The media plays a vital role in unfolding truth and creating public opinion, especially in cases related to wrongdoings and corruption. There are several examples, where media played a key role in exposing corrupt practices and shaping demand for accountability and good governance. Along with these rights, there accrue some responsibilities and fundamental duties (Art.51A) in the public interest, such as to respect truth, obey law and uphold rights and liberties of the individuals.It also enables people to impact decision-making and participate in free flow of information and ideas. Freedom of the press and media, including the social media, is a part of the freedom of speech and expression. In 1946, the UN General Assembly stated that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right.Art.19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reads: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The right to freedom of speech and expression is also enshrined in Art.19 of the Constitution of India. However, at times, the market forces misuse this right, because of the increasing of war of circulation and TRP. This right is also abused and it serves the purpose of minting money. For example, the paid-news is a product of these market forces. Religious fundamentalists and hate speech mongers are also misusing this right. Some recent events, related to the news media, such as proliferation and subsequent curbing of social media, the paid news phenomenon, fake sting operations, trial by media, breach of privacy, etc., have posed a serious threat to civil society. The Law Commission has increasingly felt the need to address media-related issues, especially those connected to elections, viz., the phenomenon of paid-news and opinion polls.However, the issues relating to the media are not solely limited to elections. Under the circumstances, the media in India needs to be regulated.The best option is self-regulation.The Press Council of India, the News Broadcasting Standards Authority, the Advertising Standards Council of India, etc., are the organizations, which can make efforts to self-regulate media in their respective fields.At present, the law applicable to broadcasting media is the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. This Act brought into force the Programme Code and the Advertising Code, which prohibit transmission of any program and advertisement, not in compliance with the code.There is no regulatory authority set-up under the Act. Sometimes, we notice that these organizations are not working satisfactorily. Sometimes, there is an outcry from the government as well as from some parts of the public that media should be regulated by law. It is alleged the media has lost its ethical moorings. It is also said that media enjoys power without responsibility.However, this phenomenon is not limited to India alone.This is a worldwide phenomenal. A brief overview of the existing legal framework, governing the media is essential, before attention is focused on the methods of regulation.There are distinct systems of regulation for broadcast media, print media and social media. We have to protect freedom of speech and expression, because it is imperative for the growth and functioning democracy.If we are unable to protect freedom of speech and expression, we will fail to safeguard the very basis of our democracy. We have also to protect freedom of speech and expression from authoritarian regimes, religious fundamentalism as well as evils of market forces. We have to protect freedom of speech and expression as we protect our children from all sorts of evils. Dear friends, in the given backdrop, we have decided to organize a National Conference Freedom of Press, Media Self-Regulation and Mass Communication Ethics. You are cordially invited to participate and present your Papers in the forthcoming Conference.
Groenhart, H. (2013). Five arguments for public media accountability.
Paper presented at the conference Future of journalism, Cardiff, 2013.
Both in academy and society critics disagree whether or how quality of journalism should be regulated. Proponents for press regulation, either harmed or appalled by apparent malpractices of news media companies, are usually contested by a persistent believe among journalists and policy makers in journalism’s autonomy. This disagreement is partly due to a confusing vocabulary on public media accountability (PMA). Drawing on literature review, qualitative interviews with journalists (N= 45) and focus groups of news users (N = 33) – part of a dissertation research on PMA – this paper disentangles vocabulary and presents five arguments for PMA: improvement-by-sanction; self-legitimation; community managing; business profit and operational efficiency. Each argument is set up around typical interpretations of the notion of the apparent state of journalism, responsibility, transparency and dialogue. Much potential of PMA is wasted because professionals and companies define it mainly from an improvement-by-sanction discourse and subsequently reject it, claiming professional autonomy. Contrastingly to the mainly normative discourse in literature, this study explains the emerging interest in transparency and dialogue in journalism by means of consumer loyalty and innovating journalistic practices. This has consequences for both journalism education and newsroom policy. If any, press regulation should only be articulated in terms of news media companies’ openness of profit margins and quality investment on the one hand and stimulating newsroom transparency on the other.
Ethical Principles of Journalism Communication: Media Convergence as a Transforming Factor
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies
The advent and development of new types and forms of media led to the development of ethical principles of journalism in the second half of the 20th century. However, the process of media convergence, which began at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, has led to global changes taking place at all stages from the creation to the distribution of content. These changes are associated with a serious transformation of the ethical principles of journalism. The authors of this article conclude that further degradation of the ethical values of the media is inevitable, and directly related to certain trends that are inextricably linked with the process of media convergence. These trends are an increase in the share of user-generated content in the media; an overabundance of content that has influenced the media business, giving priority to the speed of content delivery and its clickbait potential; an increase in branded content; and the development of data journalism, wh...
Industry on 8 th and 9 th March, 2013. The need for this conference arose because of several reasons. The first and foremost objective of this national conference was to bring together experts from academia, industry and elsewhere to a platform where they could indulge in effective deliberations over the challenges faced by the media industry and strike a consensus on contentious issues pertaining to the media in particular and the society in general. Secondly, the dichotomy between revenue generation and journalistic ethics is well known. The conference aimed at bridging the gap between the two by means of zeroing on a mid path which doesn't compromise on the essence of either of the two. Thirdly and most importantly, the conference tried to figure out the future growth prospects of the media industry which were mindful of alternate revenue generation sources, interactive communication and higher audience participation while simultaneously bringing forth the ethical limits of media operations.