The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is greatly concerned that an investigation into the practice of “paid news” has drastically abridged the findings of two senior journalists who played a crucial role in the inquiry.
“Paid news” or “cash for coverage” has been a growing practice in the Indian media but was found especially to have damaged media credibility during the campaign leading to parliamentary general elections in April and May 2009.
A two-member inquiry team of experienced professionals - Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, a well-known print and electronic media journalist, and K. Sreenivas Reddy, General Secretary of the IFJ-affiliated Indian Journalists’ Union - was set up by the Press Council of India (PCI) after a number of India’s most senior journalists went public with their concerns over the growing evidence of news coverage that was paid for, by candidates and political parties, during the elections.
The two-member team submitted its report on April 1 to G.N. Ray, PCI chairman and a retired judge of the Indian Supreme Court. It was exhaustively discussed at two meetings of the full membership of the PCI on March 31 and April 26, and referred for a final opinion to a 12-member drafting committee.
The IFJ learns that the drafting committee stripped the 36,000-word report to a tenth of its original length, omitted all specific mentions of situations in which the practice of “paid news” had been detected, and eliminated language on journalists’ wages and working conditions that unions had specifically insisted on.
“The IFJ believes that all specific mentions of the practice of ‘paid news’ in the original report by two experienced journalists were based on credible information,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.
“The IFJ is satisfied the journalists did all that was necessary, consistent with best journalistic practice, to record the point of view of each media institution that was named.
“When incidents were not recorded, the IFJ understands that this was because the media organisations concerned chose not to respond to urgent inquiries by the investigating team.”
The IFJ sees a clear link between the deterioration of working conditions for journalists in India and the erosion of journalistic independence.
Despite the protection of the Working Journalists’ Act, which is widely recognised as an exemplary law safeguarding media freedom, journalists in India are increasingly under pressure to opt for short-term contractual employment which diminishes autonomy and renders them susceptible to the pressures and demands imposed by marketing and advertising personnel.
At its meeting on July 30, the full membership of the PCI had little trouble agreeing on the report’s recommendations, which include, among other things, the statutory empowerment of the council to deal with gross abuses, and the notification of “paid news” as electoral malpractice.
However, while the final report observes that media organisations engaging in the “paid news” practice are almost certainly in violation of the Companies’ Act and the Income Tax Act, it stops short of requiring full financial disclosure and recommending that tax authorities be empowered to make appropriate inquiries.
The PCI at its meeting on July 30 reportedly dealt with the demand from some of its members that the sub-committee report should be annexed to the final report. The demand was voted down by a narrow majority. The full 36,000-word report will now enter the PCI archives.
“The IFJ believes that an important public purpose would be served by making the full report available for a national and global dialogue,” Park said.
“We call upon the PCI and its membership, including the representatives of the publishers who blocked the full report, to make these very minimal concessions to transparency and public accountability.
“We commend the two-member team appointed by the PCI for having drawn attention to the problem of ‘paid news’ and urge that it be given due importance and full attention in upcoming public debates.”
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries
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