Freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right of every Indian citizen. While it comes with reasonable restrictions, it is the only protection most journalists get in India — Article 19 (a). On World Press Freedom Day today, May 3rd, we The Revolver, want to discuss the need for and challenges to this freedom.
This tale started with the Bengal Gazette by Augustus Hicky. It is reportedly documented as the first newspaper published in India. This was in the 1780s. The paper didn’t survive the test of times but was a testament to how people craved the freedom to express. Eventually, many Indian language papers came to fore, some short-lived, some whose legacy was passed on through generations. Today, the electronic media is a huge part of the newsmaking machinery, to the extent that the press is hardly a term that can encompass it all.
Interesting Read: India ranks 138 in World Press Freedom Index, slips two places since 2017 by Scroll.in
The press is often challenged by their contemporaries (television and digital) as well as adversaries (the scrutiny of the reader and the expression of their discontent). This results in a two-edged response — on one hand, the freedom to express reaches the common man and on the other, the competition reaches an extent that it is no longer healthy for the participants.
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When it comes to empowering people, the press, the printed form of news, is a winner that cannot be thwarted easily. It used to be one the cheapest way to disseminate information. With the advent of the easily accessible internet, this is ceasing to be true. However, the fact remains that once printed, one cannot change what has reached homes. This is not necessarily true for the digital world where information can be modified at the click of a button.
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However, this empowerment comes at a price that is the livelihood of the people involved. Though considered credible, it is extremely difficult to sustain a newspaper. Difficulties include maintaining a loyal readership in a world that is increasingly becoming digitalised. Most newspapers, at least small ones, depend heavily on advertisements to run their business, among other sources of funding. To continue publishing the paper and be able to draw monthly salaries from it, they have to keep the advertisers happy — a task that can be conflicting to their freedom to express.
Interesting Read: Only ‘Kashmir Reader’ was gagged, but all newspapers in the Valley must toe a tricky line by Scroll.in
Another is, of course, a grave one as it a matter of life and death. Many journalists, especially the ones reporting from areas of conflict and that too for smaller newspapers often stand the risk of being targeted if they fail to toe the line. This is increasingly becoming a global concern as the press is one of the most important institutions that can uphold a democracy and give the power to the people to hold those in power accountable.
Interesting Read: Journalists Writing In Indian Languages Face Greater Risks Than Those In The English Media by Huffington Post
Explaining the different facets of the issue at hand, our reader, Vinay Agrawal, a lifestyle journalist, writes:
“In my opinion, freedom of the press should be viewed with a two-pronged approach. As we know, with freedom comes the idea of responsibility. Even if an absolute freedom is granted to press, it must operate within a framework and exercise censorship on its own pertaining to any coverage that can endanger (or has potential to) the safety of an individual or a microcosm in a broader context.The other prong is the freedom that has been granted. Here, of course, there should be ethical guidelines but to gag, the voice of press to protect the vested interest or to seek favoured coverage that can impact a consensus falls outside the purview of freedom. And, that is malicious to free functioning of the press.Speaking from my experience as a lifestyle journalist, the freedom of the press has become a function of various variables. With image architects, brand managers coming to mix, add to this competition and pressures to get exclusives, the role of a journalist has changed considerably. All of this has affected the freedom and caused a divide between ‘what he/she wants to write” and ‘what is being written.”
The Revolver 