The Information & Broadcasting Ministry plans a review of the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act to make ‘paid news’ in the media a punitive offence, which is likely to attract monetary fine or, in serious cases, even cancellation of the publication’s registration.
Plans to review the Act come as thousands of cases of suspected ‘paid news’ indulged in by the print and electronic media during elections to Assemblies and the Lok Sabha are pending with the Election Commission (EC) amid its aspirations for electoral reforms.
Recently, The Hindu reported, quoting a senior official, that the EC hoped the Centre would move a Bill on the reforms in the coming Budget session of Parliament. Among the Commission’s proposals, made close to two years ago, “publication and abetment of ‘paid news’ for furthering the election prospects of any candidate or prejudicially affecting the chances of other contestants be made an offence under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, entailing imprisonment up to two years”. Though then Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily assured a Bill to this effect would be tabled in Parliament, and even visited the EC office, the results are awaited.
Meanwhile, the cases are mounting, prominent among them being those against former Chief Ministers Ashok Chavan of Maharashtra and Madhu Koda of Jharkhand who stand accused of benefiting from news they engineered to appear in a section of the Press in order to reap election benefits. There is also the curious case of Umlesh Yadav, an MLA belonging to Rashtriya Parivartan Dal, who was disqualified under section 10A of the Representation of Peoples’ Act 1951 for suppressing expenditure which was spent for issuing advertisements. According to the complaint filed with the Press Council of India by losing candidate Yogendra Kumar, Yadav allegedly did not mention expenses incurred by her for publishing ‘paid news’ items in two Hindi dailies during Assembly elections in 2007. But then one is forced to ask if that is all there is to the issue of ‘paid news’ – influencing the electorate. Isn’t ‘paid news’ a malaise when companies pay newspapers and news channels to push their products? Isn’t that section of the Press guilty of patronizing ‘paid news’ from those who seek monetary benefits from corporate organizations to print favourable write-ups for their products, services and brand-making?
In 2010, the Press Council came out with a report that clearly stated that “The phenomenon of ‘paid news’ has acquired serious dimensions. Today it goes beyond the corruption of individual journalists and media companies and has become pervasive, structured and highly organized. In the process, it is undermining democracy in India. This has anguished the leading sections of the society, including political leaders, thinkers, journalists and media owners”.
There has to be a distinct difference between what constitutes news and what comes across as information and promoted opinions from the advertisements that are paid for by corporate entities, governments, organizations and individuals. This practice is also against the tenets of free Press and a situation where media comes under the influence of money, thus overshadowing and ignoring democratic norms while pretending to continue to toe a high moral ground. It’s downright shamming.
While pointing out that the effect of ‘paid news’ on unsuspecting readers “can be disastrous”, news portal firstpost.com draws the example of doctors running specialty clinics who have been getting themselves and their businesses featured. Such things even happen with, say educational institutions – says the news portal -- when they promise the moon through their ‘paid news’ writeups, only to be discovered by students and their parents after they’ve paid the fees and felt cheated.
According to a report carried by Mint, which quotes a senior EC official, the “‘paid’ news market in the country (is) in the range of Rs 400 crore to Rs 500 crore. This is purely the ‘paid news’ value and is not reflective of media advertising by political parties or candidates”.
The fact that a number of newspapers – many of them prominent national names -- have risked being named in a ‘paid news’ case in the Bombay High Court only proves that the stakes are indeed pretty high. What’s further alarming is that although the Press Council of India appointed a subcommittee to undertake a fact-finding exercise and condemned the practice, and newspaper and news channels regularly hold forums to condemn the phenomenon, there seems to be no shame attached to it, considering that the very same newspapers and news channels find their names associated with ‘paid news’.
The Indian media is yet to recognize the harm ‘paid news’ is causing to its reputation. Already, the foreign Press is talking of a ‘dodgy’ phenomenon. I am concerned that next, the rest of the world will question the veracity of any article appearing in Indian newspapers. I am also concerned that the growth of the Indian news market will be skewed, for you can take the reader or the viewer for a ride only so many times. Someday, the reader or the viewer will wake up to the lie and even become suspicious about the truth. Who will save the Indian news industry, then?
Feedback: abatra@exchange4media.com
