Dear All,
By any stretch of imagination, publishing of news cannot be considered
as an activity of public importance, especially in view of the fact
that RTI Act has promoted citizens' journalism. Media organisations are
business houses having extra ordinary access to the powers that be.
Being a journalist for over 25 years, I can vouch for this statement
that the freedom of expression must be read as the freedom of media
group owners' and not of the journalist that represent it. Most
journalists are subservient to their bosses. Why bring them under RTI?
Just shun them if they are not agreeing with the common point of view
as we have seen during the current uprise. The powers that be are
scared and they will have to come to terms with the ownership of the
country sooner than later. Same way media will have to come to terms
with the grass root reality. I have come across a case under RTI that
the media barons do not want to be under tax net and the Government has
obliged them by introducing extraordinary ad-hoc notifications to
benefit them. Are these media barons thinking that they are above the
laws of the land? Only these people have the right to make money
through advertisement (this is true in case of larger establishments
where ad space is over ruling the news space. I case in illustration is
that of Times boss Jain when raided by ED, the paper was crying foul
over human rights violation! Look who was talking? I suggest that we
drop the idea of media organisation be left out of RTI and shun them.
Ketan Modi
On Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:56:44 +0530 wrote
>as per my opinion, if we can prove that the publishing of news is
public activity, then it is already under RTI act.
secondly if we have sufficient evidence that action of media is
subversive of law, then a complaint can be made to pti and the
ministry of information and broadcasting.
On 8/21/11, Sarbajit Roy
> Dear Afroz
>
> Are you suggesting that the RTI Act be amended to permit this, if so
then
> why stop at media ?
>
> Sarbajit
>
> On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 2:40 PM, AFROZ ALAM SAHIL <
> afroz.alam.sahil@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>>
>>
>> To,
>>
>>
>> **
>>
>> *All RTI Activists of India.*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Sub: Bring Media in to the purview of RTI act and Lokapl bill.*
>>
>>
>>
>> Right to Information Act 2005 is a milestone legislation in the
recent
>> history that is designed to bring transparency in our polity,
society and
>> economy to successfully check corruption. But resistance from the
corrupt
>> people in the higher authority is making it difficult for effective
>> implementation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Referring to the RTI Act, Union Minister Mr. AK Antony reportedly
said RTI
>> will help the transparency revolution to percolate down to all walks
of
>> life. He said, "The RTI Act will spread to new areas. I think every
facet
>> of
>> human life will be transparent." This is slowly happening in India
under
>> this act.
>>
>>
>>
>> Nevertheless, we need to bring important institutions under the
purview of
>> this act. Media as an institution needs to be under the purview of
the RTI
>> act. There is and there will be resistance from media houses on this
but
>> in
>> the largest interest we need to move in this direction.
>>
>>
>>
>> Besides the ideological and political inclinations and affiliations
media
>> has, over the years, it has become more and more powerful with
developing
>> business interest. It has become an industry that is engaged in
making
>> profit. In short its turning into a business of what Noam Chomsky
said
>> "manufacturing consent" most of the time ending in creating
perceptions
>> which may or may not be right.
>>
>>
>>
>> The demand to bring Media under RTI assumes more significance when
our
>> leading journalists and channel heads are found brokering with the
>> political
>> parties and determining the fate of Cabinet Ministers to benefit
their
>> advertisers or sponsors. The Nira Radia saga has been a classic
example.
>>
>>
>>
>> Recently, a channel head was found guilty of demanding salaries for
their
>> employees to a Public Relations Manager.
>>
>>
>>
>> Paid news is another blot on our media that is subverting the
democratic
>> process. Media exposés have shown that several organizations have
been
>> selling news space to politicians at election time, disguising the
>> advertisements as news. The Press Council of India has set up a
committee
>> to
>> investigate violations of the journalistic code of fair and
objective
>> reporting.
>>
>>
>>
>> Press council of India reported, "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."
>>
>>
>>
>> Another dimension of how media is threatening our democracy is the
use of
>> public money in creating wrong perceptions. The Political parties,
>> specially
>> in the government are using public money to improve their government
and
>> parties' image which might be contrary to the fact.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sometimes this Media Relation exercise by the governments ends up
curbing
>> public sentiments and doing injustice with people. Many of the
owners,
>> editors and other journalists appear to have wealth excessive of
their
>> known
>> sources of income. It is thus imperative that they not only become
>> transparent but also bring 'secrets' under RTI Act.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since other three pillars of democracy, Legislature, Executive and
>> Judiciary, are already under the purview. Corruption, like in other
parts
>> of
>> life is affecting, media houses too in the name of paid news and
Public
>> Relation exercises. We therefore demand that media should fall under
the
>> ambit of RTI and it should also be included in the Lokpal bill.
>>
>>
>>
>> With regards
>>
>>
>>
>> *Afroz Alam Sahil,* (RTI Journalist)
>>
>> M.Phil Researcher, Jamia Millia Islamia
>>
>> Editor (Investigation)- www.beyondheadlines.in
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> AFROZ ALAM 'SAHIL'
>> Mobile:-+91-9891322178
>> Blog: http://suchnaexpress.blogspot.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
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