The Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s decision to change the guidelines for the accreditation of journalists, with the intent of cancelling recognition, if the government finds any story as “fake”, was a clear attempt to intimidate mainstream media.
Prime Minister Modi’s hasty intervention where he ordered the rescinding of this controversial decision and the press release to this effect, will help calm nerves and prevent a massive outrage by the serious mainstream journalistic community. The withdrawal of this draconian decision has prevented the almost certain unification of virtually all sections of the print and electronic media against this move and the government in general.
If the Prime Minister had not intervened to pull back a hasty, but deliberate attempt to control mainstream media, while leaving out the far more irresponsible social media and untested “news portals”, it would have been his Trumpian moment, which would lead to an open alienation of the media. This would actually have been the tipping point.
This is what I&B Minister Smriti Irani intended doing. As per the amended guidelines for the accreditation of journalists, issued on April 2, “if the publication or telecast of fake news is confirmed, the accreditation of that journalist would be suspended for a period of six months in the first violation and for one year in case of a second violation”.
Significantly, news portals and social media which are the ones who are not governed by any ethics or guidelines were kept out of the ambit of any scrutiny when these sites, not monitored and often spreading hatred and false information, are the ones that need to be shut down.
The Minister had a piquant explanation as she tweeted, “Committee comprising of senior officers, reps of PCI, NBA, IBF set up for regulations/policy for digital broadcasting & News portals. Till such time the regulation is not implemented rules cannot be enforced for news portals by industry”.
What she is establishing dangerously here is that till such time that the government does not frame rules to control portals, many of them rapid and potent, they cannot be under any kind of scrutiny and can cross all limits of journalistic ethics. On the other hand, mainstream journalists, who have the potential to ask questions and report facts, may become targets, under the pretext of disseminating fake news.
Several senior journalists pulled no punches as they shot back at the I&B minister. Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV tweeted “Your concern for fake news would be admirable were it not for 1/your own MP’s support to a fake news site like Postcard News. 2/if indeed the mandate is for self-regulation via PCI/NBA, why is govt passing orders?
Veteran journalist and the Head of the online media company The Print Shekhar Gupta, was vociferous when he said “Make no mistake, this is a breathtaking assault on mainstream media. It’s a moment like Rajiv Gandhi’s anti-defamation bill. All media should bury their differences and resist this”.
This brings us to the issue of why is accreditation so important and vital. Firstly, it is vital to get access to government and it is impossible to report on the government, the raison d’etre of mainstream journalism, without access. Denying access is the best weapon any government can have against a press which asks more questions than it should.
The problem happens when journalists depend on and expect much more than access in lieu of their accreditation. In some states it gets you government bungalows, cars for outstation trips with the family, health benefits and other little loaves and fishes. These are attachments one gets used to.
For a truly free media to exist in India, journalists must stop being attached to government in this manner. It is only then, when the pen will still be mightier than the sword of government control.
