Editorial
Electronic media policy
JS standing committee action laudable
The action of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Information regarding the draft electronic media broadcast policy was only to be expected. The drafters have been instructed to make it compatible with the constitution and the RTI. We compliment the standing committee for this.
The draft policy, as we had commented on the issue recently, is a rank errant idea which has all the ingredients of a regulatory mechanism to control freedom of expression and thought.
We would like to make it clear that the media in general is averse to any kind of control mechanism which stifles it. And any free and civilised country, that takes pride in democracy and democratic norms in running the affairs of the state, would find such mechanism abhorrent.
The media should be, and is, guided by professional ethics, and it risks its credibility in the public eye should it not conform to that. We also feel that our media has matured enough to be able to judge for itself what is and is not derogatory or harmful to the interest of the state. And this should be done without being externally imposed from outside. If there was talk at all of some sort of electronic media policy it was in respect of the means and mechanism of granting of license and making electronic broadcasting trouble-free and at the same time enlarging the scope of media freedom.
It cannot be lost upon anyone, least of all the government, that the span of the term 'media' has increased manifold with revolutionary expansion of information technology. We have only to see the developments around us to see its impact. It is also worth remembering that it is not only the media but the government also that benefit from a vibrant and unfettered media.
It must be understood also that no one is above the law and any aberration on the part of the media is subject to law. Basically for the media we should have a strengthened Press Council.
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