National Press Day Commemoration
Address
of Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.N.Ray,
Respected Shri Shivraj Patilji, Shri Jaipal Reddyji, Shri Bhardwajji,
members of the Council, distinguished guests and friends, let me, at the
outset, congratulate, on the occasion of the National Press Day, the press
fraternity, of which I have been a part since March this year as the Chairman
of the Press Council. Prior to this, as
a lawyer, as a Judge, and more recently as an arbitrator, my dealings with the
press had been few and far between. Yet,
the press has been very much a part of my personal life, an entity, with which
I have spent almost every morning of my life.
Thereby, I can indeed claim a very close association and bonding with
the media.
That the National Press Day is observed to commemorate the establishment of a self-regulatory mechanism in the country is symbolic of the conviction with which the freedom of the press is cherished in the country and the faith which legislature has in the ability of the media to regulate its own conduct under the guidance of its peers and some lay persons representing the readers for whom the Press exists, accompanied by a jurist to ensure that legal procedures and principles of jurisprudence are also not lost sight of in the quasi-judicial functions.
It is an important feature of the Indian Press Council that it enjoys a statutory status with compulsive jurisdiction over all the newspapers published in the country while retaining its character as essentially an internal self-regulatory body. However, what makes our Press Council unique amongst the similar mechanisms all over the world is its jurisdiction over all the instrumentalities of the State as well as an entity described as an ‘authority’ in defending and championing the freedom of the press. With the passage of time, the awareness about the jurisdiction and functions of the Council is on the rise, though I would like to emphasize that a long road is yet to be traversed. This is possible only with the co-operation of all whom the Council exists to protect and promote.
Coming to the subject which the Council has chosen for deliberation in the academic session after the inaugural function in Delhi and also in various commemorations across the country, I would like to begin by quoting from a book which says, “Ethics is the science of morals – the rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness, propriety or impropriety of one’s thoughts and actions in relation to other. Ethical codes are sets of principles laid down by a profession to self-regulate the thinking and action of practitioners of that profession for upholding its dignity, credibility and carefulness to society.”
In journalism, ethics denote, more than the regulated conduct, a ‘reasoned’ or ‘principled’ behaviour where the journalist must decide for himself the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the information in his possession. Undeniably ethics stand on a pedestal much higher than law. So far as moral compulsions are concerned, what may not be illegal, may be unethical. The bindings of conscience emanate from within while those of law are enforced from without and often accepted only out of fear of reprisal. Thus only a media committed to self-regulation can aim to serve the public that is its audience. Therefore, an onerous responsibility rests on the media as a watchdog of public interest for creating an awareness amongst the society at large of its duties and responsibilities in ensuring that the coming generations inherit a country that is not just economically advanced but also socially and ethically strong. In this the responsibility of the electronic media is even greater because with the modern technical advancements it crosses the barriers of illiteracy and inaccessibility to reach the citizens in the remotest corner of the country.
It needs no emphasis that the press is the cornerstone of democracy where as the ultimate custodian of public interest, its freedom is an essential pre-requisite in a world of converging technologies, cross-media ownership, the pressures of competition and the temptations of one-upmanship at the risk of invasion of privacy, racial reporting, misrepresentation, etc. The Council has dealt with innumerable such cases during its history. In the course of its adjudications and other pronouncements, the Council has had an opportunity of drawing up various guidelines and ethics to help a journalist determine his or her course of action in a given circumstance. The Press Council Act advisedly does not enjoin upon the Council to lay down a rigid code of conduct but only to ‘build’ it up. This, I believe, gives it a flexibility of adaptation in the varying circumstances of each case. As on date, about 400 codes of practice exist around the world. Many have been drafted and adopted by regulatory mechanisms or individual newspapers or associations. Some have been framed and enforced by the governments. Yet again, given the power and the reach of the media, it is not surprising that a few have been recommended by militant or outlawed outfits. Despite this, the underlying guidance sought to be conveyed through them remains unchanged – a commitment to accuracy, fairness and objectivity and sensitivity to certain issues. This only reinforces the belief that the adherence to a code of practice can only beget the media the unfettered freedom to discharge its functions in the interest of the public. It has been well said that “the refusal to choose the ethical is inevitably a choice for the non-ethical.”
Some months ago, the
I would on this occasion like to make a special mention of the small and the regional press. It is undeniable that this section of the press suffers a severe handicap vis-à-vis the national press in the form of technology and non-availability of the best personnel due to financial constraints. It also cannot match the big papers in the price wars. These are the disadvantages, which can be overcome only by becoming the voice of the local population. It is absolutely unnecessary for the small newspapers to enter into a circulation race with the big newspapers. With its inherent quality and sensitivity to local sentiments and problems and outlook, and pursuit to enrich the contents of its publication the small press can exist without any threat from the big newspapers and thrive independently.
In conclusion, I would reiterate that print media is an extremely important limb in a democracy – rightly termed as fourth limb of democracy. While the freedom of press can by no means be underestimated, the journalists and every one associated with print and news media must also appreciate that liberty is not license. Every right has a corresponding duty – a sacred obligation to the society with a balanced orientation for “Bahujana Hitaya and Bahujana Sukhaya”. The media guided by this alone would survive in the long run.
In the words of a well known American Jurist, Felix Frankfinter, “Freedom of the Press is not an end in itself but a mean to the end of (achieving) a free society.”
I sincerely believe that the print media will always remain alive to the need of introspection and proper orientation to corrective measure(s) if and when necessary. Permit me to conclude by quoting a few inimitable lines from a poem of Viswakabi Rabindra Nath Takhur: -
“Sthir Theko Tumi, Theko tumi jagi;
Pradeeper moto alasa teyagi;
Eh andhar majhe,
Tumi ghumaile, phiriya jaibe
I translate: Remain steadfast, remain
awake;
Leaving idleness
like a night candle;
In this
hour of darkness, if you fall asleep,
Those who
need you will go back disappointed.
Namaskar