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Transcript of Mics-Media.pdf
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C ntents
• Supreme Court's Verdict on Government Funded Advertisements
• Role of Media in Disaster Management - (Nepal's Earthquake Coverage by Indian Media)
• Social Media
• Regulation of Media
• Regulation of Cinema
• Freedom of Press
www.iasscore.in
URRENT AFFAIRS
Media
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tesSupreme Court’s Verdict on Government Funded
Advertisements
About the verdict1. On May 13, 2015, SC in a landmark judgment issued guidelines on
government funded advertisements.
2. Its guidelines are
Purpose of Government ad SC Guideline
1. Highlighting end of a Permissible, a s it keeps citizengovernment’s fixed tenure informed
2. Announcing projects, policies Permissible, a s it keeps citizenand achievements informed
3. Commemorating birth and Permissible if issued in memory of greatdeath anniversaries personalities, Not permissible if
government departments issue multipleadvertisements
4. Marking milestones of Not permissible, glory should beinstitutions earned
5. Publishing photographs of Not permissible, such photos divert political leaders or prominent attention from the policy of the persons government, unnecessarily associate an
individual with a government project andpave the way for cultivating a “personalitycult”.Exception to this rule – the photosof only three constitutional authorities – President, PM and Chief Justice of India- can be used in such ads provided they
personally clear it - thus, in a way, makingthem also accountable for the publication.
3. Other Directions
a. Ombudsman – SC directed the government to appoint a 3 member ombudsman body of persons with impeachable integrity to monitor
and redress violations of the above guidelines.
b. Don’t patronize – verdict also mentioned that the government neednot patronize media houses especially during elections.
4. Arguments sighteds
a. It will avoid misuse of public funds to favor ruling political parties.Or in its own word “taxpayers’ money cannot be spent to build“personality cults” of political leaders.
b. Not a day goes by without government ad or other being publishedto coincide with some event or occasion.
c. There is a difference between government messaging and politicallymotivated ads.
d. It is important towards building accountability in the expenditure of taxpayers money.
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5. Background – N.S. Madhava Menon commission
a. In 2003, NGOs Common Cause and center for public interest
litigation filed a PIL (in the background of huge government
expneiture on its India shining campaign) arguing that ruling party
leaders and ministers were taking undue advantage at public expenses.
b. In this background SC, in April 2014 formed committee led by
noted legal academcian N.S. Madhava Menon on introducing checks
on government-funded ads. So this SC verdict is on the basis of a
series of recommendations given by Madhava Menon panel.
c. However SC modifies the recommendation on following counts
Menon Panel SC Verdict in may 2015
1. Makes an exemption for Makes an exception – pictures of PM,
pictures of PM, president, President and CJI can be used or providedCJI as well as CM and
governors
2. No ads should be allowed There was no need for a curb on
on election evening. government advertisemnt on election eve
provided the advertisement serves the
public interest and facilitates dissemination
of information.
3. There should be a No need for a performance audit on such
performance audit on government advertisement.
government advertisement.Analysis
1. Positives
a. Judgment was welcomes by common cause sighting above mentioned
ground.
b. It also welcomed the setting up of an ombudsman which it said has
potential to become a powerful body like ECI.
c. Political leaders take credit for all sorts of successes, from submarine
launches to space missions, which generally owe to the industry of
other people.
d. Unfortunately, government advertising tends to visually associate
schemes and benefits with political individuals who may not have
played a crucial role in bringing them to fruition.
2. Criticism of the Judgement
a. First, why should the exercise of “democratic wisdom” lead to the
appointment of a committee by the Supreme Court? And how is the
court to determine its membership? Wouldn’t referring the matter to
the Law Commission, the Press Council of India or even the National
Human Rights Commission have been a better option? The courthas relied on their wisdom in the past; why not now?
b. Second, the report submitted by the committee is extremely laconic.
There is mention of consultation with the affected interests, but
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there are no details. Indeed, the 2015 judgment holds up only a few
of its suggestions, leaving the rest to eventual adoption by the state.
The committee is economical with reasoning. So it sculpts the
guideline that photographs of only the president, prime minister or
chief minister should be used, without explaining why at all.
c. Third, the photos judgment inexplicably narrows this down to the
three dignitaries earlier mentioned. The state of Bihar (it is
inexplicable why other states have not made any intervention) argued,
to no avail, as it turns out, that the list should also include governors
and chief ministers. The court explicitly says: “Photograph have the
potential of developing the personality cult and the image of a one
or a few individuals which is a direct antithesis of democratic
functioning”. Everyone is averse to a “personality cult” but no
evidence has been made available to prove that result.
d. Moreover, the court implicitly regards pictorial depiction of governors,chief ministers, ministers and others as examples of surrogate
advertising. The government regulates this: its latest pronouncement
is an order that the expenditure on advertising for the product should
not be disproportionate to the actual sales turnover of the product.
Are government advertisements “products” to be regulated the same
way as alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances? Is the
“personality cult” to be treated on par with substance abuse? Where
is the evidence that such a cult is, potentially or actually, being
fostered by the present practice of government advertising? If it is,
perhaps all photos should be banned and advertisements should only
contain narrative prose. This bias against visual culture is altogether misplaced and should be abandoned. Besides, if we are serious about
curbing the “personality cult”, we should address and attack its root
causes, not the outward symptoms.
e. Fourth, the court insists that no centenary event of a high court
should be considered for state advertising. Such ceremonies do not
“serve any purpose and must be avoided. Institutions need not be
glorified”. Rather, they “must earn glory by contribution and work”.
While the principle is unexceptionable in spirit, the actual ban is not.
Further, no “contribution and work” can reasonably be expected of
persons who are dead. Yet the court only allows commemoration of
“the anniversaries of the few acknowledged and undisputed publicfigures whose contribution to the national cause cannot raise any
dispute or debate”. Suppose a situation arises where certain groups
or even political parties raise a debate over a national figure. Would
the judicial guidelines then apply?
f. Fifth, aside from judicial insistence on norms of equality in the
award of government advertisements, there is no discussion about
whether the guidelines may affect the freedom of the media. The
news and views content of the media may not be directly affected
but indirect effects will be felt. Pictorial government advertising is a
major source of revenue and the constitutional guarantee of freedom
of the press includes the right to receive state advertisements.Removal or reduction in pictorial content may have a long-term
adverse impact on media revenues. This will have a bearing on the
freedom of the press, especially small and medium enterprises. But
the photos judgment does not consider the guidelines to be in violation
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of the freedom of speech and expression, on which only reasonable
restrictions may be legislated by Parliament.
Role of Media in Disaster Management – (Nepal’s
Earthquake Coverage by Indian Media)1. Role of the media during disasters
a. Before a catastrophe, they can warn a population and prepare it.
b. During disaster
i. During the disaster, they can be effective conduits of
information about help lines, aid-distribution camps, emergency
phone numbers, or the kind of supplies required.
ii. They can help scotch rumours and prevent panic by quickly
disseminating the right facts and figures.
iii. Their coverage helps mobilise help from outside the disaster
area, in the form of money, supplies and volunteers.
iv. And finally, the focus of the media on a disaster helps increase
its visibility, thus forcing governments to upgrade it on their
agenda.
c. Afterwards, with continued reportage, they can ensure that no survivor is forgotten or left out of the aid network.
2. During the coverage of Nepal’s earthquake by Indian media in April 2015,hashtag #GoBackIndianMedia was trending on Twitter. The Indian mediacannot understand why Nepalis are angry at it. Should they not be gratefulfor Indian help? In any case, they were simply doing their job as journalists.
3. That is precisely what members of the media need to ask themselves: Isthis really journalism?
a. Major news organisations around the world put their reporters througha special training to prepare them for coverage of conflict and disasters.At the very last, reporters are briefed on the do’s and don’ts in suchsituations. In India, training or briefings by seniors are rare. As a result, young or inadequately trained reporters are let loose in
situations where they are pushed to get exclusives. Not surprisingly,they resort to the obvious and cross form of reporting perfected bysome Indian television channels: walk up to a victim and ask, “Howare you feeling?”
b. In disasters, such as the Nepal earthquake, journalists inevitably turnto official agencies providing relief and rescue operations to gainaccess to disaster-affected areas. But that access should be one partof the story, not the whole of it. Yet, in the initial days after theNepal earthquake, for much of the Indian media, the Indiangovernment’s assistance became the only story.
c. As journalists hopped on to helicopters and gave viewers an aerialview of the devastated landscape, they forgot a basic tenet of
journalism that journalists are also expected to provide the worm’s-
eye view, the ground reportage that involves engaging with people.
Only then do you get the stories, reported by many other news
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outlets, of the way Nepalis helped each other in the absence of
organised relief and rescue in the immediate aftermath, how people
used to political turmoil and poor governance did not wait around for
help, and how even a small local army and police force went to
work.
d. Also, it was not just what the Indian media did not report that raised
the ire of Nepalis, it is the way it reported what it did see and the
pro-Indian government spin given to many such accounts. Embedding
yourself with an official agency should not turn journalists into
public relations agents. Yet, this happens all too often and was
evident in full colour in the coverage of Nepal.
e. In fact, the Indian media’s lack of sensitivity in its coverage of the
Nepal disaster comes as no surprise. Ask people in Kashmir, or the
North East. The answer is the same: the Indian media generallycomes across as insensitive, caring only about the story and not
about the people in the story. Journalists sometimes forget that they
are human beings first and journalists second. You cannot demand
that distressed and suffering people speak to you without figuring
out a way of also helping them. That is not journalism; it is
voyeurism.
f. It is undeniably an age of advertised charity but the gloating does
hurt the recipients of your generosity.
g. The anger in Nepal has grown to include criticism for the Indian Air
Force (IAF) pilots for making it a priority to carry Indian journalistsand allegedly ignoring the advice of local government officials. Also,
when rescue choppers landed, survivors were dismayed to find TV
crews taking up space they believed should have been left for relief
material. In a disaster, relief must take primacy over media privilege.
Indeed, it must be seen to take precedence.
4. Comaprison with chinese coverage
a. China Central Television’s coverage of the Nepal disaster, was like
most of its coverage — prosaic and staid. Its English language website
has a tiny section with a few stories on China’s aid effort in
Nepal.China Daily and its weekly Asia edition did more to publicise
the Chinese aid efforts, but it was a shrewdly restrained exercise.
Indian relief and rescue teams had arrived much before the Chinese
teams in Nepal.
5. Reasons
a. The same underlying reason i.e. high TRP and high profits; breaking
news syndrome (to be the 1st one to report the coverage); lack of
training in dealing with these situations and above all decline of
ethics.
b. The self-congratulatory tone of the Indian relief efforts in Nepal waspartly set by the Indian government itself. Prime Minister NarendraModi told journalists in New Delhi that Nepal’s Prime Minister
Sushil Koirala, who was visiting Thailand at the time of theearthquake, learnt about the quake from Mr. Modi’s tweet. Four days
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after the earthquake, a Minister of the Modi government spoke inParliament about India’s emergence as a leading nation in disaster
response. The feverishness to advertise the aid for Nepal was alsofound on the social media accounts of various government agencies.
c. The projection of the Indian efforts in Nepal certainly had the subtextof India-China competition for influence over the country.
6. Consequence
a. This led to the intensely hostile reactions from the Nepalese.
b. And it worsened the already worsened relations between the 2 sides.
7. Way forward
a. Media should realize that it is to wring an emotional response fromaudiences, they must refrain from sticking microphones in the faces
of survivors who may have just lost everything. ‘People’s right toknow’ just does not apply here. Nobody has a right to know howmuch anyone else is grieving. Instead, it is the survivor who has anabsolute right to privacy. The only right way to get a human angle
to the reporting is to ask for consent, make a full disclosure of howand where it will be aired, keep the questions brief, and not push for emotional outbursts.
b. It is better that television revisits the basic rules of journalistic ethicsduring disaster reporting.
c. Ethical journalism must place humanity above professional urgency.
Social Media
Context
1. Indian PM’s active presence on social media, section 66A, his debut on
chinese social media weibo.
2. Comment by PM Modi with respect to social media on his visit to USA–
a. The status that now matters is not whether you are awake or asleep,
but whether you are online or offline.
b. Google today has made teachers less awe-inspiring and grandparents
more idle. Twitter has turned everyone into a reporter. The traffic
lights that need to work the best are on Cisco routers.
What is social media?
• Broadly social media can be defined as “any web or mobile based platform
that enables an individual or agency to 1) communicate interactively and
2) enables them to exchange, modify user generated content.”
• How is it different from traditional media ?
• Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a
newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very
limited ability to give your thoughts on the matter.Social media, on
the other hand, is a two-way street that gives you the ability to
communicate too.
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• Social media differentiates from traditional/industrial media in many
aspects such as quality , reach, frequency, usability, immediacy and
permanence.
• Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or aradio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.
Types of Social Media
Social media in recent times has become synonymous with Social Networking
sites such as facebook or micro-Blogging sites such as Twitter. But it is more
than that.
Indian Scneario of Social Media Usage
1. IAMAI-IMRB report was released in July 2015 on social media usage in
India.
• Collaborative projects enable the joint and simultaneous, creation of
content by many end-users
• The broad types include the following types
• Wikis
• Social bookmarking applications
• Wikis –
• Wiki is a collaborative website which allow users to add, remove,and change text-based content.
• While single page is referred to as “wiki page” the entire related
content on that topic is called a “Wiki”.
• Wikipedia is the pioneering site of this type of platform. It is an
online encyclopedia which is available in more than 230 different
languages “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word meaning “fast” or “quick”.
• What is if the main objective of content communities is the sharing of
media content between users. (media content)
• Examples for uploading & sharing of the following medias
• Videos - youtube
• Documents - Scribd, docstoc
• Slides Slide - Share
• Pictures flickr, picasa
• Difference between collaborative projects and content communities
• In collaborative projects users come together to create content
• But in content communities a single user uploads the content and
shares it with other.
• A blog is a descriptive/informative website usually maintained by
individual users and may contain text, photos and links to other web
1. Collabratative projects
(wikis)
2. Content communities
3. Blog
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2. Its findings:
a. Across India, there are 143 million users of social media.
b. Urban areas witnessed a growth of 35 per cent with 118 millionusers as of April 2015.
c. On the other hand, the number for rural India stood at 25 million,
up from close to 12 million last year, showing a growth of 100 per
cent. Use of social media doubles in rural India.
d. Facebook emerged the leading social media website with 96 per cent
of urban users accessing it, followed by Google Plus (61 per cent),
Twitter (43 per cent) and LinkedIn (24 per cent). The largest segment
of users was college-going students (34 per cent), followed by young
men (27 per cent), the report said. Schoolchildren constitute 12 per
cent.
e. Accessing social media is one of the key reasons for people to access
the Internet. In fact, for many people accessing the Internet for the
first time, social media was the reason they embraced Internet.
4. Microblog
5. Social networking
site
sites. The main interactive feature of Blogs is the ability of readers to leave
comments and the comment trail can be followed.
• It consists of discrete entries (“posts”) usually displayed in reverse
chronological order (the most recent post appears first).
• Examples Blogger (of google), wordpress are the famous bloghosting service
that allows user to create blogs.
• Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging.
• Micro-blogging is a web service that allows the subscriber to broadcast short
messages/ image and video links to other subscribers of the service. i.e
contacting an entre groups of people with a short message.
• A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically
smaller in both actual and aggregate file size (e.g in twitter the max character
limit is 140). Whereras bloging is like writing an whole article, micrbloggingmeans a small update.
• Example Twitter (twitter is a combination of both, a microblogas well as
social networking site)
• A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses
on facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people
who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life
connections.
• It often offers various facilities like making their profile, chat, instant
messaging, photo sharing, updates, etc.• Currently, social networking sites are the most prominent version of social
media.
• Examples FaceBook, orkut, google+, myspace are some examples of general
social networking site. Renren Network is the Chinese facebook. Linkedin is
more of a business networking site
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Reason for its rise – (its advantage over Traditional Media; why even
Governments across the World are using it)
1. Man is a social animal
a. As we know that man is a social animal so he wants to stay in touchwith others, wants to be accepted in society, wants to be ‘liked’ by
others, wants to share things with others.
b. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg to stay in touch with his
fellow students from Harvard University.
2. Enormous reach
a. Social media have emerged as a powerful platform for forming an
opinion as well as generating mass support.
b. These sites offer an opportunity to reach out this audience at a key
stroke. Many of these facilitate access through mobile devices andwith nearly 900 million mobile users, it offers an unprecedented
outreach.
3. Real Time engagement
a. Social Media releases the shackles of time and place for engagement.They can connect policy makers to citizens in real time. (i.e. withoutany delay)
b. In recent Libyan and middle east crisis, Ministry of External Affairsused social media platforms such as Twitter to assist in locating andevacuating Indian Citizens from these locations.
4. Real inclusion (Individual Interaction)
a. In tradition forms of media, interaction with individual user is either not possible or is very limited. Social Media platform offers theability to connect with each and every individual.
b. Such an interaction also enables the marginalised to participate indiscussions and present their point of view, thereby improving thepolitical position of marginalized or vulnerable groups, such as women,youth, and minorities that are often not taken into consideration. Itis specifically useful when seeking feedback on services rendered.
5. Citizen empowerment (alongwith bad image of traditional media)
a. Due to above reasons and also as we know that print media andelectronic media is being dominated by few group. With ‘paid news’and other ills making the media vulnerable to state and corporatecontrol, social networking sites are a countervailing force for ordinarycitizens.
b. But in social media citizens can dessimate information and news andthis is real citizen empowerment.
c. Radia tapes controversy broke out in nov 2010 by open magazine.Nowinitially there was complete blackout of the Nira Radia tapes by theentire broadcast media and most of the major English newspapers.Thenews gained prominence following sustained pressure on socialnetworking sites Twitter and Facebook against an attempted blackout orchestrated by many prominent Indian TV channels andnewspapers.
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6. Managing Perceptions, improving its image
a. One of the big challenges for government is to avoid propagation of
unverified facts and frivolous misleading rumours with respect to
government policies. Government must have presence on theseplatforms to counter such perceptions to present the facts to enable
informed opinion making by the populace.
b. Thus it should use it for improving its image at home and improving
the image of the nation worldwide.
Areas where it is being used
1. Used by administration and government
a. Election campaigning – Now elections campaigning’s are held not
only on streets but also on social media as we saw in Obama’s
presidential bid, 2014 general elections in India. This is also creating
problems as even in last 2 days election campaigning is held on social
media which is outside the MCC.
b. Spreading awareness about social and political issues; it is used for
encouraging voter participation.
c. Policy making – Government is also using social media for seeking
inputs into policy making, In USA most state and federal agencies
use social media for either seeking expert opinion or creating/
influencing public opinion. Many agencies at federal level are also
using this platform to gauge public reactions on upcoming/proposedpolicy measures.
d. Foreign policy –Before his visit to China in 2015, PM Modi joined
Chinese social media platform Weibo to interact with the chinese
netizens. It is an important toll of foreign policy and soft power.
e. An important role in dealing with internal security challenges.
f. Two way communication: Many politicians and government officials
are active on social media. Ministers, politicians and governemnt are
using it for a two way communicato with people, civil society etc.
i. i.e. taking peoples view into consideration thus giving voice to
marginalized and taking their view into public opinion.
ii. And also communicating their view to people. PM Modi is an
active user of social media for several years now. From sharing
updates on working of the government, policy deliberations, his
own thoughts, greetings and replies to well-wishers, the Prime
Minister’s social media outreach has been lauded all over the
world.
g. Police
i. The Delhi Traffic Police has joined Facebook and Twitter to
ease handling of traffic related issues.
ii. The Indore Police Department has been using a blog, Twitter,
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online and mobile complaint forms, a Google map of police
stations and a digital crime mapper to track criminal activities
in the region.
2. Generate public opinion
a. As the recent world events have demonstrated, social media have
emerged as a powerful platform for forming an opinion as well as
generating mass support.
b. Even governments are trying to influence people’s opinon by using
social media e.g. it is alleged that Isreal tried to update wikipedia
content as wikipedia is written by common people only…i.e. trying
to favour public opinion towards it.
3. Education
a. It has changed the way we do study i.e. we study from Wikipedia. b. Various blogs related to studies have been created.
c. Video tutorials – various professors have uploaded their video tutorials.
E.g. IGNOU has uploaded many video tutorials on youtube and
egyankosh.
4. News
a. Facebook and twitter have become a key source of news for many
users, as part of a dramatic shift in how people get information in the
digital age.
b. Even all print and electronic media are also accessingsocial media to
dessimate news. Remem timesnow, cnn-ibn, Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha
Dutt….they all are on twitters for dessimating news.
5. Role in social movements, protest
a. Social media especially twitter and Facebook have played a very
important role in starting, and facilitating & coordinating of social
movement and organizing protests. i.e. leaders of movements telling
the people to assemble where and at what time through social media.
b. Arab spring (especially the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution and
Egyptian Revolution of 2011 in these 2 even regimes changes
happened…so that’s the power of social media).
c. Then we saw its use in Anna Hazaare movements.
d. Reason is massive reach in a very short time and at a very cheap
cost.
6. Buisness promotion / e-commerce
a. In addition, there has been an increase in mobile social media which
has created new opportunities, in particulate for business, which are
able to utilize social media for marketing research, sales promotions,and customer relationship development among others.
b. Youtube is used for advertisement purpose.
7. With respect to system of kinship
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a. Social media especially social networking sites have changed the way
we interact with our friends. It has changed the way people make
friends and communicate.
b. Now distance is no more a barrier as one can see the other.
Criticism of Social Media
1. Time consuming - wastage of time
a. Huge number of hours are spend on Social Media. And due to smart
phones now people can access them anywhere thus you don’t even
need a computer.
b. But the problem is that mostly of this is on social networking sites,
instead of informative blogs, Wikipedia etc. thus on social networking
sites people tend to waste time on Interactive Games/Applications
and then on viewing Photos.2. Health – Psychological, mental & physical
a. Mental health - Many surveys have revealed that said that compulsive
social networking has led to insomnia, depression, frustration,lack
of concentration, high level of anxiety, distracting activity, ignorance
and rudeness in their general behavior. People have become addicted
to it.
b. Physical health Due to too much spending eye sight gets weak.Also
due to internet addiction, no exercise thus no physical activity.
3. Social life
a. Real relationships are being replaced by virtual relationships.
b. Instead of improving it has even led to poor inter-personal relationships
as they tend to replace real-life social interactions with online social
media.
c. People get glued to the computers all the time and thus instead o
talking to their family members spend time on social networking
sites.
d. People portray to be different on networking sites than what they
really are.
e. Facebook and Divorce – Social networks, like Facebook, can have a
detrimental effect on marriages with users becoming worried about
their spouse’s contacts and relations with other people online, leading
to marital breakdown and divorce. In the UK, between 20 to 33
percent of divorce petitions cited Facebook as a cause according to
a study carried out in December 2009 by UK based divorce service
Divorce-Online and reported extensively in the media. For detail refer
criticism of facebook page on Wikipedia.
4. Affecting professional life
a. Over half of those interviewed in Delhi said that they indulge in
social networking at home, school, college and while they are at work
on their smart phones and excess of it has started telling on their
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mental and physical health and even their professional and personal
lives.
5. It is also leading to cyberviolence against women i.e. online stalking,trolling of women and defaming their pictures.
6. Pornography
a. Various video sites are there on which porn cann be easily seen.thusporn addiction is on rise. And this has led to commodification of women and is also one of the many contributing factor for sexualharassment of women.
Social Media Retreat
1. Many respondents said they had deactivated or deleted their accounts
and profiles from these websites and it is no longer a craze among themwhile many others said they had started maintaining a low profile onsocial networks.
2. Although there are some million, billion registered users on these socialnetworking sites but many of them are not active. Some log in after manydays and even if log in daily then time spend on them is less.
WAY FORWARD : Solution, Recommendation, Conclusion
1. As we can see that Social media has tremendously changed the way welive. It has huge potential, advantages but has also some negative affects.
2. What should government do?
• Government should also use it to improve its governance. It hashuge potential so government should tap this resource. Governmentshould be active on it.
• But it should also be ensured that it should not be misused. Aspeople wont restraint, as self regulation wont work so governmentshould take steps to regulate it but should not censor it….onlydesireable criticism.
• In order to encourage and enable government agencies to make useof social media, a “Framework and Guidelines for use of SocialMedia by government agencies” was formulated. It was notified by
government in August 2012.3. What should people do?
• They should spend their time on more useful, informative socialmedia instead of wasting time on useless things (don’twrite useless
social networking sites josh mein varna poora answer tera galat ho jaayega).
• And they restraint themselves so as not to breach privacy of others,doing cyber crimes and posting objectionable content.
Regulation of Media
Context
In the background of events like Indian media’s coverage of nepal disaster and
Delhi CM’s idea to monitor and start proceeding against media, a debate over
regulation of media started.
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a) Bodies
Facts –
1. It is free from government control; It has even its own funds for the performance
of its functions.
2. Statutory – Governed by the Press Council Act, 1978. It was first formed in1966 under the Press Council Act, 1965 but now governed by the Press CouncilAct, 1978. (i.e. earlier act stands repealed)
3. Tasks –
a. To ensure freedom of press – i.e. it receives and acts on complaintsreceived by the press for interference with its freedom by the government.
b. Improving ethics, standards of press – It receives complaints against thepress for violation of journalistic ethics. PCI has the power of giving warning,
admonishing, censuring or disapproving their conduct.
4. Membership chairman and 28 members.
a. Chairman - a retired or sitting judge of SC; he is selected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and a member elected by the PCI.
b. Of the 28 members, 20 represent various segments of the press.
Limitations of PCI –
1. Domain – It only deals with print media. Electronic media and social media
have been excluded from its domain.2. Powers –At present it has no power to impose a fine, cancel licence etc; can only
admonish or censure. Its guidelines are not adhered.
1. Today we have 2 bodies for Regulation of news channels
a. NBA – News Broadcasters Association
b. BEA – Broadcast Editors Association
2. Both these bodies are private association i.e. journalists themselves have formedit to regulate media. And thus it’s a self regulatory mechanism.
3. Thus at present there is no body created by legislature or execurtive and thus inno way is involved in regulation of TV news channels.
4. As media itself is regulating it so how can you expect from them to act fairly.We saw in Radia tape controversy that there was a media blackout for it as nomedia house initially criticized Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi.
5. Also like PCI, they don’t have much power.
PCI (Press council
of India)
Other Bodies
b) Overview
1. Present status – self regulations
a. At present PCI is the body for regulation of print media. Electronicmedia and social media are out of its domain.
b. Print media - PCI lays down guidelines for conduct of print media
(although not binding and if violated then there are no penal
provisions).
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c. Electronic Media - With respect to it we have a News Broadcasting
Authority which performs the same function as by PCI.
d. Social media - With respect to it there is no such body but yes some
laws etc. are there by governemnt which regulates some aspects of
it.
e. Thus we can say that as there is no such strict law and the bodies
have weak power to enforce guidelines as there are no penal provisions
for its violation. Thus its more of a SELF–REGULATION.
2. Arguments in favor of self-regulation i.e. continue status quo -
a. We have A-19(1)(a) i.e. its our fundamental right
b. Media perform various functions like being the eyes and ears of people, keeping the govt accountable etc An thus media argues thatit can’t perform these functions unless it’s free.
c. And they allege that the real reason is that government wants todilute accountability.
d. Past record in not good as under guise of regulation it has tried tocensor the media e.g. during emergency we saw censorship of mediaand till now we were seeing the misuse of section 66A of IT Act.
e. Nehru commented that free media is better then regulated media.Censorship is no solution to stray incidences of journalisticirresponsibility. (but counter argument is that there are huge numbersof instances of irresponsibility).
3. Arguments in favor of regulation -
a. Freedom under A-19(1) (a) is not absolute. It is subjected to restrictions
under A-19(2).
b. Present system in weak with respect to all three.
i. In print media, PCI doesn’t have much power, the restrictions
are weak and not binding
ii. In electronic media, not under PCI, instead by NBA and BEA
which has no record of taking action against erring channels.
c. Principle of self regulation should apply to everyone. Should it ?
i. Former SC judge Katju said that if media says they will be self-
regulated then the same principle may apply for politicians and
bureaucrats too. “There has to be some regulatory mechanism.
You can’t say that you alone are saints and everyone else is a
sinner.
ii. “If a doctor or lawyer does something wrong, there are
provisions for them to be punished. Why not revoke the licences
of the media houses which breach the law? No one can be
unaccountable in a democracy. They are not above the law.
And if self-regulation actually works, why do we have laws
against theft, murder and rape? It is the same principle.”
iii. “If there can be medical council for doctors, bar council for
lawyers why aren’t the journalists open to regulation,”
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d. Inidence - past record of media is worse than government e.g. paid
news, paid opinion polls, 26/11 attacks.
e. There is a difference between controlling and regulating. We are only
regulating.
f. Comment – as said by Markandey Katju “Freedom of press is not
an absolute right. The absolute right is the improvement in the
standard of living of the masses”.
4. Conclusion, solution –
a. Both are right, thus we need to balance out both things.
b. For this purpose we should create a strong independent strong body
i.e.
i. Independent means a body free from government control and.
ii. Strong means the body should have powers to punish and
penalize.
c. So either we can make improve PCI by making it more stronger or
create a new one.
d. Also this single body will cover both print media and TV media.
Regulation of Cinema
CBFC – Central Board of Film Certification
1. It is a statutory body under the I&B Ministry which Works in accordancewith the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and Cinematograph(Certification) Rules, 1983.
2. Its task is to regulate the public exhibition of films to ensure healthyentertainment and education to the public.
3. Now it has been in news for its following actions like
a. CBFCs opposition to movie messenger of god sighting superstition,
b. Opposition to cuss words in AIB roast show on Youtube (an insultadult comedy) and.
c. Then Pahlaj Nihalani (newly appointed CBFC chief) releasing the listof 28 cuss words which devised by the Central Board of FilmCertification (CBFC) was leaked on social media.
4. Now these actions and overall functioning of the boards have been criticizedon following grounds –
a. Criticism of its functioning –
i. Officers of the organization are appointed by the Information& Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry instead by censor board. Peoplewith questionable credentials are appointed to these boards by
ministry without taking the Board’s recommendations intoaccount.
ii. Interference in its day to day functioning from all sorts of people like religious and fundamentalist groups and above all by government.
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iii. Corruption – few years back Rakesh Kumar (the then CEO of
CBFC) was caught taking money for speedy clearance of movies.
b. About the vulgarity, nudity and cuss word.
i. If you trust a person’s wisdom by allowing him the right to
choose his/her parliamentarian, partner and career, then you
should also let them decide that which kind of movie they
want to watch.
ii. CBFC is acting like a moral policeman.
iii. They are just representing the society. Cuss words are quite
naturally spoken in States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
iv. You cannot knock out a kissing scene or a cuss word without
looking into whether it is integral to the film. A scene or a
word may appear vulgar when taken out of context.
v. It is an assault on their creative freedom guaranteed by Article
19(1) of the Constitution.
vi. If this goes on then half of the theatre screen will carry statutory
warnings instead of showing the film.
vii. However, at the root of many controversies related to the
CBFC are the 19-point vague guidelines formulated by the I&B
Ministry in 1978 which an advisory panel uses while certifying
a film.
c. The movie MSG do promotes superstition but so do other masala
movies which are against all laws of gravity and logics.
5. In this background filmmakers increasingly demand that CBFC should be
made simply a certifying agency with no powers to impose cuts.
6. Mudgal committee’s recommendation in 2013 to reform censor board.
a. Allowing any member of public who has a grieavance to approach
FCAT with complaints. At present only film-makers can approach
FCAT and it leads to barrage of petitions in courts wasting resources
of judicial system.
b. Digital platforms – using digital platforms for certification for more
transparency and reduce corrupt practices.
c. More officers – appointing more officers at CBFCs 9 centers for
faster clearances.
d. New categories – Introducing new categories of under-12 and under-
15 in censor certification.
Freedom of Press
1. Unlike, the U.S. Constitution, the Indian Constitution does not expressly
provide freedom of press. However, it is now well settled that the words
“speech & expression” in Article 19(1) (a) includes freedom of press also
2. However it appears to be under threat as can be recent incidence –
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a. World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) produced by Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) ranked India at 136 out of 180 nations worldwide in
terms of press freedom in 2015,
b. In July 2015, two jurnalists died of unnatural deaths who were actingagainst political class. One was from UP who posed articles against
SP leader; other one from MP wrote about illegal mining and land
grab.
c. In August 2015 Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sent show
cause notices sent to 4 news channels accusing them of attacking the
integrity of President and the judiciary by broadcasting voices critical
of the decision to hang Yakub Memon.
d. Also business communities threaten it by owning them they can’t
write against those who funds them (Reliance takeover of CNN-
IBN).
e. All this reminds us of the colonial era when they passed press
regulation acts to regulate their functioning.
3. Importance of freedom of press – why it needs to be ensured?
a. In Romesh Thapar v/s State of Madras, the judiciary observed that
“Freedom of speech & of the press lay at the foundation of all
democratic organizations”.
b. The press acts as the fourth pillar of a democracy.
c. Media perform various functions like being the eyes and ears of
people, keeping the goverment accountable etc An thus media argues
that it can’t perform these functions unless it’s free.
d. In this background NCRWC recommended that freedom of press be
specifically included under A – 19 (1)(a).
4. Press needs to be Responsible
a. Though, the press has played significant roles for public welfare butat times it act irresponsibly e.g. in 26/11 case where it showed live
coverage of air dropping NSG Commandoes on the rooftop of
Nariman House and most recently in Nepal disater where the line
between vouyerism and journalism was blurred.
b. And this is due to lack of ethics, lack of regulation and profit motive.
5. Conclusion
a. In words of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, “The role
of journalism should be service. The Press is a great power, but an
uncontrolled pen serves but to destroy.”
b. Thus press freedom should be ensured but they shouldn’t misuse it.