Kolkata, Sep 28 : Expressing concern over 'paid news epidemic' in a section of the fourth estate, Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman and former judge of the Supreme Court G N Ray has said the malaise needs to be addressed.
''Press Council is of the view that paid news or writing in lieu of money is no longer a disease. It has now assumed the proportion of an epidemic. The credibility of media is getting eroded the way a section of the press indulge in writing in favour of particular corporate houses, political parties or individuals,'' he told reporters here.
''Such aberrations need to be checked without delay. The Council has submitted a report to the Centre with recommendations,'' Mr.Ray said.
Stating that the Press Council had gone through such 'aberrations', he said the probe committee, which was holding its meeting in the city, received altogether 46 complaints pertaining to press freedom and breach of rules from West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Bihar and Jharkhand. Of these, 40 complaints came from the common people against the media.
Mr.Ray said the Council made a four-point recommendations to the Centre to stop this phenomenon and the issue would be raised for discussions in Parliament.
He said the media, a watch dog of democracy, must be vigilant to the wrongdoings of civil society, political parties and the government. ''The media should guide them for good governance. But these priorities are taking a backseat,'' he added.
The Council Chairman said a section of media had become interested in earning more profit at the cost of its role as the fourth estate. The new role was dictated by the market forces at the cost of valued principles and well-accepted ethics of journalism.
He also alleged that some media had been trying to safeguard the interests of big corporate houses. He also expressed concern at the extreme trivialisation of issues in reporting today.
''Serious issues had lost their relevance and priority,'' he said adding functioning of the media during the last 20 to 25 years has changed due to various reasons, including globalisation and corporatisation.
The PCI Chairman said recently the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) lodged a complaint with the Council that a section of media houses was entering into private treatise with corporate houses for financial gain.
The SEBI had approached the Council for appropriate guidelines and had recently issued mandates to media houses, consistent with the guidelines of the Council, to clearly state about their financial obligation with the corporate houses, he said.