Paid news dangerous for democracy: Press Council

AGARTALA: Expressing serious concern at the steady erosion of ethics and values in the Indian media, the Press Council of India (PCI) today said paid news is dangerous for the survival of democracy.

"An investigation conducted by the PCI found that many of the big newspaper houses had indulged in paid news which is dangerous for democracy," PCI Chairman Justice G N Ray said at a seminar here organised by the Tripura Journalists Union.

He deplored the media's involvement in the paid news scandal and said that a sub-committee of the Press Council had carried out intensive investigations into the allegations and come out with truth in a detailed report.

Ray asserted that the media enjoys more legal rights and privileges because it contributes to the society.

"Media cannot be viewed from the perspective of mere capital or ownership," he said while hinting at journalists to take an initiative in launching newspapers and electronic channels on a co-operative model to save the profession.

"In order to insulate the profession of journalism from pollution of big and ill-begotten money, working journalists must come out into the open, otherwise the profession itself will be destroyed. Apart from this, the system of monopoly rights over media should be abolished," said Justice Ray.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, however, said that, despite all these, many scams including the latest 2G scam have been exposed by the media.

"At the same time we cannot lose sight of the harsh reality of the media owners operating jointly with corporate sector particular political parties for funds," he said.