Justice Markandey Katju believes that the media is not free in Bihar. The Chairman of Press Council of India knows this because he has been “told about it.” And, he is determined not to let it happen any longer.
Eyebrows have been raised when Justice Katju recently spoke in Patna about the gagged media in Bihar. Though the retired Supreme Court judge conceded that his version was based on “provided information”-he did not mind agreeing to the suggestion that “no one can dare write against government of Bihar of the government officials.”
Then, he went on to add: “I have been told this. There can be many ways of muzzling the media. Advertisements may not be released to one organisation or a media house owner can be pressurised to get rid of journalists writing against the government.”
Katju has apparently been told by people he believes-or those who can make him believe– that government advertisements are being used in Bihar to tie the newspapers with a golden handcuffs. Consequently, Katju suggests, the media toes the line that is tailored to suit the government’s agenda.
The argument has it that Bihar newspapers have eliminated anti-government reports because they constantly need the drip-drip-drip of advertisement funds to survive in the times of costly newsprints and costlier operational cost.
Can Justice Katju’s assertion be questioned on the ground of factual inconsistencies? Yes. After all no frontline media organisation has spoken about denial of government advertisements in Bihar.
The media organisations can be reticent for obvious reasons, but what about the allegedly sacked journalists-who have been shown the door “for writing against the government and the government officers.” Where are they? Surely, they cannot be hiding or silenced because they have nothing to lose anymore. They would have spoken had they existed.
That Katju has not been able to put faces on the imaginary bunch of “sacked journalists terminated for their anti-government writing” in Bihar takes the punch out of his assertion.
There is hardly any government, anywhere in the World, that does not seek positive publicity. Some of them might even try to use government advertisements to keep the media houses in good humour. But whom should you blame if government advertisements take precedence over reporting preferences–the government that issues advertisements or the media house that surrenders its objectivity in lieu of the ad pie?
The government is not your grandmother-you run errand for in lieu of candies. Blaming government advertisement for media’s self-imposed restraint is like blaming the Ganges for suicides. The water can drown you; but someone is still required to jump into it.
As Chairman of Press Council of India, Katju’s job is to ensure that freedom of press is persevered. All newspapers-including those in Bihar — carry plenty of government advertisements. Would he examine if any of them has compromised on news? And how will he do it?
Is the media muzzled in Bihar, or this a case of crawling when suggested just to bend a bit? Has any news been swept under the carpet because government wanted it or the media men have been too desperate to earn brownie points.
The good news is that Katju has admitted that “he had an open mind on the issue.” He has requested others to inform him if he has been misled on the issue. But, he has not prevented himself from shooting off his sermons even in the absence of any first hand information about any imaginary media gag in Bihar.
Justice Katju may not have spoken it in as many words; but some discrepancy might just exist between the impression given by the media in Bihar and actual practices and facts of government and society. There is clearly a gap between stated objected and delivered performance. But isn’t this for the media to elaborate. You just cannot blame an outside body-the government-if the press doesn’t do what it is expected to.
Bihar is also a society in transition, which has a higher degree of heterogeneity where simultaneous coexistence of contrasting ethos and practices makes it difficult to draw generalisations about individuals and organisations. The environment in the society and the media influence each other; and the outcome is largely dependent on which of the two is more impressionable.
Warren Buffett has aptly summed it: “The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher, the better the student body.” But like government, we also get the media we deserve.
Courtesy: Patliputra Blog of Amitabh Srivastava. He is an Assistant Editor with India Today, overseeing
editorial operations in Bihar and Jharkhand. With more than a decade of experience in journalism.
