HYDERABAD: At a national seminar on “ethics in contemporary journalism” held on Thursday, Press Council of India chairman Justice (retired) CK Prasad said that the media should not have a “cordial relationship” with the government.
Prasad said, “You are crusaders of trust. You are bound to come into conflict with the government and the authorities. I am of the opinion that if there is no conflict between journalists and government, that day perhaps will be the saddest day for our democracy.”
“I request the media fraternity to be in conflict. I oppose the idea of a cordial relationship between media, authorities and government,” he said. He added that lack of code of conduct makes journalists “vulnerable” and the media fraternity should review its position. “If there is no code, no statutory guidelines. You are more vulnerable. You are exposed to the whims and fancies of others. If it is codified you will know what the legal position is,” Prasad said. He also advised scribes not to indulge in corruption. Speaking about an alleged anti-Dalit comment by a Union Minister, he said when PCI examined the issue, it found that the ministers statement had been “misconstrued” by the media.
‘Contract jobs hurting media’
The PCI chairman said that the contract system under which the journalists work these days does not help their profession.
Meanwhile, C Krishna Prasad, senior editor and PCI member said: ”The use of the word allegedly is minimum in today’s stories. This way, we easily brand innocent youth as terrorists, even before they are convicted. Radia tapes had also presented so many examples of the rampant practise of entertaining paid news in media which is totally opposed to the ethics of a journalist.”