HYDERABAD:Central Information Commissioner Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu on Saturday observed that social media was gaining in prominence as a platform for people to raise questions as traditional institutions like the fourth estate (media) were failing in their duty.
“There is no space for common man or a reader in the media,” he regretted. Speaking at a programme organised on the occasion of Narada Jayanthi and World Journalist Day at the Jagriti Bhavan here, he said people were increasingly using the social media to point out mistakes of the mainstream media and cited the recent media coverage of the Nepal earthquake as an example. “People took to Twitter, Facebook and blogs to vent their ire on Indian media. The backlash forced the media to return,” he said.
“Media which is supposed to question is now dedicated to publicity. If there is no one to question, democracy cannot survive. A question can change a system, not just a situation. When media does not fulfil its responsibility, people will use blogs, Twitter and other media to raise questions,” he said.
The CIC opined the internet empowers people and turns citizens into journalists. “Issues which are censored can be brought into focus through social media,” he said. Commenting on the three estates recognized by the Constitution - executive, judiciary, legislature and media, he said all of them were after real estate and regretted that the mainstream media has lost credibility.