Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | In Response to Media Coverage of Crimes Against Minorities, A BJP-Affiliated Think Tank Proposed Guidelines Curtailing Editorial Independence -Kaushal Shroff

In Response to Media Coverage of Crimes Against Minorities, A BJP-Affiliated Think Tank Proposed Guidelines Curtailing Editorial Independence -Kaushal Shroff

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Apr 26, 2018   modified Modified on Apr 26, 2018
-CaravanMagazine.in

Crimes against minorities in India, specifically Dalits and Muslims, have risen dramatically since the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. A reasonable reaction to such hate crimes would have included increasing the allocation of funds to policing machinery at the local and state level. Instead, the Public Policy Research Centre, a BJP-affiliated think tank, had proposed that the state respond by shooting the messenger—that is, the media. In March last year, the think tank released a report making numerous recommendations about the manner in which media organisations ought to function. If adopted, these guidelines would considerably erode the editorial independence of Indian media establishments.

In early April this year, the Prime Minister’s Office ordered the withdrawal of a circular passed by the information and broadcasting ministry, which proposed guidelines to punish journalists found to have “created and/or propagated” fake news. As per the proposal, if a journalist is found guilty, her accreditation could have been suspended for a period of six months, or even permanently cancelled. Following widespread criticism from journalists and opposition members, the government decided to spike the guidelines within 24 hours of proposing them. In a year that will see four state elections, the guidelines created a perception that the government was seeking to muzzle the media. While the government might have retreated this time around, a look at the report released by PPRC suggests that the think tank’s blueprint for the Indian media establishment, endorsed by BJP leaders heading the organisation, is not conducive to its health, vibrancy and multiplicity of voices.

The PPRC report is titled “Examining Objectivity and Non-partisan Character of Media While Covering Atrocities on SC (Dalit) and Minorities: A report of cases between 2015–16.” It is primarily concerned with the adverse reporting that the BJP had to face in the aftermath of three sensitive cases between September 2015 and July 2016—namely, the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri, the suicide of the PhD scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad, and the flogging of four Dalit youths in Una. The report argues that these three incidents were “chosen and singled out for disproportionate coverage” by media establishments.

Among its recommendations to remedy these concerns, the PPRC report urges the Press Council of India and the Editor’s Guild to establish a parameter titled “Un-adulterated News Reporting Quotient” to assess the “objectivity of news reporting.” The report further recommends media organisations to develop a “Common Style Book of News Reporting” to ensure that “proper, uncoloured vocabulary and non-judgmental terminologies” are used in stories. It also urges media platforms to periodically conduct an “internal audit of the space allotted, coverage extended, fonts chosen and terms/words” used for reporting on incidents of crimes against minority communities. The PPRC had submitted a copy of the report to the Press Council of India, but CK Prasad, the chairperson of the Press Council, declined to comment on the report.

Please click here to read more.



CaravanMagazine.in, 25 April, 2018, http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/pprc-bjp-affiliated-think-tank-guidelines-curtailing-editorial-independence


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close