Witoubou Newmai
The posture of the media’s “noble intent” in Nagaland is still unable to attract public appreciation. There are more reasons to this than the nuanced understanding of the profession by our society. Instead, the constant assault on the media often dampens the dedication and zeal on the part of journalists to promote our society.
Today, the degree of coercing the media in Nagaland has gone up to the next level but even then, as of today, journalists as a faithful mirror of society continue to conform with media ethics at the best possible level through strict compliance to values. This is possible only because we are in this profession seeking to promote our society. However, this is not to suggest that the media has reached a level of total independence yet. Given this scenario, the question today is not only about when we can comfortably call ourselves independent media, it is also about the duration our slow growing society will take to start appreciating a liberal environment where every profession operates under certain codes and ethics without hindrances. In short, a platform where reasons and rational debates can thrive is still a far cry in our society.
When we talk of assault on the media, we are talking about the coercion placed on media houses by brute elements. Use of unrestrained or indecent language in press releases or write ups and intimidating the media for having edited them strips them of rationality. In other words, sticking to codes and ethics of the profession is becoming a herculean challenge for journalists in Nagaland today, thanks to the illiberal environment that does not allow rationality to thrive. Such development gives the media the tendency to veer from duties and obligations.
If the media raises objection to the content being sent to be published, one thing these brute elements bank on is the ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression.’ But under Indian law, "the freedom of speech and of the press do not confer an absolute right to express one's thoughts freely". According to the Press Council of India (PCI) guidelines, the media cannot lose sight of duties and obligations on matters concerning "security of the State, public order, decency and morality, contempt of court, defamation, incitement to an offence, sovereignty and integrity of India". Violation of these guidelines of the PCI by the media is bound to attract stern penalties, even to the extent of cancelling the registration of the media organisation.
PCI guidelines clearly state that dictates or press notes "commanding newspapers to publish them, under duress or threats of dire consequence, emanating from elements wedded to violence, constitute the gravest assault on the freedom of the press which is one of the surest guarantors of a democratic and plural society". The PCI guidelines also say that such dictates or notes are not newsworthy per se. A part of PCI guidelines says that any publication which "tends to demoralise the public and to affect adversely public, police and security" is a clear violation of the rules. Such "publication not only compromises the freedom and independence of the newspaper concerned, but also constitutes an offence against the standards of journalistic ethics and professional responsibility" it further says. "This is not to say that if there is anything newsworthy in a press note emanating from any source, it should be blacked-out altogether, because 'self-censorship' may be no less dangerous for being insidious. The essential point is that editors must exercise due caution and circumspection in considering the dissemination of such press notes. If the whole of the note is not pernicious, then it may be edited, its objectionable portions removed and language toned down so that whatever is true newsworthy gets disseminated in a balanced manner. However, where the news and the objectionable portions are inextricably mixed up, violating the entire warp and woof of the press note, it will be prudent to withhold its publication altogether", the PCI guidelines vividly state.
As mentioned earlier in this column, happy journalists are found in a decent society. And, that should be the conventional understanding and index.
