The events in the JNU campus on February 9, last have exposed how deeply partisan the media in this country has become. While some television channels stooped to showing doctored tapes to make the allegations of anti-nationalism against a section of the JNU students stick and literally forced viewers to pass judgment on the culpability of the students based on these tapes, there is another section that is clearly on the side of the JNU students and fraternity whose political leanings are towards left liberalism. Television news reportage has been pushed to the backburner while views from so-called experts are considered to be of importance for the audience to make an informed judgment on issues. Clearly the media have reached a very critical juncture in this journey of democracy. As the fourth pillar the media is supposed to bat for those without voice and therefore without power. But the voices that are amplified today are those of the educated elite of this country and those who have command of the English language and are Delhi or Mumbai based. So there is no media with a truly national reach, yet you hear the word ‘national media’ evening after evening being espoused by television anchors.
Now that the JNU student union leader, Kanhaiyalal has been granted conditional bail without the court having seen the report on the doctored tapes as yet, it remains to be seen what action the court will take against those media houses that have relied on those tapes and thereby created a lynch-mob mentality. The media cannot junk ethics and media laws. These laws are guidelines that restrain the media from being licentious and getting away with deviant behaviour. Ironically while the print media is kept under some kind of control by the Press Council of India the electronic media is still a free agent unfettered by any regulations as yet. This is a troubling phenomenon in a country as diverse and disparate as India. The long held belief that media would regulate itself is passé. If Indian democracy is to survive its arduous journey the media must be free and independent is a myth. There is need for a media ombudsman now than ever before!
