Help humanise economic development, PM tells media

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 27. Accountability, according to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, is a two-way street. Inaugurating the 50th general assembly of the International Press Institute (IPI) here this morning, the Prime Minister said ``if the media expects - and rightly so - accountability from Governments, political parties, businesses and private individuals, it too must offer itself to be judged by the same norms of accountability''.

And Mr. Vajpayee was not alone in raising the issue of accountability of the media. His Cabinet colleague and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, too, touched upon this aspect in her address at the inaugural session.

Holding that the prerogative of defining the content and contours of responsibility lay with media organisations, Mr. Vajpayee said: ``Self-monitoring, self-regulation and - when necessary - even self-censorship enhance the credibility of the media which is its most precious asset.''

Commenting on commercialisation of the media, the Prime Minister observed: ``News, entertainment and other products of the media are not like other commodities in the market. Sensationalism and other tactics to `sell' them with the sole motive of maximising profits militate against the very essence of journalism.''

Acknowledging that a free and responsible Press is an important pillar of the Republican architecture and essential for a healthy democracy, Mr. Vajpayee urged the media to help humanise economic development. Also, he emphasised the need for journalists everywhere to rise above narrow considerations and promote the bonds of mutual understanding and solidarity both within and among the nations of the world.

Aware that the gathering included a number of editors of leading publications from across the world, the Prime Minister used the occasion to project India as a ``multi-religious, multi- lingual, and multi-ethnic nation where the rights of religious minorities are fully protected''.

Also, he sought to give the media leaders an insight into the direction India was moving in. ``Our democracy is growing in maturity. Multi-party coalition Governments are proving to be stable and successful. More and more sections of our diverse society, which were earlier under-represented, have found a voice and a place in our electoral and governance systems.'' Having said this, Mr. Vajpayee added for good measure that soon the Government would bring forth a legislation for women's reservation in Parliament and State legislatures.

Apart from touching upon the need for the media to be accountable and rise above prejudices, Ms. Sushma Swaraj sought to impress upon the gathering that though the Constitution does not mention freedom of the Press, it is an inherent part of the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Labouring the point, she added that all other freedom becomes irrelevant without freedom of the Press.

The IPI chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Neue Zurcher Zeitung Zurich, Mr. Hugo Butler, described an independent media as ``society's oxygen'' which could give a voice to the voiceless and a face to the faceless. Giving an overview of the state of the media worldwide, he said: ``Of the 168 countries, only 69 had a `real' free Press, 51 had a `partly free' Press, while in 66 there was no freedom of expression at all.''

Cautions fourth estate

Mr. Butler also had a word of caution for the fourth estate when he said it was important that State monopoly over the media not be replaced with private monopolisation.

For their part, both the chairperson of IPI (India Chapter) and vice-chairperson of The Hindustan Times, Ms. Shobhana Bhartia, and the IPI International Board member and Managing Editor of Malayala Manorama, Mr. Philip Mathew, spoke about the emergence of the new media.

According to Ms. Bhartia, since the country's freedom struggle was largely waged in the battlefield of the print media, Indian Press would always be committed to the freedom of expression. ``Information cannot be controlled or bulldozed here as in many other parts of the world.''

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