Paid news is a phenomenon not easy to prevent at present, but with effective legal deterrents and debate to raise awareness, this negative trend could be tackled effectively. This was the view of speakers at a forum discussion on paid news and its implication on lok Sabha election 2014, jointly organised by the the Indian Media Centre, Uttarakhand chapter and the Public Relation Society of India, Dehradun chapter to mark the national public relation day here on Sunday.
Addressing the gathering as the main speaker, senior editor of the Chandigarh edition of The Pioneer, Amitabh Shukla, said, "It is difficult to prove that a candidate has spent more than the permissible limit and even if proved, what action is taken against a candidate found guilty and also elected an MPIJ The case is processed in the courts for about five years and by that time, the tenure of the MP ends. The case of Union Finance minister P Chidambaram is yet to end though his tenure nears the end," he said.
Calling an imbalanced combination of the editorial and marketing division dangerous for free and fair journalism, Shukla stressed on the need for coordination between journalistic values and commercial considerations, adding that the marketing division should realise that people will lose interest in print and electronic media if the journalistic level falls low.
Recalling a case he said, "In the last Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, a candidate unhappy with media apathy was told by media persons to pay for getting his news published. He paid them `50,000 and after getting his news published for two days, held a Press conference revealing this with evidence. The case stayed in the news for some days after which it was forgotten," he said, while stressing on the need for exemplary punishment as a deterrent.
Department of Information and Public Relations, Assistant Director Nitin Upadhyaya called the media a nerve centre of society while stressing that ad campaigns do not ensure an electoral victory but offer a level playing field to candidates. "Paid news is not a problem afflicting big news papers and half of paid news is due to ignorance. In the last Uttarakhand Assembly elections, we had received 60 paid news complaints of which the Press Council of India found 30 to be paid news. like it takes time to find a cure for a serious illness, it will take time to find a cure for paid news, but till that time this should be discussed and not ignored," he said.
Earlier, PRSI Dehradun chapter head Madhulika Burman welcomed the guests. IMC Uttarakhand chapter vice president RBS Rawat proposed the vote of thanks while also recalling his experiences and stressing on the need for continued deliberation for resolving media issues.