Journalism must ensure accurate and timely information.
Ranchi: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai said that the primary foundation of the success of democratic regimes is public faith." It is critical for democratic systems to succeed by accurately portraying peoples aspirations.
Addressing a function on the occasion of May Day, Mr. Sahay said that journalism is the cornerstone of citizen-to-citizen discussion and communication. In todays digital world, the nature of journalism has evolved and is a vital link between citizens and democracy. He said that journalism must tell the truth and provide clear information to the public.
Referring to the current scenario, Mr. Sahai said that keeping fairness is the most difficult task adding that democracy will be weakened, and public confidence will begin to wane if fairness and impartiality were not maintained while communicating with people.
He alleged that in the guise of democracy, systems that wish to dominate the media and deceive the people in the name of information have begun to develop. Fairness is the cornerstone of communication and journalisms credibility. Our journalists, as the fourth pillar of the Indian Constitution, play a critical role in shaping the impartiality of communication, he quipped.
The Congress leader said that some media houses were leaning towards a particular ideology, whereas their biggest responsibility is that they have to rise above the shackles of ideologies and take the responsibility of impartiality.
Highlighting the potential of journalists, he said there is immense power in communication and journalism, by bringing this truth to the fore, one can draw a very big line of objectivity.
He also stated that this is a challenging effort since bridging the interests of the corporate house, the media house, and the government is not an easy task, but it is one that must be accomplished.
Mr Sahay said that during his 45 years long political career, he never saw any finger being raised towards the power of journalism and on its impartiality. However, todays media and journalism are surrounded by doubts. They may also feel compelled since, in todays materialistic age, when everything has become more expensive, getting a newspaper, running a business, or running a media channel smoothly is not easy.
But let us guarantee that this fourth pillar will not be compromised, despite the fact that we are confronted with numerous challenges. Weve discovered that even in the midst of the most severe wars, such as the war in Russia-Ukraine, the dedicated and brave journalists remain vigilant despite the challenges they face. And its from there that they are carrying out their duties. No matter how many challenges they face, they must all maintain their hard work, bravery and impartiality, he added.
Highlighting the strength of the fourth pillar, he said that it is media through which public opinion is gathered before making any law or introducing any bill in the Parliament.
Today, however, the government is bringing a bill to Parliament, getting it enacted, and then it becomes a law without first seeking the input of all citizens. You only have to go back in history to see how the government responded to the threat of terrorism by enacting the TADA statute, which was quickly followed by several cases of its misuse in the media and publications. It was only inevitable that the media drew the governments notice. The administration began working on this, making numerous revisions to this stringent law.
Mr. Sahai recalled Mahatma Gandhis gift of fearlessness to the nation and said that Bapu erased the fear of British domination from the peoples minds, and the country gained independence on the day when the people began confronting British terror without fear through nonviolence.
He appealed to the Journalists to set the standards of such fearless Journalism without fear.
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