[OPINION]
Whether the sting was operated by the editors of Zee News or
Naveen Jindal, congress MP and steel tycoon, the legal system will tell – maybe
after years. But what can the media learn from this episode?
Prima facie, both Jindal and the Zee News editors appear to be
at fault. As per unconfirmed media reports, Jindal offered Rs 20 crore to the Zee editors and the editors in turn demanded Rs 100 crore. From a journalistic standpoint, the editors’ demanding any
amount money from any business in return for any favour is unacceptable and is
against the basic ethics of the profession.
"Assuming" this to be true for a moment, the next question is what made the editors cross their
limits? Is it because they are the proprietors of the business? Perhaps yes.
Ideally, editors should not be the proprietors of the media house they are
working for. If they wear the dual hat, they will be tempted to employ such
tricks to meet their revenue targets. There are however, excellent examples
globally, where the editor is the owner of the media house and yet it is run ethically.
Many proprietors also try to push their editors/ journalists
to favour a particular company assuming it would get them that extra buck.
Sorry guys, that model didn’t work yesterday and it will not work today. The
best-run publications or media houses give complete editorial freedom and there
is a thick line between the editorial and the business. This line cannot blur
until you are blind or pretend to be so.
So, how can the media ensure ethical journalism? Empowerment
and self-regulation would perhaps solve most of the issues. Senior editors need
to be empowered such that they are part of the company’s board – not responsible
for bringing in revenues but responsible for ensuring good journalism. This
would not allow business heads to arm twist the editors to play the sales game.
The second solution lies in self regulation wherein an independent panel of
retired journalists and senior editors (who have no interest/stake in any of
the media houses) would have the full authority to “fire” any employee of any
media house who is found indulging in unethical activities.
Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express said in a recent debate in CNN-IBN that journalists today are more ethical and professional than ever before. I agree with him on this. I am in the industry and I know it for sure that by and large, today’s modern-day journalists are ethical, smart and more professional. It is perhaps because most of them have attended journalism schools and they survive in a competitive environment where talent shines.
Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express said in a recent debate in CNN-IBN that journalists today are more ethical and professional than ever before. I agree with him on this. I am in the industry and I know it for sure that by and large, today’s modern-day journalists are ethical, smart and more professional. It is perhaps because most of them have attended journalism schools and they survive in a competitive environment where talent shines.
On that note, let us commit ourselves to creating a system
where journalism is sacrosanct. Let me take you back and remind you once again
of my favourite tagline and the gospel truth that good journalism is good
business!
(The purpose of this write-up is not to judge who's right or wrong, but only to turn the gaze inwards into the profession of journalism, in general)
(The purpose of this write-up is not to judge who's right or wrong, but only to turn the gaze inwards into the profession of journalism, in general)
