The Watch Dog never become the Lap Dog!

Media & Democracy in the wake of government's allegations against Thejas daily, a Malayalam News paper circulated only in Kerala.

What is the job of responsible media  in democracy?

What are their duties?, rights?

and ultimately what should they stand for?

before going any further, let's go through the letter and major allegations against Thejas Publications and treat one by one.

1. It's the part of pan Islamic network and catering to communal agenda of certain organization

2. The publication invariably takes anti establishment views on issue like plight of Muslims,Kashmir and India's relations with USA & Israel

3. It describes Government's counter militancy effort as state sponsored terrorism, thereby endorsing the stance of militant element.

4. In their publications, contemporary developments/issues are invariably projected with a communal slant.

There is not even a single allegation was reported that it caters something communal via news.

The main stream journalists and activists are well co-operating with this publication by contributing news and articles to it.

Their anti establishment views:

What is the job of responsible media  in democracy?

Is it something to propagate government views?

Or does media salute and report the police version of the story?

Else, does it swallow or persist it's readers to swallow establishment views?

Let me quote Thejas Daily Executive editor NP Chekuttty:

"In the past four years when we were running this newspaper, we had to take up strong and uncompromising positions; tough stances. We were asking why the six men from Muslim community were shot dead point blank at Beemapalli, we questioned the claim of the police that the boy from Pakistan who came here to meet his relatives was a terrorist (which he was not), we said there is a different tale to tell for Shahansha (in Love jihad case)... no other paper cared to tell this story as we did.

Now can anyone in their sense describe these as communal propaganda? I don't think so. Of course Thejas, in its editorial (December 19, 2009), has thrown the challenge: All its editions during the past four years are available in public domain (also available online free of charge www.thejasonline.com), and just locate one sentence in all these that can be dubbed a deliberate, malicious and hateful attack on another community, and confront us in the public sphere with the proof "

His full article could be read in below link

http://chespeak.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-defence-of-thejas-daily-reply-to.html

This is an attempt for "thought control" on the populous and a snooping in the freedom and independence of the Indian press - Practiced during 1975's emergency period

The fundamental rights of the Indian people were suspended, and strict controls were imposed on freedom of speech and press. In the shadow of "freedom of expression." Based on the First Amendment Act of 1951

To controll media,effective methods were applied by Indira Gandhi by

(1) allocation of government advertising; (2) shotgun merger of the news agencies;and (3) use of fear-arousal techniques on newspaper publishers, journalists and individual shareholders.

During censorship, most of the nation's domestic dailies, however, gave up the battle for press freedom. Their pages were "filled with fawning accounts of national events,flattering pictures of Gandhi and her ambitious son, and not coincidentally, lucrative government advertising.

In the beginning of censorship, when a few leading newspapers such as The Indian Express and The Statesman refused to abide the governmental censorship, the government withdrew its advertising support from these newspapers. Later on, this type of financial castigation was used on several other rebellious newspapers.

As Indian newspapers depend a great deal on governmental advertising this has kept many of them vulnerable to government manipulation. The large scale possibility of such manipulation, however, was not fully demonstrated until Indira Gandhi's government decided to take advantage of this unique circumstance.

without such ad revenues, it would be difficult for many Indian newspapers to stay in business.

And one thing to note here is the letter, asking to control the thejas, also condemn Kerala state government for giving state advertisement to Thejas and mention some institutions and persons they said to be 'the promoters' of Thejas.

This is a type of threatening practiced during Emergency to cut down the revenue from adverticement and donation and thus to make the media under financial pressure.

A responsible media cannot agree to the such terms of reporting

It must be kept aloof from governmental intrusion and exploitation. and it is not government's propaganda machine at all. They must be insured of a true independence.

The currently practicing  media system has becoming a major barrier to the exercise of democracy and to the discussion of any of the mounting social problems that face us

when it comes to the reporting of the human rights-related incidents, the newspapers devote very little space to them, unless the incidents it self is a very newsworthy. and they seldom make a serious effort to follow up such stories, which they report in the beginning.

Instead it permeates the government views, the media, institutions & individuals who point out unpleasant realities of current or past Indian behavior are often subjected to social and/or governmental pressures and treated as pariahs or according to precedent as jihadis

Does the democratic State have the right to impinge upon the freedoms of the fourth estate in such an undemocratic manner?

Where the media does overstep its boundaries, the government should then step in and pull up the erring organisations. But passing such undue restraints on a responsible media that are reminiscent of those of a banana republic is unhealthy and unwanted for a stalwart democracy such as ours!