Improving State of Media in India - Additional Solutions

Dear Friends:

Below are some of the Key Solutions (along with Key Issues and Root Causes) as identified by you to improve the State of the Media industry in India.

Kindly review them and if you have anything additional, please post it as a comment and in comment prefix please identify whether it is a Issue, Root Cause or Solution.

We will soon be compiling the whitepaper to be submitted to Minister of Information & Broadcasting and other associated agencies for their actions.

Thanks for your participation!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta

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Improving State of Media in India – Key Solutions:

1. A Ethics Code of Conduct be written for Media and all media/PR company CEOs/Owners must be made signatories to it. Violation should mean defined and serious consequences.
2. I& B Ministry may consider having a department to monitor the media and take action if required
3. A regulatory body should be established which over sees the working of media houses and also defines the ‘Operating & Broadcasting Guidelines for them
4. It should be Mandatory for media to disclose the source of Paid News
5. Sources of income of media houses should be audited and any undefined source should be made answerable
6. All journalists should be made to declare gifts above Rs 100 to their company
7. Accepting direct/indirect favours by journalists should be made a criminal offence
8. The amount of advertisements in a newspaper or on a news channel per day, should have a cap on it
9. Misleading advertisement should be banned
10. Online debates should be avoided if the channel is not able to maintain decency
11. Reporting of speculations and the slamming between political parties should be reduced
12. Content of positive and informative news needs to increase to about 70% of the broadcast
13. Necessary steps should be taken against media houses owned by Foreigners, who tend to show India in poor light
14. Media should not be allowed to make a HERO of a Criminal by reporting on him every day
15. Media should restrain itself from trying a person before courts do so
16. There should be a limit to the number of news channels operating
17. DD/Prasar Bharati should be made autonomous like BBC in Britain. If DD provides unbiased and high quality content, then others will be forced to follow suit

State of Media in India – Root Causes

1. Media has a lot of authority vested in them
2. There is no objectivity in news coverage
3. Media houses are getting more and more profit centred
4. News which will generate better TRPs are given preference
5. Government watch over the content produced in newspapers and magazines is weak
6. Corruption and paid news is prevalent
7. No strict laws on journalists accepting favours from companies/individuals
8. More the advertisements in the newspapers, more the profits
9. A nexus has developed between the media and the corporate world with PR companies in the centre of it
10. Media houses need Ad money to survive and it becomes hard to unmask(prosecute) the same person/institution who is a key revenue source
11. Some of the smaller news channels do not have the resources to cover international news
12. Many media houses are owned by politicians and corporate honchos
13. Some reporters are not educated/trained enough to understand the sensitivity of some events
14. Too many media channels create unhealthy competition, unsavoury practices and blatant commercialization
15. Media industry lacks good journalist with in depth knowledge
16. Media is drifting away from its social responsibility
17. Sensitivity of the news with maximum social impact is not a priority today
18. Too many institutions/universities teach journalism today, but don't teach the primary responsibility of a journalist

State of Media in India - Key Issues

1. The power of media is misused
2. Media houses are moving away from their primary responsibility, which is to report good and genuine news
3. Absence of well researched presentations in both print and electronic media
4. Only negative news is covered mostly; positive news is ignored
5. News channels sensationalize sensitive issues
6. Obscene content is published in newspaper and magazines
7. Media overhypes social problems in India
8. Defamation of individuals by media
9. Journalists accept favours from individuals to publish their news
10. Many PR (Public Relations) companies give gifts/cash to journalists for publishing their customer's news/providing coverage
11. Newspapers publish news about companies who are giving them ads on a preference basis (sometimes on the same day)
12. Newspapers are mostly advertisements with minimal news
13. A lot of news articles don’t have credible sources
14. Too many mediums; the real news gets lost
15. Many political parties and industrialists influence the media to fulfil their need
16. News papers and channels at times ask for pay offs to hold back certain news against businesses/politicians/celebrities
17. Some news papers even promise the exact page /column/article size for paid news (non advertorial)
18. Sensitivity of information is many a times ignored or taken too softly, leading to communal clashes
19. Majority of the channels do not cover any international news
20. Debates on television seem to be a fighting ground than serious discussions
21. There is limited focus on reporting positive/constructive/inspiring news and people more