13 Media Ethics
Kulveen Trehan
1. Media Ethics : An Introduction
Media plays an important role in our lives. It provides information about the world around us; educates us on complex issues of economy, society and geopolitics and is a source of entertainment for the masses. Besides, it also aids and abets us in making choices w.r.t products we consume in a neo liberal era. Therefore, it is vital to understand the ethics of media functions and uses in the current ecosystem. Several formal and informal controls, both external and internal exist to ensure that media practices are consistent with social responsibility theory. External controls include media laws and industry codes of practice. External informal controls mean the pressure groups, consumers and advertisers.
1.1 Media Ethics and Law: The Interrelationship
Media Ethics and Law are often seen as complimentary to each other. Law represents an ethical minimum whereas ethics represents a standard that exceeds the legal minimum. Laws are imposed on the media by the respective governments whereas ethics are normative guidelines created by the media themselves in order to make it transparent, consistent and accountable . Ethics is closely related to an individual’s own moral framework, where decisions are taken keeping both code of conduct and one’s own conscious in mind in contrast to law where obedience is mandatory and violations punishable by the court of law.
1.2 Indian Mediascape after the New Economic Policy
Indian Media has undergone several changes in the last 20 years. Liberalization created an easy tax and duty regime, globalization encouraged the entry of multinational companies in all sectors and privatization paved the way for many domestic firms to enter into the mass media industry thereby marking the beginning of a ‘mediascape’. Appadurai (1990) coined the term media scape to refer to the ‘globalization of media industries resulting in rapidly changing media environment’. The policy changes adopted by the Narasimha Rao Govt. brought about a satellite revolution in India that saw an explosion of TV channels broadcasting news, general entertainment and specialized programming like science, movies, sports, religion, history etc. Entry of private players in this previously nationalized sector changed not only the type of media content but also the time and patterns of viewership (Thomas, 2010).
It is significant to note that while the electronic media gained momentum after the liberal policies of the nineties, print media too showed quick growth in terms of number of publications and increase in total number of pages in a newspaper. According the Indian newspaper Survey (INS) India has approximately 8000 news dailies in English and other regional languages. It is important to note that magazines registered rapid growth in the last two decades. Demand for subject driven content and emphasis on specialization led to cornucopia of niche periodicals on fashion, beauty, entertainment, sports, food etc. Post 1991, the language newspapers and other publications too multiplied. In fact, the circulation of Hindi dailies is many times that of their English counterparts thus highlighting the penetration of media beyond the metropolitan or the big cities in India.
Summarily, the Entertainment and Media Industry estimated to become 2,272 billion rupee industry by 2018 as per the Price Water Cooper report 2014-18. Internet continues to grow at a rapid pace across the world; television in India amounts to the largest entertainment medium at present standing firm at 846 Billion INR in 2018. Print though lagging behind is still the second most spread out medium in India (pitched at 34% contribution to the advertising revenue in 2018). The growth of television can be attributed to increase in digital DTC connections across tier II and tier III cities.
This transformation in India Media at all levels led to some fundamental changes in the makeup and philosophy of media existence. The balance between journalistic philosophies and advertising agenda is being reset more and more in favour of the latter. This paradigm shift can be attributed to the advertising revenue driven model followed by the media industry. Media organizations generate close to 60% average revenues via advertising opportunities. Hence the mediascape today is an integrated mix of news, entertainment and advertising. This seamless integration brings to light the need for understanding media ethics in greater detail.
2. Fundamentals of Ethics: Theoretical Constructs
Much of media ethics is rooted in the traditions of ethical relativism wherein ethical decisions in media practice taking into account the prevailing societal norms in various regions. Philosophy of ethics leads us to framework of descriptive and normative ethical propositions.
Historically, formulations on ethics begins with the concept of “ Golden Mean”by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle about 2400 years ago. Golden Mean means applying moderation in decision making. In journalistic ethics, the codes of balance and fairness are derivatives of the golden mean. In the western thought, Ethical Doctrine finds proximity to the Judeo Christian principle of ‘ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you clearly prefixing the doctrine of ethics with virtues like empathy, and upholding the concepts of reality and truth in presenting information.
German PhilosopherImmanuel Kent propagated the universalization of moral principles. In his Categorical Imperatives, he outlines that an ethical principle must be the one which can be applied in any and all circumstances with moral certitude. Kent emphasized on a standardized approach to ethics represented by professional codes.
In the 1800’s John Stuart Mill gave the concept of ‘Utilitarian Ethics’. It means that the ethics should be rooted in the principle of utility i.e.‘right decisions are the ones that result in the happiness for the greatest number’. This principle of utility shared a democratic premise where the value of majority is at a premium. Journalists’ right to know and people’s right to information are the outcomes of Mill’s constructs.
In 1903,John Dewey expanded the discourse on ethics by arguing for ‘Pragmatic Ethics’. Pragmatism calls for an ethical system based on judging any decision made by the media by its results. He places greater emphasis on the consequence of the media practices than on conceptual consistencies.Later the American Society of Newspaper Editors adopted first media ethics code in 1923.
John Rawls proposed the maxim of ‘Egalitarian Ethics’ meaning that an ethical decision is taken only if all the people are given an equal hearing and the same fair consideration. It is blind to the social and cultural identity of the subject. A Veil of Ignorance is vital for egalitarianism (1971).
It led to Hutchins commission’s recommendation of social responsibility as a goal of all media activities in the United States in 1947. Robert Hutchins asked the media to prioritize social responsibility in its fight for media freedom.
Ralph Potter devised a Potter Box( Baran,2013) to give a critical construct in ethical theory. It is a four element approach to develop morally justifiable positions. Potter Box is essentially a process through which the key elemnts in ethical questions can be sorted out.
Figure 1: The Potter Box : AFour Quadrants Model of Ethics
3. Defining Media Ethics
Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos meaning customs, traditions, set of norms that guide a particular group or culture. Simply put, ethics is the branch of judgment as to the rightness or wrongness, desirability or undesirability, approval or disapproval of our actions. It is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. For media, ethics refer to upholding the sentinels of democracy while making a choice in disseminating information. Media ethics is complex, as it involves finding the most morally defensible answer to a situation where there is ‘no single right’ answer.
3.1 Media Ethics: nature and meaning
Media ethics means code of conduct prescribed by the press to guard and protect professionals and of course the profession entirely. Media practitioners had to establish their own code of conduct in order to safeguard themselves from committing any offence against the society and in situations where such offence is committed what are the defenses available to them under the law? Media ethics helps the media professionals to set standards of moral context, what is avertable and unacceptable in the performance of their duties of gathering, processing, and dissemination of a wide varieties of message designed for enlightenment and entertainments.
The changing media environment posits a wider conceptual framework of media ethics that includes that both rules and the conduct.
The New Oxford Dictionary defines Media Ethics as “Issues of moral principles and values as applied to the conduct, roles, and content of the mass media, in particular: journalistic ethics and advertising ethics.‘ In relation to news coverage it includes issues such as impartiality, objectivity, balance, bias, privacy, and the public interest. More generally, it also includes stereotyping, taste and decency, obscenity, freedom of speech, advertising practices such as product placement, and legal issues such as defamation. On an institutional level it includes debates over media ownership and control, commercialization, accountability, the relation of the media to the political system, issues arising from regulation (e.g. censorship) and deregulation’.
3.2 Ethical Battleground: Balancing the conflicting interests
The guidelines of most codes of media ethics primarily arise out of Clifford Christian’s summary of duties (Baran,2013):
Conflict of these duties create ethical dilemmas for media persons .Media Ethicist Louis Day (2006 quoted in Baran, 2013) identified six types of personal or group interests that create a conflict:
- The moral agents’ individual conscience: The person making the decisions in making competing moral choices i.e. the news editor has to convince himself/herself and live with those decisions.
- The Interest of the object of the act : The group or individual which is likely to be affected by media actions
- The interests of financial supporters: Interests of those who provide resources for the newspaper, radio or television channel to publish or broadcast.
- The interests of the institution: media professionals have to keep in mind the organisational vision and agenda for which they work
- The interests of the profession: media as a professional sets certain expectations for all of the mediapersons to meet as goals and motivations, both by serving the functions of mass media and by living up to expectations of their colleagues.
- The interests of the society: Media, as the fourth estate has a duty to serve the society in order to create more just social order. Social responsibility is guiding principle of all media professionals.
The abovementioned ‘interests’ often pose a serious challenge to ethics in media.
3.3 Role of Media Ethics in Democracy
Normative theories outline social responsibility, nation building and participation in the democracy as vital functions of media across the global spectrum. Cross-national assessment of impact of the mass media on the quality of democracy within the state states that there exists a direct relationship between media ethics and its performance in relation to democracy (Muller, 2014). While democratic media participant theory argues that proliferation of mass media leads to democratization processes, the ethical issues raise underline the role of media once democracy is established.
Media’s effects on democratic outcomes are greatly determined firstly by its strength to reach as many people as it can with politically relevant information. Its ability to gather and provide information about governance, policies and public interest to the masses makes it a public watchdog. Secondly, it must provide direct contact and neutral platforms to plural and diverse set of people (communities, sub groups etc.) to come together and discuss their similarities and differences in opinion in a representation of a broad-based society.
How it performs its dual role of a watchdog, platform and mirror of the society is dependent on the quality of media ethics in a democratic system. In order to diffuse politically relevant information to all, media structure and content needs to be non-partisan without any motives and agendas. Denis McQuail used ‘platform’and ‘mirror’ as a metaphor for mass media, pointing out its role in creating equal opportunities for all (quoted in LittleJohn,2002). Ethical presets provide guidelines to clearly define ‘politically relevant’,‘social inclusion in mass communication’ and ‘equity’.
The quality of media is reflected in the quality of democracy we live in ,says Muller (2014).It makes a strong case for the need to uphold media ethics as the sentinel of democracy because concepts of media freedom have been a dual edged sword in many nations. If media succumbs to the pressures of the market or political allegiance in information dissemination or lending voice to the people, there will be marked increase in apathy towards politics amongst the people. Media Ethics alone can reduce the growing cynicism and lack of participation.
Democracy is sustained by civic engagement and true representation. In principle, media use and functions aim to focus on these two dual propositions. Ethical practices will ensure that media retains its status as facilitator and catalyst for democracies over a period of time. It will increase higher levels of public participation in both the executive and as a supportive organ of legislation. Ethics are rooted in the concept of media accountability. Succinctly Put, Media Accountability is how much does it adhere to the code of ethics prescribed for it across democracies. Research in 47 countries on media performance and democracy has shown that in countries where media is ethically performing its several roles, the levels of corruption is less and engagement is more.
4. Salient Features of Media Ethics
Media ethics is a composite term that revolves around inventing more consistent responses to the changes and conflicts in mass communication. In contemporary milieu , it includes specialised components like : Journalistic Ethics, Ethics in Advertising and PR Ethics.
4.1 Journalistic Ethics
Largely all discussions begin with Journalistic ethics across the world. Even today, contemporary journalistic practices form the nucleus of any discussion on media ethics.
Journalistic ethics is normative interpretation of practice i.e. it is consistent and based on preset common minimum denominators like freedom of expression, independence of newsrooms and economic stability (Ward,2009).
Popularly known as the Fourth estate, The News Media (formerly called the Press) embodies freedom of press, enshrined in Article 19 (A) of the constitution of India. Post -independence, it served the function of information dissemination and education for nation building and to bridge the information gap between the elite and the common man. While the press was free, certain code of ethics were formulated to ensure responsible reportage by both the Government, independent non-governmentagencies and of late by the private media companies to create uniform charter.
4.1.1 Establishment of the Press Council of India
PCI was created in 1966 to preserve the freedom of press and improve the standards of news reporting and media coverage by the newspapers and news agencies. PCI is an Autonomous and statutory body with editors, political appointees and journalists as its constituent members . It formulated a Journalistic Code of Ethics to uphold moral and ethical norms in the practice of news creation and distribution by the individual journalist and the composite news organization.
4.1.2 Ethics and Questionable Practicesin News Media:
Truthfulness: It is honest presentation of all the information intended for the public. Pranjyoy Guha Thakurta (2009) in his book ‘Media Ethics ‘writes that “Truthfulness as a journalistic ethic can be divided into two parts:
a) Determining the veracity of the information that may be reported
b) The accuracy and honest with which sourced information is reported
He argues that three different theories of truth form the fundamental basis of concept of truthfulness in journalism.
1) The Correspondence Theory: truth exists in relation to the extent to which it corresponds with objective reality.
2) The Coherence Theory: Truth of something can be established by the degree to which it is consistent with individual/societal norms and values
3) The Consensus Theory: Truth is also viewed as something that most people agree upon.
Privacy : Everyone , including public figures have the right to maintain privacy . Privacy allows us to decide the extent to which we want to talk about ourselves in public space. It protects us against prying and spying . The journalists however, are often intrusive. Journalists pursue the private lives of famous personalities often crossing the line. News stories on sexual orientation of celebrities , marital problems of filmstars, politicians are common breaches of privacy in news. When is secret taping permissible? What are the rights of the family of the victim and the accused while covering a heinous crime? are issues where news media has often been seen as been callous and feral.
Confidentiality : It is the ability of the journalist to keep secret the names of the people who provide them information. Confidentiality is an important tool of news gathering. If the journalists do not commit to keep the names of information giver under cover, people will not be able to tip of the reporter fearing action from his/her superiors. But on the other hand , lot of irresponsible journalism is taking place ‘under the protection of sources’ by frequent use of quotes and attribution to ‘ inside sources, unnamed sources’ and ‘our sources in the govt.’ ‘Use of Anonymous sources’ may become a tool to frame anyone to achieve a certain agenda by the journalist.
Personal Ethics: Acceptance of free gifts, fringe benefits from groups or corporations that fall under your area of news coverage marks a direct conflict of interest. Any such cash or in kind benefit is unethical as it not only makes you pliant to the organization but also impinges heavily on journalistic freedom. Personal conflicts of interest may also arise, if the journalist participates in support of a cause or an issue and is reporting in media at the same time. Their personal affiliation with a movement or advocacy of cause conflicts with their obligation to show balance.
Embedded Journalism : It means that the media is siding with one side’s military in an armed conflict. United States of America, the department of defense used embedded journalism by placing the journalists on its side during the Iraq war in 2011. It involved the training the journalist , assigning them to different sections of the armed forces and enabling them to travel with the troops and report live from various battlefronts (Joseph, Ammu, Journalism in a time of war) Public support for attacks on another nation was gathered by strategic placement of the media so that the journalists present their side of the war and not necessarily a third party assessment.
Seema Mustafa in her column, Embedded Journalism – Indian Version outlines how reportage of the Kashmir conflict is a case in point of embedded journalism. She says ‘ those who follow the government lines in Delhi have the access to the corridors of power, …ministers make themselves available to selected journalists for an interview that is predetermined and given on the condition that they will ask only cleared questions’.
Tracing the Introduction of Embedded Journalism in India
Seema Chishti, 2012 in her article ‘India’s First Embedded Journalist’ set to fill a key gap in history writes that an Indian Radio Journalist, PRS Mani was embedded amongst Indian troops in the British army in World War II. He was appointed the information officer with the British Government, hence reported from the sites of war, yet kept a parallel diary about the actual stories of war crimes and stories of the soldiers.
Fake Sting Operations by use of entrapment: The rise of electronic media saw a rapid increase in sting operations ny TV news channels to “expose” various misdemeanors in public offices. Such sting operations have often violated the principles of journalism. One of the tools of stings by the media is Entrapment. Entrapment means “giving inducement to a person to commit an offence, which he is otherwise not likely and inclined to commit, so as to make the same part of the sting operation is deplorable and must be deprecated by all concerned including the media” and that this also infringes on the person’s right to privacy.
Example/Case
The Delhi High Court took suo-motu notice of a fake sting operation in which a reporter doctored voice and video recordings to project a totally fabricated allegation. The television channel, Live India, aired the programme on August 30, showing a Delhi schoolteacher “forcing” a student into sex work. In the violence out- side the school that followed, the teacher was assaulted by angry citizens. She was then dismissed from service. It later transpired that the reporter had cooked up this allegation at the behest of a businessman to whom the teacher owed money. The “student” was an aspiring journalist roped in by the reporter. The reporter had repeatedly phoned the teacher asking to be “supplied with girls”, a demand which the teacher had strongly objected to. ( Editorial ‘ Media Sting’, Economic and Political Weekly,Vol. 42, No. 52 (Dec. 29, 2007 – Jan. 4, 2008), p. 7
Trial by the Media : With 24*7 news broadcast, the extent of coverage given to a story has increased exponentially. While covering crime, the media has often become exhaustive in its quest to deliver news. Many a times, this has led to partisan and biased coverage of the accused or the victim in relation to an incident of crime or violence. The coverage tends to opine beyond the scope of its investigation, often deciding the case in the TV studios or newsprint . Often media is seen to be conducting parallel trials, criticizing the ongoing investigations by the police or court sowing doubts in the minds of the public about the credibility and competence of the official machienary. This phenomenon of passing judgment on an investigation by the media is referred to as ‘trial by the media’. 200th Law Commission Report ,2006 says that this prejudgment can have a detrimental effect on dispensement of justice as it may influence the witnesses or at times even the judges.
Example /Case
In the case of Kurshid Anwar, executive director of the Institute for Social Democracy (ISD), the rape charges levelled against him led him to commit suicide in December 2013. Senior Journalist Saeed Naqvi had said at the time that he felt that Anwar, a JNU scholar, was forced to take the extreme step due to the “mental trauma and public humiliation” caused by the “media trial”which targeted him without his version and process of law. Suicide ,Was Media Trial Responsible? www.dnaindia.com
Example/Case
The overenthusiastic media was back with its “ hurried and buried approach to criminal accusation by young journalist Vs former Tehelka editor-in-chief of Tarun Tejpal in sexual harassment case.Renowned journalist Naqvi had said, “None of us knew what what happened in the lift, but the media proved him (Tejpal) an accused even before the court has done so. For over three weeks the media was carrying Tejpal’s news 24×7.”
Example
In the Aarushi Talwar & Hemraaj Murder Case ,2008 the electronic media went berserk. The coverage was slanderous to the dead as well as full of loaded insinuations to the family. Aspersions were cast on the character of the victim and the parents in their parallel investigations even when the trial was underway. Media played a significant role in building public opinion against the parents in a case where no direct evidence was present .
Profit and social responsibility : News organizations are industries with a motive to make profit for its stakeholders. When maximization of profits is the underlying objective, public welfare, responsibility to all becomes an ethical oxymoron. Balancing profit and public interest becomes a challenge creating an ethical dilemma for the journalists and more importantly for the editors.
Offensive Content : What is offensive and what is not is subjective. Decisions about the offensive nature of content are determined by socio-cultural predispositions. For e.g. :images of blood spilling body parts, telecast of death penalty , revealing the names of witnesses, beeping cusswords are considered unethical keeping in mind the tastes and values of the larger audiences
Checkbook Journalism : It means the practice of paying the subject of the story for the information to be packaged as news. Money is paid to publish to the individual or organization to buy exclusive coverage /reportage of that story. Checkbook Journalism violates the very basic principles of news gathering. Peter Manning , wrote in The Guardian that checkbook journalism blurs te line between news and entertainment …. He adds “ who pays the piper calls the tune”.
Is this Checkbook Journalism? Editorial Decision Making is Critical
Vinod Mehta agreed to pay Zohra Sehgal for an interview in Outlook magazine. The Interview ‘ A nymph named Zohra’ was paid for but appeared in the magazine with an acknowledgement of the payment right at the start . Later Vinod Mehta , the editor in chief , Outlook explained that paying to get a story is an exception and not a rule. While in this case the artist needed the money in exchange for sharing her life and living; media must not pay the politicians , bureaucrats, diplomats , generals , businessmen, policymakers or other public office holders.
Source : Panneerselvan,A.(2015). A rare exception to checkbook journalism, March, 17, 2015, The Hindu, Chennai
Paid News: According to Press Council of India, Paid News is any news or analysis appearing in any media (Print & Electronic) for a price in cash or kind as consideration.
Anant Rangaswamy , The Indian Express defines various types of paid news as :
1. Paid news in print (a): Content presented in an editorial style with a small disclaimer which says ‘Advt.’, ‘Advertisement’, ‘promotional feature’, ‘marketing feature’ and so on.
2. Paid news in print (b): Content presented in an editorial style without any flagging or disclaimer.
3. Paid news in radio: Where the radio jockey ‘mentions’ brands, people, etc.
4. Paid news in TV (a): Where the content is presented in an editorial style with a disclaimer which says ‘Sponsored feature’ or ‘Sponsored programme’ and so on.
5. Paid news in TV (b): Where the content is presented in an editorial style without any disclaimer.
Zee Journalists: A Case of Paid News
In 2012, Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel and Power Limited ran a sting operation on television journalists ( Sudhir Chaudhary and The tapes showed that the two leading journalists were trying to extort money and negotiate a advertising budget for Zee News . They wanted Rs 100 crore in advertising for a period of three or four years. Two journalists were arrested.
(source : Rot in the Media, The Hoot,2015)
Paid News misleads the people and result in incorrect public opinion. During Elections, paid news can create a favorable perception about a party or a candidate based on the false news stories published in newspapers. Often political advertising is masqueraded as news. Paid news is used as a tool of propaganda for name calling or mudslinging on rivals. Thereby it affects the neutrality of the media, by not providing a level playing field to different parties, people and view- points.
Paid News during elections
In the State Assembly elections of Maharashtra, 2009, Ashok Chavan, the then Chief Minster declared his expenditure to be Rs 5,379 and Rs 6,000 on newspaper and cable TV advertising respectively . P. Sainath , former rural editor, The Hindu brought to light that over 100 pages of news, most of them full pages with his pictures prominently displayed, had been published during the time of the elections. “In advertising, these would have cost him crores of rupees,’’ Sainath said. Significant to note is that since same story eulogizing the achievements of Mr Chavan appeared in different newspapers under different names making it a fit case in point for paid news.
Fig 3 : The Election Commission of India in its report on Paid news, 2011 presented the quantitative breakdown of paid news cases found in different media houses
( Source : Election Commision’s Report on Paid News , P.G. Thakurata ,2011)
Unethical use of unrelated videos: Television news is about sound bytes , audio and video synchronization to tell a factual story . But there are serious violations in the way video content is presented to the viewers. Many a times the TV channels show unrelated videos to put out a sensational story either on the lives of celebrities or public figures. Of late, pasting video footage irrelevant to the news story has spread to hard stories including crime, politics, minority relations and rural reportage etc.
A case of ‘Cut and Paste’ creates false news
TV channels used old videos (the car smashing video) to push their theory of violence against a particular community by the locals’ w.r.t the land bill. The videos present on the internet were actually about protests against the inner lime summit and not about attack on Biharies by the people of Manipur.India Today, a leading channel carried a report on attack on Biharis by Manipuris after violence in Churachandpur. The story opens with an august 30 attack on a Bihari sugarcane vendor and then most of the footage used is of the car smashing video mentioned earlier. This video was not connected with any such incident. To further prove the channel’s point a reporter was shown interviewing a Bihari worker who are frightened by the attacks. The interview runs alongside the car bashing video. The channel did not use a single clip shot by their own reporters or cameraman at the site of the ‘incidents’ to corroborate their story.
Similarly ,the Hindi news channel, News24, broadcast a story (uploaded on September 2) which showed Hindi speakers being attacked in Manipur. It opens with the bashing of the sugarcane vendor (same video as India Today) and quickly morphs into a video of a woman being attacked. This one is of local people agitating on the inner line permit issue in Manipur on July 20, 2015. The woman whom the anchor says is being attacked without specifiying the community she belongs to, is actually an illiterate, mentally retarded old widow, a helpless non-manipuri, but an indigenous citizen of Manipur. (She is being mercilessly attacked in a public place, according to the description of the original video on the Internet.) Then quickly, the TV story starts showing the same footage of the Assam registration car being attacked. Here too the channel did not bother to get its own footage shot, for use. ( Source: www.thehoot.org).It all led to political leaders from Bihar making threatening statements against the Manipuri’s, which can inflame enmity between two communities.
4.1.3 Salient Features of PCI Code of Ethics(2010): Norms of Journalistic Conductin India (Neelamalar,2010).
1. Accuracy and Fairness: The press shall not publish inaccurate, distorted and half true information. The journalist must ensure that no conjecture is made based on hearsay or unsubstantiated facts in the reportage. It will ensure that while providing news all sides of the story will be put out to the public . A news story will present all the sides to the public, ensuring nonpartisanship in reporting.
2. Pre-Publication verification: The editor needs to verify the claims /statements made in the report filed by the staff. Quotes and attribution should be made to qualify the information provided in the news item. Credibility of the source providing the information is to be carefully looked at.
3. Caution against defamatory writings: Newspaper must follow the tenets of the law of defamation and not engage in any libel or slander against and individual or an organization through its news. Any such news that may be true and in public interest
4. Parameters of the right of the Press to comment on the acts and conduct of the public officials: Apart from judiciary , the press can write on the acts of the public servants , after due verification of the facts. The Judiciary however is protected by legislations like contempt of court and protection of their privileges by Article 105and 194 respectively.
5. Right to Privacy: Right to privacy is a deemed right under article 21 of the Indian constitution. It states “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by Law”. Hence, press must refrain from intruding into the personal lives of the public until and unless there is a larger objective of public good attached to it.
6. Caution against identification: The press will abstain from revealing the identity of the accused and the victim in while covering the crime beat. Proper care will be taken to keep the names, faces and other recognizable cues (like regional and social identity) of people in the story by the newspersons.
7. Recording Interviews and Phone conversations: The journalists will seek permission of the interviewee / participant to record any conversation as a discussant /interviewer. Phone conversations will also not be recorded without the permission of the concerned person. If the interviewee feels the need to expunge certain words during the conversation, his/her wishes should be respected by the journalist.
8. Conjecture , Comment and fact : The distinction between conjecture( inferences drawn from observation of events ) , comments ( views of the editor/ newspaper) and facts ( information rooted in evidence ) must be made while publishing a story .
9. Newspapers to avoid suggestive guilt: In matters of crime reportage, the press should not use filial associations to suggest linkage with crime.
10. Corrections: It is the duty of the newspaper to publish an apology in case of misinformation and a corrigendum in case there is incorrect information set out as news. Retraction of false news must be done on a prominent space and correct information clearly stated in the corrigendum
11. Right to reply: The aggrieved person must be able to reply, counter, contradict or explain his conduct/view w.r.t your published item. Promptly publish the explanation /open letter / or a note of the person in news. Space and swift chance needs to provide to the concerned person to put out his side of the story. The editor, shall not refuse the right to reply merely professing his opinion to be true. In case the editor feels the reply given is inadequate or untrue , an editorial comment can be added underneath
12. Letter to the Editor: A well balanced approach is required in selecting the final publication of the letters to the editor . Even though, the editor enjoys the discretion to selection of the letters based of diversity of opinion on a given issue needs to be practiced.
13. Obscenity and Vulgarity to be eschewed: Newspaper must adhere to the definition of obscenity and not publish anything crass, or objectionable about a gender or a segment of population. Depiction of women as a commodity with the objective of enticing the others is distasteful and should be shunned.
14. Glorification of social evils to eschewed : The press needs to ensure that besides crime, social evils like dowry, domestic violence , female feoticide, untouchability , discrimination and caste based inequality etc. must be discouraged by media negating such practices and not encapsulating them in the socio-historical narrative.
15. Glorification of crimes/criminals: The newspersons must not present a story that may create a favourable image of the perpetuators of crimes like rape, murder, terrorist activities in the minds of the public. Careful account of facts without any glorification must be cannon of such reportage. For eg : When Verrapan Died , India Today cover Story headline said : The Bandit King which syntactically conjures up images of power, bravery and authority leading to glorification of a dacoit in the minds of the people .
16. Covering Communal disputes and clashes : While covering outbreak of communal clashes , utmost care must be taken to trim down the emotion and keep the account completely factual and tone of the write-up neutral. Reports, opinion articles and editorials must reflect the commitment of the “fourth estate” to maintaining communal harmony and peace in the country. Use of Hyperbole, blind or provocative headlines may cause further attrition in the tense situation. Community wise specific details like causalities, loss of property etc. need to avoided .Direct Quotes or credible sources need to be quoted to carry a story on communal violence.The headline, ideally summarizes the story in such cases.
17. Caste, religion and community references: The constitution of India and other jurisprudence must be respected in designating a specific social or economic segment of society . Largely, caste identification in news should be avoided. Serious attention must be paid to shun the use of derogatory words attributing to a particularcaste or community. In line with secular credentials of the nation , the press must not link religion or caste with criminality by association. The religious practices need not be compared and scrutinize by the press which may hurt the sentiments of a group of people. On the other hand , the journalists must refrain from using the name of religious leaders to gain mileage or commercial benefits.
18. Reporting on natural calamities : objectivity and comprehensiveness are the key to reporting natural disasters. Cross verification of facts , sans sensationalism and haste , the news sent should be informative and bereft of exaggeration.
19. Paramount National Interest : Media has the responsibility towards nation building and strengthening the democratic state. To do so, the press must adhere to the restrictions on freedom of speech and expression Article 19 (2). Reasonable restrictions have been placed on freedom of all, including the press to safeguard the security of the nation , to uphold the interests of the nation above anything else.
20. Foreign Relations: Press is a principle marker of diplomatic relations between two or more countries. While newspersons must ensure that journalistic writings should not jeopardize the relations between two nations, it is also duty of the press to bring to light the anomalies in code of conduct especially the misuse of diplomatic immunity. For eg : news coverage of rape of two Nepalese girls by Saudi Ambassadors drew attention towards the unreasonable powers enjoyed by the diplomats because of immunity.
21. Investigative Journalism, Its norms and parameters : Investigations need to unhurried, not in disguise and based on a process of leads , documents and evidence.
4.2 Ethics in Advertising and Marketing Communications
Advertising is the most visible marker of the changing Indian mediascape. Post Millennium, the share of advertising revenues has increased by 14.2% from 2013 to2014 ( FICCI, KPMG Report,2015).With its expanding ambit, it becomes vital to underline the questionable practices in advertising that violate the social, economic and the moral code.In serving its commercial communication objectives, many a times advertising crosses the line .
4.2.1 Use of deception in advertisements: A number of deceptive practices are prevailing in Indian advertising (Arens,2008).
a) Small print qualifications: The advertisement gives a headline promoting an offer, discount, promotional luring the audience to come and buy, but complete information, or *conditions apply is mentioned in fine print , usually not readable clearly . For e.g: if the headline says: Buy One get One Free *, underneath at the left corner, text in fine print is written :* offer available on limited items only.
b) Visual Distortions: The photographs used are manipulated through software like Photoshop clearly presenting a different visual identity to the product than in real. Visual distortions are also common in health and fitness category , where “ before and after ads skew the body images of the character in the ad to communicate the potency of the product.
c) Bait and Switch Offers : Advertisers introduce a tempting price for some specific items , fully aware that the stock is limited , only to create consumer footfall in the retail store thereby creating opportunities to cross sell other products than the advertised special price goods.
d) Palming off : Misrepresentation of inferior goods by creating a striking similarity in product packaging to induce sales. For eg : Diamond potato chips uses same colour palate for their product packs as the market leader Frito lays.
e) False Testimonials : Use of celebrities or other famous spokespersons implying that the celebrity is a user of the product being endorsed, when infact they don’t.
f) False and misleading comparisons: To create an advantage for your barnd , when the advertisement claims the its product degenerates , ridicules or puts down another rival brand by citing selective data, or unqualified opinion is unethical. For eg : The spoof war between The Times of India and The Hindu that pot shots at each other , where the ads explicitly named each other in making fun and hitting below the belt.
g) False Promises: Making propositions i.e. promises that are unlikely to be fulfilled.
For e.g.: Fairness Creams make claims of skin whitening in 7 -14 days , which has failed to hold good on most occasions. Making an advertising promise of ‘restores youth’ is a false promise that cannot be kept.
h) Partial disclosure: Withholding certain information while stating certain facts about the product in the ad. Incomplete descriptions that mention the contents or components of a product selectively without giving complete information too fall in this category.
4.2.2 Advertising to Children: Advertisers target the children in their preteens to create a consumer fetish in the market.
i) By using child actors as ad persona, various comic characters and cartoon strips , an attempt is made to make the young children as decision makers in the product-consumer chain. For eg : Use of “ Hulk” , a popular cartoon character in the Lifebouy Handwash TV commercial.
ii) Use of Child Actors is advertising raises the moral and legal questions on permissibility of child labour in the country
iii) Use of Sexual connotations in ads: Children are exposed to adult stories , humour and double meaning ads , creating a titillating environment at such an impressionable age. For eg : A child staring a visual of a semi clad woman , with a pizza slice at one side of the still shot , the tagline reads : Hungry Kya ?
iv) Violence, thrill and adrenalin: Some commercials use scary stunts to promote their concept , that may lead young consumers to imitate the dangerous acts shown in the ads. For eg : A child emulated the bungee jumping act after seeing the Thumbs up ‘ taste the thunder’ commercial.
4.2.3 Circumventing the bans on harmful products: Surrogate advertising is done to sidestep the ban on advertising of harmful products like tobacco and liquor as per the law. Surrogate advertising means promoting a known liquor or ciggerete brand in the gard of a supplementary product under the same label in a covert manner For e.g : promoting Bagpiper , ( A liquor brand ) by telecasting TV ads of Bagpiper Soda, or Royal Stag advertising for CD’s to circumvent the ban on its alcohol beverages.
4.2.4 Puffery : It is promoting your product by using superlative degree, exaggerated commendation, hype or using subjective opinions without giving any supportive facts . For eg : the tagline of BPL electronics read: ‘ believe in the BEST
4.2.5 Subliminal Advertising: Intentional use of suggestive or sexual messages in ads (sometimes in a hidden manner) to arouse a hedonistic response in the consumers. It is done seductive visuals, by embedding sexually explicit words and gestures in an ad. For eg : The Axe Deodrant Commercial
4.2.6 Use of Stereotypes in advertising: Advertising often uses social cliché and stereotypical representations of caste, ethnic groups, economic and social classes along with gender. It reinforces the existing status quo with regard to sex roles, minorities, disabled and elderly in the mass audiences. For eg: Most washing powder or detergent ads ( Ghadhi detergent and Nirma washing powder shows laundry as a woman’s job).
5 Factors contributing to rise in unethical practices in media
In addition to spreading the news base in terms of shared production of news stories (citizen journalism) Ward (2009) pointed out at a more radical offshoot of media ethics i.e. Dialogical Journalism i.e. when journalism propels various communities cutting across caste , colour, creed and calling debate and discuss despite differences in ideologies and beliefs. In modern societies, journalistic ethics looks to extend itself beyond the code of ethics to facilitate mitigation of conflicts,
Predominant challenges to ethical media practices come from the three institutions/ entities namely media owners, powerful politicians and the state. Media ownership patterns and the political economy of media institutions in India modeled solely upon prioritization of commercial interest over canons of media freedom and ethical codes. The powerful politician lobbies to plant or spike the stories to serve their interest in total disregard for responsibility and freedom of press. Above is the challenge posed by the state, where the powerful state manipulates the media by coercion, cooption and control of either individual media persons or communication channels of disseminations.
5.1 Impact of Globalization on Journalism in India
What started as integration of economies has affected the socio-cultural ethos of the global south, especially India post 1992. This swift march towards a global village has had defining shifts on the motive, mode and modus of journalism in the country. Major transformations have taken place in the structure of news due to privatization and deregulation. Flow of investments and technology has opened up the media business both geographically and in terms of the composition of the newsrooms. Shakuntala Rao (2008) contends that media globalization has affected the level of professional ideologies, ethical frameworks and practices of media workers.
5.2 TV news media liberalization in India
The Indian media saw the dismantling of state’s monopoly on broadcast news leading to a television arena made up of many, privately owned news media organizations competing with each other. This liberalized media created avenues for interaction between the political and the economic elite and institutions. Roy (2011) states that television studios have become the sites where these two engage in a dialogue to carve out an interdependent power center.
5.3 Cultural Homogenization
- Global Media Industry has contributed significantly to creation of a homogenized cultural order. Diversity in culture has been subsumed in an all pervasive global culture of consumerism leaving not much scope for unique and differential value system and beliefs long identified with regions, communities in a plural India.
- The evolution of global media has also diluted the local identity of the east. Global integration of economies and technological diffusion has led to a uniform ways of knowing and being. Native voices, ways to dress and address have all been supplanted by western notions of human self and symbolism.
- A unipolar ideology is an outcome of global media industry. It has led to global capitalism in journalism characterized by concentration of media ownerships, transnational media alliances and hegemonic practices.
5.4 Market Driven Journalism
Globalization has resulted in widespread market driven journalism where maximization of profit is the desired output. To do so, news content is made subservient to the commercial interest of the media house; critical questions on impact of global capitalism on news are not raised. The neo imperialist powers are given mass coverage to propagate a view or an interest. The nature and scope of news is greatly altered to suit the motives of the global mass media enterprise with their ideological roots in powerful western block. Since market is the determining force behind newsroom operations, coverage is often skewed, lopsided.
5.5 Politico-Media Nexus
Firstly, lot of political parties own media houses or have made large investments.For instance, DMK ( a principle political party in Tamil Nadu) has invested substantially in the SUN Network illustrating the relationship between media and politics. In return, DMK expanded its might with the largest media network in South India. Ramoji Rao, the owner of Eenadu group (Newspapers, TV channels , Film production is seen to be a supporter of The Telegu Desam Party in Seemandra. In Kerala, the CPI (M) and owns television channels Kairili TV, We TV and People Media and the Congress party owns Jai Hind. Secondly , mainstream media houses support a particular party in lieu of political favours related to channel distribution, allocation of DTH platforms and political advertising budgets. The media does not simply report favorably the actions and opinions of a particular political party but also actively contributes in manufacturing consent around it. Leading newspapers and television channels condone the acts of partisanship and even violence committed by political organizations patronizing them.
5.6 Emergence of Media Monopolies
There is a trend of media monopolies formed due to vertical and horizontal media integrations and the consolidation of market share of any medium in a given geographical area. Cross Media ownership is ownership media across print and electronic media, whereas vertical integration means integration within particular media segments . Cross media ownership is detrimental to free press as it curbs editorial diversity and plurality. It will lead to similarity in content and distribution unmindful of unique needs of various segments of audiences in the country.
Examples of media monopolies in India:
a) Bennett Coleman and Company Limited: Till 2009, it was the largest media company in India.Cross media ownership of newspapers, magazines, television channels, radio stations and web portals is evident. It owns leading newspaper combo The Times of India & Navbharat Times, TV news channel Times Now, leading film magazine , The filmfare ; its news website is www.indiatimes.com.
b) Network 18 : It has become 4th largest media group along with HT media
c) Adlabs of the Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group (ADAG) is a case in point of vertical integration with its involvement in production, post production, distribution and exhibition in the film industry, investments in digital cinema and horizontal integration including FM radio stations in 45 circles, stakes in Direct to Home –Big TV , IPTV operations and telecommunications . It also owns ZAPAK, online game portal and social networking site called Biggadda.com. In plans to launch 20 TV channels as well.
5.7 State Interference
Freedom of media is often curbed by various controlling mechanisms of the state. State serves its own interest by applying restrictions on media coverage from time to time. Various books, articles, films are banned contravening the notion of free press in a democracy. State, in the name of national security may stop the publication or broadcast of a vital story , that needs to be told to the people of the country. For e.g : release of a documentary ‘ India’s Daughter’ was banned citing defamation of India by the state.
5.8 Weak self-regulatory mechanism
Even though, self-regulatory bodies exist in India media, but they have not been able to curb the rise in unethical practices with much success. Often media professionals are not willing to identify and take a firm stand against the one that indulge in unethical practices. Secondly, it is merely capable of making recommendations without much punitive powers to evoke a sense of fear and control on the violations by the newspersons and the advertisers alike. Self-regulation is the backbone of responsible media practices in any democracy. Issue of media freedom is ably supported by setting up of self-regulatory bodies both in news and non-news media. Professional media associations consisting of members of the media work towards a universal code of ethics to prevent any unscrupulous practices. Their principle objective to is to set the errant media right by making interventions in form of advisories and notices to the ethical violations. E.g. of Self-regulatory bodies in Indian Media are: National Broadcast Council (NBC), Advertising Standard council of India (ASCI).
5.9 Lack of proper Media Training
Media as a profession grew in an asymmetrical manner. It still does not a systematic process of eligibility and educational criteria as the entry level. Aspirants from various disciplines join the professional, not necessarily understanding the fundamentals of media practice. As opposed to other professionals, media recruitment rules are vague, ambiguous and generic leading to widening gap between ‘ what should be’ and ‘what is’. Therefore, many media persons are not aware of the code of conduct or legal and self-regulatory frameworks. Additionally, they have not been trained to value and practice ethics above everything else.
6 Ethical Violations: Implications on society, politics and culture
Transgressions by the media have multiplied in recent times. Serious ethical lapses have been noticed in the past few decades. What is worrying is the lack of acknowledgement on the part of media organizations and willingness to tackle the media malaise. ‘Today Journalists are feared for the harm they can do, but not respected for the role they play in society’ (Atoybi,)
6.1 Ethical Violations and society
Gross violations by mass media have the power to destabilize societies over a period of time. It is the mobiliser of public opinion, has the potential to act as change agent and can mobilize the masses at critical junctures to bring about paradigm shifts in social evolution of the mankind. Abiding by the agenda of the media owner, it has violated the normative practice of social responsibility, showing disregard for responsible journalism especially when covering ethnic and social fabric of the nation. A nation is as strong as its communities, and media must strive to serve and improve the communities in which we live. Is media doing enough to shield the communities against intolerance, hate speech, conflict and violence is a raging debate in the country. Evidence suggests that media has greatly compromised the core of the commune by becoming a platform for polarization
Media Coverage of Farmer Suicide
Sight of several cameras and mobile phones raised up in the air to get the best possible image of farmer Gajendra Singh (who committed suicide in an AAP rally in Delhi)being brought down from the tree.
All the television channels quickly flashed breaking news: Who killed Gajendra ? and the flurry of panel discussions began . That image of a dead Gajendra kept being repeated not so much for the shock factor but more as a reference point for prime and non-prime time news shows. It became almost a necessity over the next 24 hours. Jaishree describes how classic “treatment” methods adopted by the media: One channel offered to play the incident out for you step by step, another ran a looped version of the suicide, a third had generous close-ups splashed exclusively for the viewer’s benefit, while a few considerate ones kept playing this in the background while righteous discussions took place about whose fault it was. Reportage was centered around replay of that image, old clips of farmer suicides and sound bites of various politicians involved in the slugfest.Jaishree raised pertinent questions on blatant ethical violations by the media in this incident Could the media present have climbed the tree or taken any other measure to stop this incident from happening? What do you do during an incident of extreme violence or insensitivity?Apart from being present and watching, the media went a step further and recorded the suicide. Is this ethical? Is it ethical to air it or publish it? Is this suitable for family viewing?
Source :The media coverage of Gajendra Singh’s suicide raises issues of ethics and sensitivity, by B.Jayashree,www.hoot.org
6.2 Ethical Violations and Culture
Indian culture subsumes in itself several subcultures composed of values, beliefs and traditions that transcend time and generations. Media shares the responsibility of educating the modern civilization about the unique aspects of Indian culture. Clearly, partial or lack ok knowledge of the media practionners create miscommunication that may dilute cultural harmony and integration. Selective attention and perception of the media provides ample evidence of ethical violations vis-a-vis culture . Additionally, in the global era, media needed to focus on demystifying the Indian Culture to the world. Hegel described India as a country that has existed for millennia in the imaginations of the Europeans. Insufficient knowledge needs to countered by providing systematic understanding of our social structures, ways of life and value system. Here, the fourth pillar can play a primary role
The ‘Nirbhaya ‘rape incident on December 16th, 2012 was widely reported in Indian Media , both print and television alike. But the coverage on television news was skewed and narrow.24*7 coverage bombarded the viewers with crime scene clips and reconstruction of the crime shredding the right to privacy of the aggressor and the victim. Media fueled protest marches by hyperbole and hysteria.Shakuntala Rao critiques media’s portrayal and coverage of rape as narrowly focusing on sexual violence against middle class and upper caste women devoid of in-depth discussion on violence against poor, or marginalized women belonging to the rural areas. The frames used signify a pro –affluent bias and lack of inclusiveness.
Culture : Studying Journalism Ethics in India’s New television News Media, 2014 )
6.3 Media Ethics and Politics
Early media theories stated that subservience of media to the political system of those times. Media merely serves to make the ruling party more powerful and in the process strikes down the voice of the others. Even after several codes of media ethics have come into place across the world, this politico-media nexus continues to thrive. Media out of force, favour or fear has served the political class oblivious to its prescribed functions. In India, while the public broadcaster (eg: Doordarshan ) serves the government squarely , the private channels too have backchannel deals with political parties , thus formulating their news agenda with total disregard to editorial freedom and coverage .
For eg: Shobna Bhartia , the Editor in Chief of The Hindustan Times has been a congress MP in Rajya Sabha .There are no public disclosures regarding their linkages with political establishment ( eg: Fastway TV Channel is owned by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal , without any public intimation in this regard). Individual journalists make their political leanings obvious when the election campaign is underway. Several cases of political activism by active journalists raise the red flag.
7. New Media and Ethics
Most of the mass media law and ethical codes provide a framework for the mainstream media, internet is new and hence is a challenge for the regulatory bodies and the practicing media person due to its largely unrestricted access in India. Social media has become the center of debates on media regulations and accountability of late. Arjun Rajkhowa in the article , The Specter of Censorship: Media Regulation , political anxiety and public contestations in India narrates how there was outrage and strong protest both from the online media and the mainstream media with regard to the attempts made by the government to regulate social media. Even though , politicians , filmstars and other celebrities have reported internet abuse and bullying, they expressed their views in favour of internet freedom. Some regulations like the Indian Penal Code sec109, 120-B,153-A, 153-B,292,293,295-A,298 and 500 deal with online obscenity and IT ( Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 deal with objectionable content on social networking sites. However, there is a need for larger debate and discussion to form a code of ethics for new media, keeping in mind its genesis and differential identity in communication .
7. Conclusion
It can be said that while the overarching universe of media ethics can remain same across professional codes to promote truth, fairness and freedom from bias , every nation must revisit the global ethical norms to address the problems of inequality, human dignity, no harm to the innocent and empowerment of those on the margins to form an applicable code of ethics for the media in its milieu.
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