Journalism of Courage
The death of Congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi shortly after he finished a discussion on a news channel has triggered a debate about the nature of such debates.
A Congress spokesperson sent a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar demanding a code of conduct to “restore civility” and “tame” the “slanderous beast” that television debates have become. Responding to Jaiveer Shergill’s demand that the ministry issue an advisory to curb “slanderous, sensationalist and toxic TV debates”, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted that the “matter requires serious consideration, with due regard to freedom of expression and Article 19 provisions, as well as existing conduct guidelines”.
“Since the subject is currently under discussion in the Parliamentary Committee, I will seek a report from the Ministry,” said Tharoor, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology.
In his letter, Shergill said the death of Tyagi “serves as a crude reminder of the toll media debates take on the bodily and mental well being of an individual representing his/her organisation’s point of view amidst the cacophony which is ironically called news”.
He said the “sheer nature of most (if not all) debates coerce spokespersons to surrender to a slanderous, over exaggerated, defamatory and vicious high-volume atmosphere created solely for the purpose of entertainment and to feed the monster of sensationalism”.
He asked the ministry to issue an advisory to ensure that a “news anchor, journalist, presenter should not make any derogatory, derisive or judgemental statements as part of the reporting or commentating” and ask the news channel “not to report, live or recorded, any statement that is per se derogatory or derisive”.
He said that “in the choice of panels for discussions, the channels must ensure that their programmes do not become a platform for spreading acrimony”.
RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha said it was a valid concern and “if it is not addressed by the concerned authorities, political parties must decide to stay away from the ‘shows’ ironically called ‘Debate’…”.
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed similar views.
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