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Raj wasn\u2019t the only person to notice the misinformation spreading. Wig also noted the impact misinformation has on the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we have seen it in the way that media reports, things that are happening be it in India or across the world, I think following some sort of narratives and just showing one sort of narrative to the public,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a democracy, it is the responsibility of the media to keep the residents of the country informed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPress the media are the public\u2019s eyes and ears. Investigative journalism is essential to a healthy democratic society\u2026free media is essential to a democratic society,\u201d Turk said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freedom of media and press is an important pillar of democracy, especially towards one of the world\u2019s largest and most diverse democracies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMedia is supposed to be one of the four pillars of democracy, which means you\u2019re supposed to stand in isolation. You\u2019re supposed to be the one who puts out the other side, but today and I\u2019m talking in an Indian specific context, we do see media houses which are funded by a lot of institutions that spread propaganda,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India is the second most populated country in the world with a population of 1.3 billion people, who come from all sections of the society, so a difference in opinion over policies is bound to happen. Making sure that these differences are handled in a democratic way without any bias is the responsibility of the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs of recent occurrence, India stands really low in the International Press Freedom Index, 148th, which just really goes to show,\u201d Ayaan Paul, an Indian student journalist, said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the situation in India is not as such. \u201cWe have seen channels on televisions and especially some news anchors who really promote hate and violence,\u201d Wig said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A country that used to boast about freedom of the press has now become a way to promote propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday the Indian media is in its worst phase. This is the greatest downfall since the independence of the Indian media,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
National television has now become a place for heated arguments over nationalism instead of political debates over policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is more of a drama than television. More of a drama than journalism. There is no journalism left,\u201d Raj said. For him, the standard of television media has dropped \u201cmajorly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Daniel Bastard channels like Republic TV have become propaganda machines for the government and promoting their ideologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having worked in the field for 30 years, Raj feels that the job of the broadcasters is not to raise their own point of view but rather to present the facts. \u201cYou\u2019re not writing an editorial on every news bulletin, you have to state the facts,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common phrase in India is, journalism is a dying profession, and given the situation, it is the harsh reality. \u201cIt makes me feel uncertain, to say the least\u2026,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the contributing factors, why I decided I don\u2019t want to pursue journalism was the fact that I didn\u2019t see myself as someone who would be able to survive in a field that is not only competitive but where there is also so much clamping from the top,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a segment on Republic TV, a national news broadcasting channel in the country, the anchor can be clearly seen as unprofessional and biased as they start to bash Waris Pathan, a member of the legislative assembly for the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, and call them anti-national for not standing during a national anthem in a theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery sad, very hopeless,\u201d Raj said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While talking about the conditions of television media in the country, he felt that anchors, panelists and the journalists have all become too predictable. \u201cIs this what journalism is about? They don\u2019t have the guts to be honest, to ask questions,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey specifically stage their TV shows, and I am calling it a TV show because it no longer feels like a news hour debate,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is sensationalism is what it is. At that point it ceases to be journalism, it ceases to be news and it is more of an entertainment value,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The term anti-national is a complex word that should be used cautiously, however not only is it used too frequently but on anyone who raises concerns. \u201cI believe that the term you are talking about, anti-national, it needs to be redefined, the way it is being used rather misused,\u201d Raj said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul also felt that the word has completely lost its meaning and has lost its essence in the past three to four years. \u201cThe term anti-national is less anti-national and more of an anti-government,\u201d Paul said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone who does not believe in the ideologies of the ruling government is labelled as anti-national by certain media outlets. Bastard feels that the use of the word is anti-national and should be said in a very subtle way. \u201cit\u2019s very dangerous. Like when the government starts to say that some of these countries\u2019 citizens, our enemy, enemies of the state, anti-national,\u201d Bastard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, Republic TV on an entire segment called students from Delhi\u2019s Jawaharlal Nehru University as anti-nationals for demanding freedom for Kashmir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat does an anti-national even mean\u2026The things that all sort of certify for an anti-national have very varying intensities, we really don\u2019t have a definition for who an anti-national is, not only how regularly it is used but also in what context it is used\u2026Everybody is so obsessed with this term that it has completely lost its meaning,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past decade, journalism in India has seen a downfall. It has gone from objective and unbiased reporting to theatrics and drama. Media houses are more focused on who\u2019s getting the news out there the fastest without doing proper due diligence. \u201cJournalists are supposed to tell facts,\u201d said Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat really happens when people are looking at the news for entertainment, is that these deep-seated notions get stuck in their minds,\u201d Wig said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would describe it as because I think Indian journalism right now is too full of itself and I think it needs some revolutionary change,\u201d said Paul said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aspiring journalists have had to give up on their dream to become journalists, thinking if they are brave enough to deal with these threats daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI must say that I don\u2019t have the courage that they do to be constantly hackled by people around them to receive hate, receive death threats. More than anything, I just think it\u2019s becoming more and more difficult for women journalists to go out there to do anything,\u201d Wig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turk feels that one of the factors that play a part in the spreading of propaganda done by the media is the presence of an oppressive government. \u201cThe government and in some countries, governments actually have sensors that look through what\u2019s being done. Governments can also restrict the media\u2019s access to information so that they have trouble getting stories. Restrict them from certain zones of conflict, which makes it very hard for the journalists to let the public know what is happening in various difficult situations,\u201d Turk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Raj, 80 to 90 per cent of the media houses in the country are sold-out. \u201cNow when I use such a harsh term like sold out, means there is a nexus and what is that nexus, you have to be for the X government, if you are not then you don\u2019t get advertisements from the government, there are a lot of restrictions, there are raids in your houses be it a business house or your personal house,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the media of a country is compromised, the freedom of expression is threatened. \u201cMany countries there\u2019s a constitutional protection for freedom of expression and freedom of expression is an essential foundation in order to have freedom of the press, the media,\u201d Turk said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the freedom of media of a country is taken away, the freedom of expression of residents also starts to go. \u201cThe attack on the media is the starting point of an attack on the freedom of expression generally,\u201d Turk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turk feels that freedom of expression includes not only the ability to express their own opinions but also includes the ability of people to hear others\u2019 views. \u201cThose are both essential elements of freedom of expression,\u201d Turk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though a lot of media houses continue to spread misinformation, there are media houses still making sure that the standard of journalism is met. \u201cThere are a handful of media houses in the country that have still remained independent for the most and are still critical of the government when they need to be\u2026Powers left unchecked, then there would be no critique no response,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is still hope for Indian media. Raj feels that the decreasing generational gap will also play a factor. For him, the Indian media right now is in its transitional phase. \u201cIndian media has lost its old values and has not yet found its new ones so it is in the middle and in a very indecisive stage,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut this process, this churning will end and I have hopes that the people, the new budding journalists, news anchors, new writers will come out and realize that enough is enough,\u201d Raj said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Freedom of media and press is an important pillar of democracy, especially towards one of the world\u2019s largest and most diverse democracies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[353,1],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--170x120.jpg",160,113,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--768x512.jpg",696,464,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--1024x683.jpg",696,464,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--150x100.jpg",150,100,true],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--324x400.jpg",324,400,true],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--485x360.jpg",485,360,true],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--696x464.jpg",696,464,true],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--1068x712.jpg",1068,712,true],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Newspapers--1920x1280.jpg",1920,1280,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"convergencemag","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/author\/convergencemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Freedom of media and press is an important pillar of democracy, especially towards one of the world\u2019s largest and most diverse democracies.\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3842"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4123,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions\/4123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/joshua-olsen-zR3wTk9End8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\")