Paid News

The Press Council of India (PCI) defines paid news as any news or analysis appearing in print or electronic media for consideration in cash or kind. 

Manifestations of paid news are:

• Advertisements camouflaged as news.
• Denial of coverage to select electoral candidates.
• Exchanging of advertisement space for equity stakes between media houses and corporate.

Reasons for rise in paid news:

• Corporatisation of media
• Owners having themselves the editorial roles.
• Decline in autonomy of editors/journalists due to emergence of contract system and poor wage levels of journalists
• Lack of restriction on ownership across media segments or between content and distribution could give rise to monopolistic practices.

Challenges posed:

• Paid news – not recognized as an offence by Representation of Peoples Act.
• In many cases, money spent on paid news is not represented in elections expenditure and is a punishable offence.
• There has been a lot of discussion on paid news including a parliamentary standing committee report on the subject, yet there is no consensus on how to deal with the problem.
• Existing regulatory set-up dealing with paid news is inadequate.
• Universally profit-maximizing entities will act to increase returns rather than look at social externalities.

Way forward:

• It is a reminder for the amendment of RPA Act, 1951.
• A legal framework in which electoral issues are expeditiously adjudicated must also be put in place if election law is to be enforced in both letter and spirit.
• Define what constitutes paid political news, so that Press Council of India can adopt appropriate guidelines.
• Periodic review of the editor/journalist autonomy and wage conditions.
• Financial accounts of the media houses should be subject to examination.
• Regulator(s) should have the power to take strong action against offenders and should not include media owners/interested parties as members.
• Transparent and unbiased policy for distribution of advertisements by the central and state governments, with provisions for scrutiny.
• Conduct study to evaluate the mechanism adopted by other countries to tackle the problem of paid news.
• Naming and shaming of media houses involved in paid new.

Conclusion:

The media acts as a repository of public trust for conveying correct and true information to the people. There is an urgent need to protect the right of the public to accurate information before voters exercise their franchise when such incidents are on rise. Hence, a legal framework in which electoral issues are expeditiously adjudicated must be put in place if election laws are to be enforced in both letter and spirit.