Paid news dangerous for democracy: Press Council

"An investigation conducted by the PCI found that many of the big newspaper houses had indulged in paid news which is dangerous for democracy," PCI Chairman Justice G N Ray said at a seminar here organised by the Tripura Journalists Union.

He deplored media's involvement in the paid news scandal and said a sub-committee of the Council had carried out intensive investigations into the allegations and came out with a detailed report.

Ray said the media enjoyed legal rights and privileges because it contributes to the society.
"Media cannot be viewed from the perspective of mere capital or ownership," he said while hinting at journalists to take an initiative in launching newspapers and electronic channels on a co-operative model to save the profession.

"In order to insulate the profession of journalism from pollution of big and ill-begotten money, working journalists must come out into the open, otherwise the profession itself will be destroyed. Apart from this, the system of monopoly rights over media should be abolished," said Justice Ray.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, however, said, despite all these concerns, many scams including the latest 2G scam were exposed by the media.

"At the same time we cannot lose sight of the harsh reality of the media owners operating jointly with corporate sector particular political parties for funds," he said.