Discharge social responsibilities to safeguard democracy: Justice

Mass media should refrain from invading the ‘privacy’ of citizens, said Justice S Rajendra Babu, former Chief Justice of India, here, on Monday.

Speaking at the inaugural function of a two-day workshop on ‘Media and Social Development: A case study of Karnataka’, for representatives of the media, he said, most journalists fail to understand judicial issues and misquote the orders and statements of judges. “A reporter should enhance his knowledge of the judiciary, before he starts reporting on matters of the court,” he said.

Currently, media is violating the ethical norms of journalism with most of the journalists lurking into the private lives of the citizens. A reporter must maintain decency and integrity throughout his or her profession, he said.

He criticised the recent trends in reporting, aimed at luring advertisers, and said, the value of news should be decided based on the healthy changes it can bring about in the society, he said.

A reporter should discharge his social responsibility to safeguard the ‘democratic interests’ of the nation, he added.

Dinesh Aminmattu, Media Adviser to Chief Minister Siddaramiah, inaugurated the workshop and a new studio of the Journalism Department of the University of Mysore, and the Centre for Education of the Visually Challenged (Drushti).

Aminmattu said, the media was operating under the pressure from advertisers. “Emotions and sufferings of the citizens are being commercialised, tarnishing the ethics of the profession for currency,” he criticised.

The line between the editorial board and advertisers is getting thinner with every passing day, since the advent of the concept of globalisation in the country. Newspaper industry is the only business that sells its product at a lower cost than its cost of the production, he pointed out.

The competition among newspapers resulted in a price war between publishers, further ignoring the ‘ethical values’ of journalism, he said.