When 'national interest' meets press freedom

Last week, India was called out, once again, for its dismal performance on the protection of media freedoms. With four journalists killed in connection with their work in 2020, the World Press Freedom Index 2021 labels our country as one of the most dangerous places on the planet to pursue this profession. Ranked 142nd among 180 countries surveyed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), this is India’s worst performance ever. The country summary highlights the deeply worrisome phenomenon of hate campaigns launched on social media platforms against several mediapersons by supporters of the ruling dispensation. The targeting of women journalists is particularly violent, the report notes. It has become commonplace in recent years to label journalists who do not toe the establishment’s line as “anti-national” and bring criminal charges including ‘sedition’ against them, the survey says.

What is the criteria for labelling a news report “anti-national” at worst or “not in the national interest” at best, is a question which this author tried to probe last year.

Readers may recall Press Trust of India’s (PTI) interviews with the ambassadors of China in India and his Indian counterpart in Beijing in June 2020 soon after 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the violent incidents that occurred in the Ladakh region. The fact that PTI interviewed the Chinese ambassador was abhorrent to the establishment, and Prasar Bharati apparently admonished PTI saying its reportage was not in the “national interest” and that it wanted to review their relationship. It duly dropped PTI in October last year.

This author filed an RTI application with Prasar Bharati seeking copies of all official records and file notings relating to this unsavoury episode and the criteria adopted for evaluating PTI’s newsfeeds as being detrimental to India’s national interests. Another query was whether Prasar Bharati’s latest action had the approval of its Board which at the time was functioning with only three members apart from the CEO.

Prasar Bharati transferred the RTI application to All India Radio (AIR) and DD-News. Their public information officers (PIOs) promptly replied that they did not hold any of the information sought. Neither organisation seems to have been involved in Prasar Bharati’s knee-jerk reaction to the interviews. Prasar Bharati’s PIO sent a reply, three weeks later, admitting that the decision to issue the notice to PTI was not presented to its Board for prior or post facto approval. He remained silent on all other queries, including the criteria for assessing whether or not PTI’s news story was in the national interest.

Prasar Bharati transferred the first appeal against its poor response, also, to AIR and DD-News, even though such action is not permissible under the RTI Act. AIR and DD-News reiterated their replies. Then there was radio silence for eight months.

Two weeks ago, Prasar Bharati’s Appellate Authority (AA) issued a decision on the appeal merely listing the action taken by AIR and DD-News on the RTI queries and appeals. Prasar Bharati remains unresponsive to the demand that it is duty-bound to provide all records relating to the notice sent to PTI and the criteria for evaluating the flavour and content of its news stories. The assessment criteria, if there are any written down at all, remain a sarkari secret.

Perturbed by the poor rating received in successive years, the Government is said to have set up Index Monitoring Cells across the ministries to find ways of improving India’s position. Ironically, last year, the Press Information Bureau is reported to have contacted RSF seeking details of the ‘criteria’ for the survey used by the World Press Freedom Index. The establishment seems to realise the importance of ‘criteria’ only when an assessment has a stinging effect on it.

One good way to start doing better on press freedoms is to require Prasar Bharati to publish all records about the retaliatory action taken against PTI. This will constitute the best ode to India’s national motto – satyameva jayate (truth alone shall triumph).