How Indian Media’s Self-Regulation Has Been Responsible For Growing News Sensationalism

“Just because something isn’t a lie does not mean that it isn’t deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” — Criss Jami

Unfortunately, this quote fits so well for Indian media (mainstream specifically!). Why? Let’s find out!

For maintream, radio and internet media; this issue seeks attention — whether self-regulation should be given a go or is it really high time for forming a body-in-control to instill a bit of discipline within the media?

There have been a ton of debates, some focusing largely on the importance of free media while some taking into consideration the urgency of strict guidelines without harming press freedom.

There’s a body called PCI (Press Council of India) which issues guidelines to follow for the media, but when it comes to regulation and punishments, it holds that power specifically for the print media, and that too a firm warning or reprimand.

Taking the case of UK where such regulatory body is already present — Ofcom is a government-approved regulatory and competition authority in the UK also having a task for ensuring that people’s privacy is not invaded by the media, but it could also have its own biases since UK is a constitutional monarchy.

Why Is Self-Regulation Needed?

The former judge and previous print regulator Markandey Katju, who once wrote to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to bring the electronic media under the ambit of the Press Council, once said in his statement, "There is no such thing as self-regulation, which is an oxymoron. Everybody is accountable to the people in a democracy - and so are the media."

Many media experts believe that there should be complete transparency when it comes to media ownership. Many non-media corporates who are the owners of these media companies often use the media for their personal gains — they turn their channels into hatred stimulators targeting a particular group or section of the society, hence paving way for sensationalism in their media coverage.

Recent Examples On News Sensationalism

Newslaundry, a public-funded independent media organisation, researched on how "well" the mainstream media handled the case of Sushant Singh Rajput's death, an alleged celebrity suicide (where extra caution is needed). *Sigh* The results were so "unwell"...

There are already guidelines for how to report on suicides (not just suicides, but for every sensitive news) issued by World Health Organization which a news organisation should sincerely follow. BUT the unruly channels chose to report in their own way, #rulebreaker!

You can get a sense of how all of it was reported, when even the suicidal pic of the actor was shown to the public by one of the mainstream news channels (which is strictly against the WHO guidelines). Not just that, even a regional magazine made that pic appear straightly on its very front cover! Headlines appearing on such news channels were just of another level. In addition, the mainstream media suprisingly invaded the personal space of the late actor’s family shamelessly even after countless requests made by the late actor’s sister to leave. Today’s corporate media is selling emotions, while itself being emotionless...

Another example is from health area; when Coronil, a product of Patanjali (a company founded by Ramdev and his pupil Balkrishna), was shown ostentatiously as the one and only medicine for curing COVID-19 (not even as immunity booster to start with). The AYUSH Ministry, after proving the claims of Patanjali to be wrong, informed about 50 such fake products claiming themselves as such turning up in the market since the initiation of lockdown.

The Large Impact Sensationalism Creates

News sensationalism affects the masses to such an extent that it motivates them to imitate a similar kind of negative move. Here’s the story about why did it become of utter importance to the WHO to come up with some sets of guidelines on how to report on suicides for the media. There’s a special risk associated with the media when reporting suicide cases — "Werther Effect". Goethe’s publication "The Sorrows of Young Werther" in 1974, lead to a ton of suicides, describing the apparition of copycat suicides soon after media reports on suicide. For this reason, the WHO published guidelines in 2001 informing exactly what to avoid when reporting about suicides.

Summing It Up

The media should focus on the broader aspect, what major impact is sensationalism creating, how their reporting is influencing public opinion and how it ultimately turning them towards the ditch. They should censor their daily content, what they are feeding their audiences. And most of all, there’s undoubtedly a need for a regulatory body for the media, taking into consideration that it doesn’t becomes government’s slave; hence restricting media freedom — the body should be planned accordingly in such a way!