There are questions about media credibility, says Ansari

India has every reason to be proud of the strength and diversity of its mass media, Vice President Hamid Ansari said Saturday.

But from time to time there have been disconnecting developments that do raise questions about the media's objectivity and credibility, he said here.

These included cross-media ownership, the phenomenon of 'paid news', media ethics, the need for effective self-regulatory mechanisms, declining role of editors and their editorial freedom, and the need to improve the working conditions of media personnel, he said.

Ansari was inaugurating the 17th Biennial Session of the National Union of Journalists (India).

"Our media today has grown in size and coverage. There are 93,985 registered publications, 850 permitted TV channels under news and current affairs category and 437 under non-news category," he said.

Doordarshan itself runs 37 channels, he said.

Prajnananda Chaudhuri, the national president of NUJ(I), said that most journalists were not getting social benefits like gratuity benefits.