Urge stakeholders to stand against threat to press freedom: Subhash Chandra

Calling media a "feedback mechanism" for the governments, Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), on Monday said that all stakeholders must stand against threats to its freedom.

"I urge all stakeholders, including our viewers and regulatory bodies, to recognize and stand against these threats to press freedom," he said at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

He also said that there have been "structured attempts" against it by the "governing class".

"Media is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy but faces increasing pressure from the governing class, whether the legislature, executive, corporates and more. There are structured attempts by them to align the media in order to achieve their agenda," Chandra, the founder of Zee TV, said.

"Governments exert pressure on media through advertising influence or use of state machinery to threaten so that the press can be prevented from publishing factual information."

He highlighted that the media provides feedback to the governments and if suppressed, it would be "more of a loss to the governors than the governed".

Talking about the poor ranking of India in the World Press Freedom Index, at 159 out of 180, Chandra said that the media was "equally responsible" for this.

"Unfortunately, many of the news channels, newspapers, social media and digital platforms have started accepting the pressure as part of life, instead of resisting or voicing out their disagreement," he said.

"This is one reason why India ranks 159th out of 180 in terms of press freedom."

Chandra said that Zee News had interviewed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. After the interview, the "independent" editorial team at Zee Media decided not to telecast it, "keeping in mind some objectionable content in the interaction".

He said that some parts of the interview were telecast but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson kept "insisting" that the entire interview be published or it would face "consequences".

"The government of Punjab forced a blackout across the state, leveraging a monopoly of a particular Multiple System Operator (MSO). The blackout was forced, not only for Zee News but also for Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal and Zee Delhi NCR," he said.

"The state government also extended the blackout of Zee Entertainment channels. To add further AAP withdrew all the spokespersons from participating in debates held by Zee Media's news channels. Unfortunately, none of our fellow News networks raised any voice."

After a legal battle, all the channels were restored on May 31.

On being asked if he would take the same action if the pressure came from the Centre and not the state governments, Chandra said that he would "respond the same".

"I not only recognise but also take pride in the importance of a free press in a democratic society and condemn any attempts to stifle journalistic freedom," he said.