Batting for freedom of the press, Union minister S Jaipal Reddy today rued that there was a growing intervention in editorial matters and said media should be free from any interference from government or business houses.
"Why should a minister interfere with media? Why should ministers choose to give interviews to certain correspondents (only)? Why can't they face the media as a whole? These are the things which you need to bother about," he said.
The Science and Technology minister was speaking at a programme held by International Press Institute to confer the Excellence in Journalism- 2013 award to eminent journalist Karan Thapar.
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"What does freedom of press mean? It, of course, means freedom from government control. Should not there be freedom for the editor? Do you have the institution of an editor anymore? It seems to me to be a vanishing institution. The old dyarchy between the business and the editorial board is no longer there," Reddy said.
He lamented that the owners of newspapers as well as corporate houses are interfering in editorial matters.
"How many times does the owner intervene in the way news is displayed? How many times do politicians talk to the commentator thanks to SMS? So freedom should not only be from the government but from so many other sources. They really pose an invisible threat to the freedom of the press," he said.
He expressed concern over the weakening of the regional media, saying they have been reduced to "pamphlets".
"In Andhra Pradesh and some other states, English newspapers are hardly read by those who know English. The dominance of regional medium is being neglected by media analysts," he said.
Reddy pointed out that the circulation of many regional papers is more often heavier than national newspapers and their finances are more sound but still in many states, these papers have become the "daily pamphlets" of particular political parties.
"Some of the regional newspapers are up for grabs. Political parties enter into commercial deeds with newspapers during elections. Can we continue to neglect these things?" he said.
