{"id":52896,"date":"2019-10-09T10:44:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T05:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?page_id=52896"},"modified":"2019-10-09T10:44:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T05:14:32","slug":"answered-freedom-of-the-press-is-a-precious-privilege-that-no-country-can-forgo-discuss-the-significance-of-above-statement-do-you-think-indian-media-is-free","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-freedom-of-the-press-is-a-precious-privilege-that-no-country-can-forgo-discuss-the-significance-of-above-statement-do-you-think-indian-media-is-free\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] \u201cFreedom of the press is a precious privilege that no country can forgo.\u201d Discuss the significance of above statement. Do you think Indian Media is free?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Demand of the question<\/strong>
Introduction. <\/strong>Contextual Introduction.
Body. <\/strong>Significance of freedom of press for any country. Growing threat to freedom of press in India.
Conclusion. <\/strong>Way forward. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

The Press Freedom Index, released by Reporters Without Borders in August 2019, ranked India 140 out of 180 countries. The report highlighted how criminal prosecution, especially sedition, is rampantly used to abuse journalists. It also noted that \u201cat least six Indian journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2018\u201d. The recent death anniversary of Gauri Lankesh is a chilling reminder of the cost of standing up for truth in India. All these incidents reflect that press in endangered and not completely free. This is a dangerous situation in a democracy as press and media is the fourth pillar and voice for citizens in a democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significance of freedom of press for any\ncountry:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Strengthening a nation:<\/strong> Free media works towards\nstrengthening the sovereignty and integrity of a nation.<\/li>
  2. Fundamental to a democratic society:\n<\/strong>The freedom of\npress is fundamental to a democratic society like India for it is helpful in\nstrengthening democracy.<\/li>
  3. Check on Government and\nAdministrators: <\/strong>An\nindependent press and news-media press acts as an important check on Government\nand Administrators.<\/li>
  4. Voice against any social ill or\nwrong: <\/strong>It is also\nresponsible to raise voice against any social ill or wrong.<\/li>
  5. Acts for the public:<\/strong> At national, regional and local\nlevel, it is the public\u2019s voice, activist and guardian as well as educator,\nentertainer and contemporary chronicler.<\/li>
  6. Source of information:<\/strong> An unbiased information is\nimportant for a democracy and its growth. Media help in providing critical\ninformation to citizens. E.g data on economy, health, education etc. must be\ncorrect and accurate without any bias toward government.<\/li>
  7. Educate: <\/strong>Media is important to educate people\non issues that are of utmost important for the society. E.g Increasing number\nof rape cases are threat to society. It is important to report exact number of\ncases and help in sensitising the society.<\/li>
  8. Awareness: <\/strong>Media make society aware of their\ndemocratic rights and fight the three institutions of democracy.<\/li>
  9. Watchdog: <\/strong>Media reporting on public affairs\nand investigations into wrongdoing in the administration of public affairs is\nmust for a healthy democracy. This includes exposing frauds or corruption cases\nthat personally benefit politicians. This help citizens to vote the best\ngovernment defeating corrupt and dishonest government.<\/li>
  10. Good Governance: <\/strong>Media plays an important role in\naudit of the government policies and spending. An unbiased media is important\nfor transparent reporting.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Growing threat to freedom of press in India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. India slipped two points on the\nWorld Press Freedom Index ranking and India\u2019s ranking reflects growing\nbitterness towards journalists.<\/li>
    2. The antagonism towards the media\nwhich is openly encouraged by political leaders poses a great threat to\ndemocracy.<\/li>
    3. Government\u2019s pressure in the name of\nRegulation, bombardment of fake news and over influence of Social media is\ndangerous for the occupation. Security of journalists is the biggest issue.\nKillings and Assaults on the Journalists covering sensitive issues are very\ncommon.<\/li>
    4. Section 124a of IPC under which\nsedition is punishable by life imprisonment also endanger freedom of\njournalists.<\/li>
    5. Hate speech targeting journalists\nshared and amplified on social networks are targeted against journalists using\nsocial media.<\/li>
    6. Corruption-paid news, advertorials\nand fake news are threat to free and unbiased media.<\/li>
    7. Corporate and political power has\noverwhelmed large sections of the media, both print and visual, which lead to\nvested interests and destroy freedom.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      It is irony in the biggest democracy of world that press and media enjoy less freedom. Media should have enough freedom and must be neutral in airing views. If media is honest and free democracy is bound to function more efficiently. If media is biased, corrupt and favours only a particular party or few individuals, it can prove to be very dangerous for the smooth functioning of democracy. In the interest of democracy it is essential that the exchange of ideas take place in an uninhibited manner where all citizens can access information free of bias and prejudice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Demand of the question Introduction. Contextual Introduction. Body. Significance of freedom of press for any country. Growing threat to freedom of press in India. Conclusion. Way forward. The Press Freedom Index, released by Reporters Without Borders in August 2019, ranked India 140 out of 180 countries. The report highlighted how criminal prosecution, especially sedition, is… Continue reading [Answered] \u201cFreedom of the press is a precious privilege that no country can forgo.\u201d Discuss the significance of above statement. Do you think Indian Media is free?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":49132,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-52896","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}