National Press Day 2022

National Press Day 2022 – National Press Day is observed on November 16 every year to acknowledge and honour the Press Council of India (PCI). The day marks the presence of an independent and responsible press in the country. 

Press council of India 

Press Council Act, 1978 is an Act to establish a Press Council for the purpose of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. Press council of India is a statutory body.

National Press Day 2022: Significance of Press Freedom

Independent Press is often called the voice of the voiceless, a connecting link between the all-powerful rulers to the downtrodden ruled. It brings out the ills and malaise of the system and helps the government find the solutions to these, in the process strengthening the values of the democratic system of governance. No wonder why it’s called one of the four pillars of a strong democracy, and the only one where commoners directly participate. The other 3 are the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary – a gang of select few.

The council is extremely important to India as it was inherently constructed to protect the fourth pillar of a democracy, that is, the free press. Hence, it works consistently to ensure that the credibility of journalism is not compromised.

Media Trial

Media Trails are similar to a court of law where the media houses declare an individual guilty or innocent based on debates and discussions, before the court’s judgement. Media trail results in the formation of beliefs in the minds of the viewers, thus impacting the case’s meritocracy. The perfect example of media trail can be visible in the Sushant Singh Rajput drug case and Jessica Lal murder case, among others.

Paid News

This is one of the most serious challenge faced by the Indian media houses. Many media houses or journalists propagate one-sided views and do not identify the major issues as they are being paid by powerful organisations or individuals to narrate their side of the story. However, paid news can be identified easily by way of targeted advertisements or sponsorships or targeting any specific community of the society.

 

National Press day : Conclusion

For any democracy to survive successfully, it is necessary to have a free and independent regulating body like PCI ( in case of India ). However, it is unfortunate that various allegations are being made on several media organisations , both from Print media and from Digital media. India, being one of the successful proponents of democracy in the world, needs to look inside on this auspicious day and should try to gain trust among the people . Also , a poor ranking all over the world in terms of World press index is a matter of concern . 

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