It is a known fact that the code of conduct was created by Hutchins commission in 1947, with the intention of bringing stability and discipline in the industry. It wanted to ensure the responsible person should not take advantage of their power and always keep the welfare of the consumers. The initiative and the motto looks impressive from outside but the point to be noted is how far has the authority been successful in devising suitable codes and implementing it. If you go through their website and other sources, you will find hundreds of codes which focus on different areas. If you read through them carefully, you will observe that they have made a descent attempt to cover all possible unethical behaviour. But it is also true that in spite of such framework, unethical practices still prevail in that industry. News channels try to expose different scams within or outside the industry for TRP. However these scams push the audience to question existing code of conduct. It starts the thought process of the change/revision required for an effective code of conduct. Being a viewer, I am also instigated to think if the code of ethics which is one of the pillars of media industry requires revision.
In the recent past, the number of media channels and newspapers has increased drastically. These channels support the political parties of their own interest. The point to be noted is that the political leaders themselves own a newspaper or a channel. Ultimately, this puts the common man in confusion of which channel or paper is providing them the right information of the facts. This situation has to be changed. An amendment has to be made in the act stating that the political leaders or their associates shouldn’t own media and it should also be amended that the media shouldn’t support any political party. Only then, the public will get the genuine information about the happenings in the country. This will even help the public take a right decision while electing their representative.
In this TRP-ridden market scenario the Media houses (also the corporates that pay them) are ready to forego their ethics in order to increase their ratings. In such a situation the thin line between truth and reality will be blurred. Opinions can be engineered accordingly to the highest bidder a phenomenon known as “paid news” where news agencies and media houses can be paid to “influence” opinions, which in turn allows them to influence society with impunity. Certain political parties is fund certain media channels and newspapers in order to upstage their political rivals. It is a two way traffic where the political parties are more concerned about slugging each other out rather than serving the public, and in the end it is the general populace that loses ultimately. So, in my opinion apart from revising the code of conduct for media, the media should regulate itself to act responsibly.
Author: Arjun Das
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