Media Integrity
- Archana J R
- June 16, 2020
Content :
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India under Article 19(1)(a) and it is also safeguarded by the International law including the European Convention on Human Rights. Freedom of expression also forms an integral part of the functioning of the democracy. This freedom gives special rights as well as duties to the media. One of the principal pre-conditions of freedom of expression is free media. As the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, this freedom and media is an important for the implementation of other freedoms as well as rights. If the media freedom is deprived, then the citizens will be denied the right to balanced and reliable information. Information that is given to the citizens should be reliable without being biased. If the information is biased, then it may undermine democracy and the effectiveness of the institutions. Media provides with many contents which reveals the multi-faceted nature of the society. It also helps to promote dialogue and tolerance. The term ‘Media’ refers to the communication channels. Through media, we can communicate in the society through various ways. Media refers to all means of communication starting from a telephone call to evening news on the television. As media is used to reach a very large number of people, it is also called as Mass media. There are different kinds of media.
Media integrity means the ability of media to serve the public interest as well as the democratic process. It means making the media resilient to institutional corruption that is prevalent inside the media system, influence, dependence etc. The media informs the society regarding the matters of public interest and it creates an important platform for public debate. It reflects the happenings in the nook and corner of the society each and every day. Independence and quality of information is more important for the media to function in an effective way. So it is necessary that media should be considered as the watchdog of a democratic society. Media critically scrutinises the political processes which guarantees the transparency of media. This scrutiny makes the governments to adhere to the policies that are free from the interest of other pressure groups. These processes by the media help to improve the governance in the country and also create confidence in future. Many qualities are to be followed by the media outlet in order to maintain its integrity. The concept of media integrity was initially devised for the media systems in the South East Europe. This research paper focuses on the importance of freedom of expression, the importance of media integrity, the need for independence in media in order to function effectively. This paper also compares the concept of media integrity in India as well as other countries. It also urges to focus on the barriers that influence the media from being corrupt free. Finally, it aims to suggest methods to improve the media integrity.
