Paid news in the Hindi press
From The Hoot
On April 26 The Press Council of India deferred release of its report on paid news prepared by two of its members. Some council members argued that it would destroy the publishers’ credibility and hurt their long term interest. THE HOOT publishes extracts from it. Image from psainath.wordpress.com
Posted Wednesday, May 12 22:12:43, 2010
The report has been referred to a larger group of Council members who have three months to decide how it should be presented. Extracts from an unreleased Press Council report titled “Paid News”: How corruption in the Indian media undermines democracy
Examples of “paid news” from the Hindi press:
Here is a selection of examples from the Hindi language press that could be construed as examples of “paid news”:
The Ranchi
On April 13, 2009, the Ranchi
Two other newspapers published from Ranchi , Prabhat Khabar and Hindustan , also published articles praising various candidates before the Parliamentary elections but the former placed the following line on top of each such item “PK Media Marketing Initiative” while the latter publication added “HT Media Marketing Initiative” at the bottom of such items.
Former Civil Aviation Minister Shri Harmohan Dhawan was quoted in Pratham Pravakta magazine (in its edition dated July 16, 2009) stating: “I was contesting the 2009 elections on a ticket of the BSP from Chandigarh
“I turned down all these offers. I felt that newspapers would cover large election rallies where many people are present but the rallies that were conducted on my behalf were not mentioned in these newspapers whereas the rallies of other candidates were covered in considerable detail. When I raised this issue with representatives of the managements of these newspapers, they told me that nothing could be done unless I paid for a ‘package'. On April 28, 2009, I spoke about this ‘paid news' business publicly in the presence of (Kumari) Mayawati (Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and leader of the BSP). On April 30, a general manager of Dainik Bhaskar came to me and said that he was personally of the view that the pre-election activities of the BSP and its candidates should get full coverage in his newspaper but that he was helpless in this regard because his newspaper's management had taken a decision not to publish any news about any party or candidate that would not pay the newspaper. He offered me a ‘package' worth Rs 5 lakh but I refused to pay. Certain reporters also told me that reports that they had written about my election campaign were not published. I realized that newspaper owners were using reporters as their tools.”
The Congress candidate from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh Dr Santosh Singh stated the following in an interview to Pratham Pravakta (July 16, 2009): “After I had filed my nomination paper, a representative of the Varanasi edition of Dainik Jagran contacted me and asked me to buy one of two ‘packages' worth Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively, for which I was offered comprehensive coverage of my election campaign. Another newspaper, Aaj, asked for an amount varying between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh. The representatives of these newspapers who met me said they were merely following orders given to them by their managements… These representatives told me that they are just following the order of management. I did not pay any money”.
Shri Ramakant Yadav of the BJP who contested and won the Lok Sabha election from Azamgarh stated the following in an interview in Pratham Pravakta (July 16, 2009): “Hindustan newspaper asked me to pay Rs 10 lakh for publishing ‘news' about my election campaign. I refused to pay any money. In an article, the newspaper claimed I would lose the election. But, now that the results have been declared, you know that I won.”
Here are excerpts from what three contestants from the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh told Pratham Pravakta (July 16, 2009):
Samajwadi Party candidate Shri Arshad Jamal said: “Newspapers such as Dainik Jagran, Hindustan, Amar Ujala, Aaj and Urdu Sahara asked me for money and offered ‘packages' varying between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.”
Communist Party of India candidate Shri Atul Kumar Anjaan said: “I have received phone calls from representatives of two of the largest newspapers in north India , Dainik Jagran and Hindustan . They asked me for Rs 15 lakh each for coverage of my campaign in their publications. When I rejected these offers, Dainik Jagran did not published anything about my activities between March 22 and April 16, the newspaper did not even publish any report about the rally that was addressed by the CPI General Secretary Shri A.B. Bardhan. When I contacted reporters and correspondents based in the Mau bureau of Dainik Jagran and Hindustan, they said they have to follow instructions issued to them from their offices in Varanasi and Delhi Varanasi and Delhi
BJP candidate Shri Ramiqbal Singh said the following in an interview to Pratham Pravakta reporter Shri Rupesh Pandey in Lucknow
The BJP candidate from Lalganj in Uttar Pradesh, Smt Neelam Sonkar said the following in an interview to Pratham Pravakta (July 16, 2009): “Representatives of Aaj, Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala came to me and offered me a ‘package' worth Rs 10 lakh for coverage in their newspapers. When I refused to pay for any ‘package', senior executives working in these newspapers contacted me and said that they would slash the rate of their ‘packages' for me.”
On April 16, the Patna edition of Hindustan published a banner headline stating that the “Congress is ready to create history in Bihar ” but curiously, there was no news item related to this headline.
Shri Sanjeev Pandey, a freelance journalist based in Chandigarh
The Rohtak edition of Haribhoomi published a news item on October 8, 2009 in favour of Congress candidate Shri Birendra Singh. Shri Singh was contesting assembly elections from Uchana constituency. However, this news item carried no byline. This news item claimed that Shri Singh had been getting support from all and sundry in society. Detailed descriptions of the plans of his election campaign were also mentioned. Using the same format, Haribhoomi published a news item in favour of BJP candidate Shri Meva Singh the following day, that is, on October 9, 2009. Giving an account of BJP National President Shri Rajnath Singh's rally, this news item claimed that “after this rally Meva has got support from each and every section of society”.
The Panipat edition of Dainik Jagran published a news item on page 9 of its edition dated October 8, 2009, that was in favour of the electoral prospects of the Congress. The news item did not carry any byline. The headline of the news item stated that the “good work” done by the Congress had marginalised the electoral prospects of the leader of the Opposition in the state. Each and every sentence of this news item is in favour of the Congress party. This news item criticises leaders of non-Congress parties and says that they would not be able to make a mark in the elections because the Congress had done very good work for every section of society. This news item added that candidates of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) led by Shri Bhajan Lal would not be able to harm the electoral prospects of candidates belonging to the Congress.
By way of contrast, the Ludhiana Ludhiana
In stark contrast to the post-poll projections of the earlier news items, each line of the last-mentioned news item clearly favours the INLD. This news item reported that there was a “wave” in favour of the INLD in Haryana and went on to predict a clear victory for Shri Chautala and the INLD. The news story claimed that the INLD would be able to easily win the magical number of 46 constituencies that would be required to obtain a majority in the state assembly in order to form a government. This news item states that the Congress party was “struggling” because of internal feuds and that this would benefit the INLD. The story did not end there.
On the next day, that is, on October 13, 2009, the Ludhiana
In a letter to the Press Council of India dated December 02, 2009, Shri Om Prakash Chautala, National President of the Indian National Lok Dal, expressed his “disgust” at the phenomenon of “paid news” and cited the example of the front page of the Haryana edition of the Dainik Bhaskar dated October 13, 2009, the day of polling for the state assembly elections, “which carried only the Congress party's advertisement”. He added that half of the second page of this edition of the newspaper again carried an advertisement “along with a few news items that were obviously paid” (for) with headlines claiming that the Congress was “about to create history” in the state. Shri Chautala was of the view that if the power of the media was misused in such a blatant manner and used to drown dissenting voices, people of the country would lose their faith in the Constitution of India which guarantees free and fair elections.
On December 23, 2009, the Uttar Pradesh Journalists' Association, Faizabad, sent a letter to the Press Council of India, condemning the practice of “paid news” adding that such malpractices would destroy the independence of journalism and thereby, democracy in the country.
A Lucknow-based non-government organization, the National Alliance of People's Movements, analysed issues of four Hindi language daily newspapers that were published between April 01, 2009 and April 30, 2009 from Lucknow and Gorakhpur
It was pointed out by the NGO that many of the so-called “paid news” articles were in favour of Shri Akhilesh Das Gupta, the candidate of the Bahujan Samaj Party who contested from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency (and who, ironically, stood in third position after Shri Lalji Tandon of the BJP and Smt Rita Bahuguna Joshi of the Congress after the results of the election were declared). Shri Akhilesh Das Gupta was quoted in Outlook weekly (December 21, 2009) saying: “I don't blame my party if it pays for news in its favour; there is a general media bias against my party.”
* * *
Dainik Jagran: Allegations and Counter-Allegations
Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shri Lalji Tandon who contested and won the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Lucknow constituency in Uttar Pradesh has publicly gone on record as to how the “the largest circulated (Indian) language newspaper in the world”, refused to publish any news about him in the run-up to the 2009 elections because of his refusal to pay any money. “When I enquired, I was told that I should pay up if I wanted news in my favour,” Shri Tandon said, adding that his rival from the BSP got more publicity than any other candidate in his constituency. Though Shri Tandon said the issue was later sorted out with the newspaper, his allegations levelled in public highlighted how rampant the malpractice of “paid news” was in the particular newspaper which is not just the largest circulated language newspaper of India
The largest circulated paper that Shri Tandon referred to was the Dainik Jagran, which he also named in public. On January 11, 2010, the Press Council of India asked a representative of the newspaper whether what Shri Tandon had claimed was true and whether the newspaper had in fact demanded any money from him to carry favourable news on his election campaign. This is what he said: “When a politician of the stature of Shri Lalji Tandon speaks, it is natural for the media to take note. We can only assert that we did not offer our editorial space for money.” When asked further as to whether Shri Tandon was lying when he said the newspaper's representative had asked him for money to publish news about his campaign, the Dainik Jagran representative repeated that no one from his newspaper had asked Shri Tandon for money.
When Anuradha Raman of Outlook magazine asked Shri Tandon if he had patched up with the owners of the newspaper, his reply made it evident that this was indeed what had happened. Shri Tandon asked a counter-question: “Kyon wahi baat doharana chahte hain? Rehne dijeeye. (Why do you want me to repeat it again? Let it be.)”
In a formal letter handed over to the Press Council of India on January 10, 2010, Shri Nishikant Thakur, Chief General Manager, Jagran Prakashan Ltd., claimed that the controversy relating to “paid news” was “nothing but rumours spread by lost candidates in frustration”. Describing the allegations as “frivolous” and “factually” incorrect, Shri Thakur claimed that he “could say with certainty that no editor of a reputed newspaper in the country is distorting news for money”. He added that amount spent on “publicity material” in newspapers is “marginal” in comparison to the total expenses incurred by candidates standing for elections.
Shri Thakur claimed that the ceilings of expenditure laid down by the Election Commission of India were “unrealistic” and “out of tune with reality”. Further, he claimed that attempts by candidates to influence individual reports “in the rush” of election coverage could go “undetected by the editorial board” of the concerned newspaper. He suggests that there should be “state funding” of elections, that the Election
Commission of India
Shri Thakur argues that the right of the citizen to get “un-polluted information” needs to be balanced by “the rights of the media to conduct its business in an economically viable manner which is also guaranteed by the Constitution of India subject to permissible legal restrictions”. He adds that the press has the right to “project (the) good achievements of (a) particular candidate” and concludes with the assertion that what is required are electoral reforms, systemic correction and not merely “limb operation”.
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