The Hindu Business Line : `Approach between PR and news media not adversarial'

EDITORS of national repute agreed that the approach between PR practitioners and the news media today was certainly not adversarial and both need to practise transparency in approach.

They were debating on `Ethics and responsibility of Media: Preaching or Practising?' on the second day of the three-day 26th All India Public Relations Conference here on Saturday.

They said the mainstream news media had done well, especially in dealing with contentious issues.

Stating that the media's mandate was to seek accountability and provide information, in pursuit of truth and objectivity, the editors admitted that there was a kind of self-correcting mechanism built into the system.

Mr C.R. Irani, Editor-in-Chief, The Statesman, said the Press today was "seldom practising and preaching far more overwhelmingly".

The media must not pay heed to sentiment but report faithfully and listen to the voice of dissent.

Hailing the responsible and secular credentials of the Indian Press, Mr Irani said the reporter's job was not to take sides but to analyse the issue.

Advocating that the media should not only be the voice but also act as an agent of change, Dr Chandan Mitra, MP and Editor, The Pioneer, said the Indian media at times did not react enough, contrary to public perception.

Citing the recent Midday episode (Kareena Kapoor issue) and the Tehelka affair, he suggested the setting up of a regulatory body for the electronic media on the lines of the Press Council of India for the print media.

Describing the media scene in the country as being better than that in the US and the UK, Mr N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu Group, said the mainstream media has rightly adopted a serious approach to the arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, without indulging in "tabloidisation" or sensationalism, stressing the point that no one was above the law.

Even while advocating uninhibited coverage, he suggested a degree of self-restraint.

Dwelling on the questions raised on the power and influence of the media, in which the daily Press reaches some 18 crore Indians and the electronic media some 40 crore, Mr Ram said there was a need to look much beyond, into the ethical realm.