Citizens have a bigger role to play in making media independent: Prabhu Chawla

BHUBANESWAR: Citizens of the country have a bigger role to play in making media independent and putting a full stop on ‘window journalism’, said Editorial Director of The New Indian Express Prabhu Chawla here on Saturday. 

“If we have to save our media and the democracy, we have to pay for the news presented to us. If we are willing to pay for entertainment in cinema halls or television, we should also pay for the news we get as this is the only way we can make media organisations independent and put a curb on the window journalism that has emerged as a major threat to ethical journalism,” Chawla said in his address at Jaati Nandighosha Conclave organised to commemorate the first anniversary of Nandighosha TV, a vernacular news channel. 

Elaborating further, Chawla said window journalism takes place where conclusion is drawn beforehand and different opinions are pushed to dictate the narrative without bothering to find out if the facts exist on ground. He said it also shows the growing competition in the market where news channels in absence of adequate revenue and resources to meet the expenses of their news coverage, take window journalism as an alternative.

In their competition, news channels have become more entertaining than informative these days. Reluctance among viewers and readers to take subscription of a news channel or a newspaper is also forcing media houses to compromise their principles, Chawla pointed out. 

​“The TRP fight we are coming across these days is at the root of all the distortion in television coverage,” he said and added that ‘how many of us are watching’ has become more important than ‘what we are watching.’

The conclave honoured family of journalists who succumbed during Covid-19 crisis. Media advisor to Odisha government Manas Mangaraj,  Editor of Nandighosha TV Sisir Bhattamishra and COO Jabbar Singh Panwar were present.