Here’s a philosophical answer to an issue that concerns the day-to-day functioning of the legacy news media. Without any ado, here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the May 2 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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Q. It’s World Press Freedom Day tomorrow (May 3). It really is. We aren’t joking. Given your four decades of experience in the media, the bulk of which has been in the news business, tell us: Can there really be a true free press in India? Esp for the legacy players?

A. This question can degenerate into a polemical debate and camps can be divided in the verdict. The conclusion can be based on heuristics with each camp having loads of evidence to justify the hypothesis.

So let me look at your question, clinically and delve into the ‘\basics’ of what constitutes Free Press. Can there ever be any free press? Even if one reports objectively, the affected party will always cry foul saying that the reporting is biased. And in the post-truth world, decoding the truth is as good as finding a needle in a haystack. The subject is so subjective that the objectivity of an issue is difficult to substantiate. As they say, we see the world as we perceive, and not as they are. So, I feel there is nothing called absolute free press like there is nothing called absolute neutrality. We are born free and everywhere in chains. I am not saying this. This was opined by Rousseau in the 18th century and seems to me to be relevant even today.