From the staid reporting of the 1950s to the investigative reporting and sting operations now, the Indian news media has taken magnificent strides. But, as analysed in the editorial “Paying the piper” (March 18), the practice of “pay and get published” comes as a big setback. This practice has been in vogue in some regional newspapers for a long time, but its spread to newspapers of great repute is galling. It also shakes the faith of millions who treat any news that appears in the media as sacrosanct and authentic.
The saving grace is that there are still a few conscientious media houses like Business Standard. Other important safeguards are the facts that some political parties are opposing these practices and that there are readers who are able to discern between paid and genuine news.
Measures like making use of paid news an electoral offence and equipping the Press Council or Editors’ Guild with punitive powers should be given a thought.
Y G Chouksey, Pune