Credibility is a serious challenge faced by media houses today, with news being controlled by "business managers" who are more concerned about profit and loss, PCI chief Chandramauli Kumar Prasad said on the National Press Day.
Addressing an event here today to mark the National Press Day, the Press Council of India (PCI) chairman said media had turned into "commercial enterprises" and news made a "commodity".
Speaking about the challenges faced by the media, he said if the media was credible, all other challenges would fall in line.
Prasad said it was unfortunate that newspapers were no longer run by journalists and have been taken over by media houses.
"Like any other business, the news has been made a market commodity," he said, adding news nowadays was controlled by "business managers who are more concerned about profit and loss".
He also criticised the instances of 'paid news' during election time, saying media houses come out with what they call "rate cards" to publish favourable news.
Lamenting that the surge of paid news in the editorials have "eaten up the vitals" of ethical journalism, the PCI chief said democracy weakens if media, which is the fourth estate of democracy, indulges in unethical practices.
The media houses have flourished by "leaps and bounds", Prasad said, adding at the same time, the credibility of journalists had reached "rock bottom".
However, he said majority of newsmen across the country want to raise "voice of the voiceless" but their "passion has become a casualty" as they have become "pawns in the hand of the media industry".
The official added that the survival of journalists now largely depended on the mercy of media managers.
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