Censorship in the Press and Media

Censorship in the Press

With the return of the emergency regime in 1978, the threats against the freedom of the Press grew more ominous than ever. In a case involving a newspaper the supreme court ruled that the freedom of the Press rests on the assumption that widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public. 

The newsprints advisory committee of the Central Government once considered proposals to deny newsprint to papers indulging in anti – national activities”. As also to those found guilty by a court of law or censured by the Press Council for publishing material which is obscene or against good taste or which advocates violence, spreads ill- feeling between various communities or is likely to endanger the unity and integrity and defense of the country. Such a move would kill what ever semblance of  Press freedom we have today, for as the editors’ guild of india’s response indicates, the Powers sought by the Government are omnibus in nature and these- called defenses are vaguely defined’. As though the monopolistic control in newsprint were not enough. the Government has licensed all import of printing machinery, and prohibited any direct subscription to a foreign news agency. It has to be channeled through the Government.

Yet another lever of control exercised tactfully by Government is the issue of advertisements by the directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP)—a body the undertakes visual publicity campaigns on behalf of various ministries departments and autonomous bodies. Besides state Governments too have their own publicity departments. Medium and small newspapers are beholden to these bodies for very often their very sustenance depends on the largesse from them.

Volume 2 of the Annual Report of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting provides exhaustive list of the amount paid each year by the DAVP to the big, medium and small newspapers for buying space for advertising. Below is a small news papers for buying space for advertising. Below is a sample of the revenue earned by some well – known dailies in 1996:

Quantum of advertisements Issued to Some Indian Dailies by the DAVP

	Publication	Edition	Space (Col.Cm)	Amt. Earned (in Rs. Million)
1	The Time of India	Bombay	56,473	13,409,183
2	The Indian Express	Bombay	66,595	3,950,493
3	Kesari	Pune	20,025	588,398
4	Sakal	Pune	10,089	1,125,303
5	The Shillong Times	Shillong	34,537	734,510,
6	Anand Bazar Patrika	Calcutta	22,216	6,465,287
7	Thanthi	Madras	50,039	3,424,614
8	Malayala Manorama	Trivendrum	18,444	1,522,879
9	Rajasthan Patrika	Jaipur	872	9,639,
10	Nav Bharat	Jabalpur	21,218	800,320

(Source: Compiled from Annual Report1996 – 97,Vol. II, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

Moreover, the threats of pre–censorship, of confiscation printed copies and seizure of printing Presses, and of the cutting off of electricity to newspaper establishments – all reminiscent of the dark days of the emergency – are not imaginary fears. The suppression of the Asli Bharat and some other publications that reported the Moradabad riots, and of the Assam Press during the agitations in that state, are still fresh in freedom –levers’ minds. The Assam high court’s striking down of the Assam’s state special powers Press act, under which pre–censorship was clamped, demonstrates how the only protection Press freedom in India can hope to get is from the courts. Or, from a vigilant public, as the withdrawal of he Bihar Press bill (1982) demonstrates. Far more worrying than the external threats of censorship are the internal threats from proprietors, senior loyalists and news editors who would rather play safe than endanger their own interprets, both professional and material, ‘ self–censorship’ in journalism, not so much out of concern for public welfare and interest , but rather out of a desire to curry favour with local politicians, advertisers and other lobbyists, has iced to a decline in the credibility of the Press. In Maharashtra, for instance, it is a regular practice for journalists to act as the public relation agents of sugar barons, builders and local politicians.

See Also :

Print Media and Communication	Freedom of Press - The right to Publish and Privacy
Communication and Print media	Council Guides to Journalistic Ethics
Introduction to Print Media	Censorship in the Press and Media
Developments in Print Media	Media Laws
Contribution of News Papers	Press Ownership and Monopoly
Contribution of Magazines	Media Organisations and News Agencies
Press Commissions and Councils	The Mass Media
The Power of Press	Functions of Mass Media
History of Indian Journalism	Theories of the Press or Media
Press Censorship under the Emergency	Code of Ethics for Journalists
News Values in Journalism	Readership and Popularity of Magazine
Magazine genres-Types of Magazine