NEW DELHI: Vice-President M Hamid Ansari has expressed regret that India has not yet had an informed debate in the country on the issue of multiple-ownership and cross-ownership nor a cogent national media policy that covers all platforms, which he says is at variance with the practice of other developed democracies.

Ansari said the impact of the emergence of a handful of media conglomerates spanning the entire media spectrum in moulding public opinion, generating political debate and safeguarding consumer and public interest is a moot question.

He added that the matter assumes urgency in the wake of moves towards consolidation in the media sector. While the entry of large corporate houses into the media sector is to be expected, especially to address the growing capital requirements, ensuring transparency and instituting effective and independent oversight in consultation with the industry could address such concerns.
 
Speaking after presenting the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism instituted by the Indian Express group, he said the best guarantee for safeguarding the public interest is to have strong and independent-minded editors but they were becoming an endangered species. Slow erosion of the institution of the editor in Indian media organisations is a reality. When media space and media products are treated solely in terms of revenue maximisation strategies, editors end up giving way to marketing departments, he added.

He noted that convergence between news media, entertainment and telecom has eroded the demarcation between journalism, public relations, advertising and entertainment. He said the public purpose of journalism that guided people in an earlier era had changed.

"But in a changed and changing world, it would be useful to remember that vibrant journalism in a democracy is watchdog journalism. It monitors the exercise of power and influence in society and stands for the rights and freedoms of citizens. It informs and empowers citizens rather than entertains and titillates them," he said.

Vibrant journalism is based on professional ethics and should be the rule in a democracy, rather than the exception it has come to be. "Our media, and democracy, are fortunate that we have shining examples of journalists who not only embody the ethical dimension but sadly also laid down their life for the same," he added.

The media plays a major role in informing the public and thereby shape perceptions and through it the national agenda. Adherence to accepted norms of journalistic ethics and maintenance of high standards of professional conduct is deemed to be a natural corollary.

He noted that the structural biases of the development process have favoured urban areas over rural ones, metropolitan areas over other urban areas, English-speaking over those speaking other Indian languages, the middle and upper classes over the others who constitute the vast majority of our citizens, and the service sectors over other areas such as agriculture.

These biases have prompted the media to resort to ?sunshine journalism? where the focus is on the glass that is quarter-full rather than that which is three-quarters empty! When this occurs, the role of the media as a defender and upholder of public interest does get dented and relegated to the background.