By D N Singh
How long do we go with the sloganeering of Days. As today we celebrate World Press Freedom Day, little we realize that the coinage has slowly transformed into a customary occasion.
In a way Freedom of Press remains assured to those who control it, directly or indirectly.
And a real thriller comes from Adlai Stevenson who feels that, an editor is usually asked to separate the chaff from the grains and print the chaff
It is always a Big brother syndrome everywhere in which we all know controlled editors are asked to speak the truth to the power but again print the ‘chaff’. Write or report what you see is an anathema for the power and it is politics who find the tools of control.
India has declined badly in the Press Freedom index in last few years. Now with the recent step to control the content by government run bodies like PIB the system may get more weakened in the days to come. India slips in World Press Freedom index and ranks 161 out of 180 countries.
The Global Media watchdog RPF, against 150 in 2022 India has now down to 161. The drop is jolting one.
The government and sometimes folks, sinisterly described as “the System” can pressure the media baron or the editor to do or not do something. It often happens in winks, nudges, gestures and through what in India is called a “setting”.
