A very interesting story that has been making the rounds some time back is best suited as a perfect illustration to out of context reporting.

The Pope arrives in London in connection with matters pertaining to the church. As is customary he was enveloped by a gleaming set of journos at the airport. One of the dude who was in a hurry to get noticed asked the Pope his opinion about the mushrooming of night clubs in the city.

Albeit stunned by such audacity, his holiness immediately regained his composure and asked the smart alec “What is a night club and are there many of them in London?” The overly ambitious scribe plotted diabolically and reported the news under the headline“THE POPE INQUIRES ABOUT NIGHT CLUBS IN LONDON”.

The freedom of the press that forms the cornerstone of any democracy has been fiercely safe guarded in all civilized countries of the world. The press has always been extra vigilant and has decried in unison any attempt to suppress its expression however maligning they may choose to be.

However with absolute freedom comes interminable responsibility!!

The press is a common man’s window to the world. His opinion, judgment and belief are a resultant of the exposure. The press wields immense potential to hold sway over his thought process and hence shoulders the grave responsibility to let truth and justice prevail!!

It is imperative for the press to adhere to some guiding principles so as to be worthy of the freedom that the constitution guarantees them.

1. No leanings to any individual, political party or business group

2. Report events without bias or prejudice.

3. Do not use people for the competitive edge and / or never be used by them.

4. Quotes and / or statements should reflect the thought and spirit of the speaker and should not be quoted out of context.

5. Avoid more / prominent footage to scandals and malice particularly if the same is not in the public interest.

6. Create awareness among the general public w.r.t. their rights and responsibilities.

7. Act as an effective opposition but applaud good performances.

8. The fourth estate should function as a tool for social welfare rather than an enterprise to inflate the bottom line of the balance sheet.

However the contemporary press globally focuses only on just the volume of its readership. It converges its energies in trading sensationalism for subscribers and hence endorsement.

The bulk of the Americans are aware in great depth of the juicy details of Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades with White house intern Monica Lewinsky, however a measly 10% of them would be able to give you insights to his foreign policy or his contribution to world environment.

Even my maid is aware of the infamous footwear attack on George Bush by an Iraqi scribe, thanks to the video footage that was telecast on all news channels at an alarming frequency. However only a handful of people are actually aware of the reason that prompted the journalist to do so.

The people around the world are speaking animatedly about Tiger Wood’s car accident and about his extra marital affair that caused the mishap. Hardly an infinitesimal percentage of these people know about his achievements in the golf course.

A lot of tempers flared as the news channel telecast the manhandling of Abu Hashmi on the now infamous oath taking ceremony and repeated the same throughout the day. Besides polarization of opinion and widening of the linguistic divide this exercise has in no way served the people.

The current incumbent in the home portfolio in Maharashtra had to put down his papers after the 26/11 bloodshed in Mumbai, primarily because of his thoughtless quote that was blown out of proportion.However people closely connected to Mr. R.R. Patil will vouch for his upright and conscientious character and associate his outburst to the relentless hounding of the press.

In a growth environment it is crucial that the people of this country keep pace with the development. Information is the key and the source needs to be authentic and reliable.

India looks forward to a bigger role for the media in her ascent to the pinnacle of growth and prosperity.