Angst over autonomy

Breathing life into high-sounding phrases is what constitutes good governance. Today, despite all those brave words about media autonomy,...

Breathing life into high-sounding phrases is what constitutes good governance. Today, despite all those brave words about media autonomy, Akashvani/Doordarshan8217;s independence from the ruling political establishment doesn8217;t appear convincing. In fact, every time the nine o8217;clock news bulletin begins with yet another prime ministerial pronouncement, the more compromised their autonomy appears to be.

Long ago, 21 years to be precise, this country made a tryst with the idea of an independent broadcasting authority: the Prasar Bharati. It took a dozen-odd years for the Prasar Bharati Bill to be notified. After another seven years, in 1997, the Bill became the law of the land. But never once in the period that followed did autonomy really become a reality. The political establishment always demonstrated a reluctance to keep their hands off an asset estimated in material terms to be worth Rs 55,000 crore but was, in terms of the clout it bestows on those who control it, invaluable.

Controversy dogged PrasarBharati from day one. First there was the ruckus over the composition of the Prasar Bharati Board, with the Gujral government being accused of packing it with its favourites. Then after the BJP government came to power there was the ugly and highly politicised skirmish between then Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Prasar Bharati CEO, S.S. Gill.

The Vajpayee government rushed through with the ordinance to make changes in the Prasar Bharati Act, not so much to strengthen the independent functioning of radio and TV in the country, as to eject Gill from his chair. While there is no evidence of any concerted efforts to strengthen the process of autonomy on its part, there is plenty of it to the contrary.

This newspaper reported that Iamp;B Minister Pramod Mahajan was livid about a particular bulletin that gave J. Jayalalitha a higher billing over A.B. Vajpayee. But it8217;s not just a matter of the minister expressing his displeasure over the treatment of a particular piece of news andconveying it to the Doordarshan newsroom. What is even more disturbing are the subtle attempts to smuggle in governmental concerns and preoccupations into Doordarshan and Akashvani programming. A new media watch slot on Doordarshan, entitled The Balanced View8217;, is a case in point

It sets out to critique newspaper coverage of various issues, which is of course a worthy enough intention. However, going by the first offering, the programme seems designed more to embarrass the critics of the government than to further professional values in newspaper journalism. Already one member of the Prasar Bharati Board has expressed his fear that Doordarshan could soon return to the days when sycophancy ruled the air waves. This must, on no account, be allowed to happen. That would be an insult to the people of this country who have fought long and hard for the idea of media autonomy.