The real custodians of truth in a society are neither the politicians, nor faith leaders nor corporates, but it is the media, said Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi. “The others have their own agenda. The real custodian of truth is the press,” said he.
Satyarthi was giving away the International Press Institute - India Chapter Award for Excellence in Journalism to Varun Bhatt of the Rajasthan Patrika and Rabi Banerjee of The Week.
The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a memento and a citation. Bhatt won it for a series of investigative reports on the neglect of a memorial promised by the state to honour the tribal freedom fighters of Mangarh in Rajasthan, while Banerjee was awarded for his report which gave out the life and struggles of human rights activist Irom Sharmila.
“The independence of freedom of press is a thermometer to understand the health of society. The evolution of human history is a journey towards freedom and truth but other forces come in and try to jeopardise that,” said Satyarthi.
“If 2000 children were taken away in Nigeria, 56 per cent of boys and girls in Iraq are being radicalised by fundamentalist forces. Thousands of girls are under the captivity of the Islamic State. You bring this ugly truth to the world,” he urged the media. “If one generation is protected today, the world would not have to worry about the welfare and freedom of the next generation,” he said.
Giving his presidential address at the function, Philip Mathew, Fellow of the International Press Institute, said irresponsible use of the social media by vested interests has become a new threat to the credibility of the traditional media. “A whole lot of misinformation is being spread on social media. What we used to dismiss as rumours are being sold as truths on social media. Instead of debating as we do in newspapers and channels, the social media takes recourse in calumny, which is leading to a credibility crisis.” He, however, said he was not for regulating the social media, but urged that the media should find institutional mechanisms to use the same social media to take the debate further.
N. Ravi, chairman of the IPI India Chapter pointed to the threats being faced by the media. He particularly pointed to the reported murder of mediamen in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and sections of society taking offence to perceived slights in the media or in literature or films. “This inhibits democratic debate and curbs artistic endeavours. We need more tolerance to face criticism as part of the democratic discourse,” he said.
The IPI is a worldwide body of editors, publishers and media executives founded 67 years ago. Over the years, the membership has grown to 120 countries. The IPI works on safeguarding freedom of the press and improving practices of journalism. In 2003, IPI India instituted the award for excellence in journalism with former chief justice of India Adarsh Sein Anand as the jury chairman.
