EYE ON ETHICS

Violence not to be glorified

32. Newspapers/journalists shall avoid presenting acts of violence armed robberies and terrorise activities in a manner that glorifies the perpetrators’ acts, declarations or death, in the eye’s of the public.

Glorification/ encouragement of social evils to be eschewed

33. Newspapers shall not allow their columns to be misused for writings which have a tendency to encourage or glorify social evils like Sati Pratha or ostentatious celebrations.

Covering communal disputes/ clashes

34. News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, amity and peace. Sensational, provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. Acts of’ communal violence or vandal-ism shall be reported in a manner as may not undermine the people’s confidence in the law and order machinery of the State. Giving community-wise figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing about the incident in a style which is likely to inflame passions between the tension, or accentuate the strained relations between the communities/ religious groups concerned, or which has a potential to exacerbate the trouble, shall be avoided.

Headings not to be sensational/ provocative and must justify the matter printed under them

35. In general and particularly in the context of communal disputes or clashes;

a. provocative and sensational headlines are to be avoided;

b. Headings must reflect and justify the matter printed under them;

c. Headings containing allegations made in statements should either identify the source making it or at least carry quotation marks.

Caste, religion or community references

36. In general, the caste identification of a person or a particular class should be avoided, particularly when in the context it conveys a sense or attributes a conduct or practice derogatory to that caste.

37. Newspapers are advised against the use of word “Scheduled Caste” or “Harijan” which has been objected to by some persons.

38. An accused or a victim shall not be described by his caste or community when the same does not have anything to do with the offence or the crime and plays no part either in the identification of any accused or proceeding, if there be any.

39. Newspaper should not publish any fictional literature distorting and portraying the religious characters in an adverse light transgression of the norms of literary taste and offending the religious susceptibilities of large section of society who hold those characters in high esteem, invested with attributes of the virtuous and lofty.

40. Commercial exploitation of the name of prophets, seers or deities is repugnant to journalistic ethics and good taste.

Reporting on natural calamities

41. Facts and data relating to spread of epidemics or natural calamities shall be checked up thoroughly from authentic sources and then published with due restraint in a manner bereft of sensational-ism, exaggeration, surmises, unverified facts.

Paramount national interest

42. Newspapers shall, as matter of self-regulation, exercise due restraint and caution in presenting any news, comment or information which is likely to jeopardise, endanger or harm the paramount interests of the State and society, or the rights of individuals with respect to which reasonable restrictions may be imposed by law on the right to freedom of speech and expression under clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

43. Publication of wrong/incorrect map is a very serious offence, whatever the reason, as it adversely affects the territorial integrity of the country and warrants prompt and prominent retraction with regrets.

Newspapers may expose misuse of diplomatic immunity

44. The media shall make every possible effort to build bridges of co-operation, friendly relations and better understanding between India and foreign States. At the same time, it is the duty of a news-paper to expose any misuse or undue advantage of the diplomatic immunities.

Investigative journalism, its norms and parameters

45. Investigative reporting has three basic elements.

a. It has to be the work of the reporter, not of others he is reporting;

b. The subject should be of public importance for the reader to know;

c. An attempt is being made to hide the truth from the people.

(i) The first norm follows as a necessary corollary from (a) that the investigative reporter should, as a rule, base his story on facts investigated, detected and verified by himself - and not on hearsay or on derivative evidence collected by a third party, not checked up from direct, authentic sources by the reporter himself.

(ii) There being a conflict between the factors which require open-ness and those which necessitate secrecy, the investigative journalist should strike and maintain in his report a proper balance between openness on the one hand and secrecy on the other, placing the public good above everything.

(iii) The investigative journalist should resist the temptation of quickies or quick gains conjured up from half-baked, incomplete, doubtful facts, not fully checked up and verified from authentic sources by the reporter himself.

(iv) Imaginary facts, or ferreting out or conjecturing the non-existent should be scrupulously avoided. Facts, facts and yet more facts are vital and they should be checked and cross-checked whenever possible until the moment the paper goes to press.

(v) The newspaper must adopt strict standards of fairness and ac-curacy of facts. Findings should be presented in an objective manner, without exaggerating or distorting, that would stand up in a court of law, if necessary.

(vi) The reporter must not approach the matter or the issue under investigation in a manner as though he were the prosecutor or counsel for the prosecution. The reporter’s approach should be fair, accurate and balanced. All facts properly checked up, both for and against the core issues should be distinctly and separately stated, free from any one-sided inferences or unfair comments. The tone and tenor of the report and its language should be sober, decent and dignified, and not needlessly offensive, barbed, derisive or castigatory, particularly while commenting on the version of the person whose alleged activity or misconduct is being investigated. Nor should the investigative reporter conduct the proceedings and pronounce his verdict of guilt or innocence against the person whose alleged criminal acts and conduct were investigated, in a manner as if he were a court trying the accused.

(vii) In all proceedings including the investigation, presentation and publication of the report, the investigative journalist/ newspaper should be guided by the paramount principle of criminal jurisprudence, that a person is innocent unless the offence alleged against him is proved beyond doubt by independent, reliable evidence.

(viii) The private life, even of a public figure, is his own. Exposition or invasion of his personal privacy or private life is not permissible unless there is clear evidence that the wrong doings in question have a reasonable nexus with the misuse of his public Position or power and has an adverse impact on public interest.

(ix) Though the legal provisions of Criminal procedure do not in terms, apply to investigating proceedings by a journalist, the fundamental principles underlying them can be adopted as a guide on grounds of equity, ethics and good conscience.

Confidence to be respected

46. If information is received from a confidential source, the confidence should be respected. The journalist cannot be compelled by the Press Council to disclose such source; but it shall not be regarded as a breach of journalistic ethics if the source is voluntarily disclosed in proceedings before the Council by the journalist who considers it necessary to repel effectively a charge against him/ her. This rule requiring a newspaper not to publish matters disclosed to it in confidence, is not applicable where:

a. consent of the source is subsequently obtained; or

b. the editor clarified by way of an appropriate foot-note that since the publication of certain matters were in the public interest, the in-formation in question was being published although it had been made “off the record”.

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