George Orwell once said, “Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticise and oppose” and as we gear up to mark National Press Day in India, we can’t help but reflect on how journalism makes the fourth and last pillar of democracy. Press media includes various forms – traditional print publications such as newspapers and magazines, digital platforms like online news websites, blogs and e-magazines, broadcast media encompassing television and radio and social media channels where news is disseminated through platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
National Press Day originated to be symbolic of a free and responsible press in India where the diverse forms of press media cater to different audiences and preferences, providing information in written, visual and audio formats to reach a broad spectrum of the public.
National Press Day is celebrated in India on November 16 every year.
Recommending the establishment of a Press Council in 1956, the first Press Commission had concluded that the best way of maintaining professional ethics in journalism would be to bring into existence a body with statutory authority, of people principally connected with industry whose duty it would be to arbitrate. To this, end the Press Council of India was established and the body that has evolved since November 16, 1966 has not belied the objective.
This was the day on which the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors. Though there are several Press or Media Councils world over, the Press Council of India is a unique entity in as-much-as this is the only body to exercise an authority even over the instruments of the State in its duty to safeguard the independence of the press.
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