Why in the News
During recent protests in Delhi, riot police removed freelance journalists and content creators from the protest site, and only journalists accredited by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) or the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) could report. The episode has reopened the question of who has the right to be recognised as a journalist, and who decides.
How is a journalist recognised today?
- What accreditation is: Media accreditation is official recognition that gives a journalist access to designated official sources of information. It works like a government-issued press pass.
- Statutory definition: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 defines a working journalist as someone mainly occupied in journalism and employed in newspaper, electronic or digital media. Managerial or administrative staff are excluded.
- Who accredits: Central and State governments accredit working journalists, freelancers, camerapersons and technicians. In the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), PIB accreditation covers the Central government and DIP accreditation the Delhi government.
- The takeaway: Government accreditation now decides who may report from a protest site.
What did the protests expose?
- Two rounds of protest: Opposition-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests came in July over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak. A second round in October was over the Chief Election Commissioner’s removal.
- Removal and detention: Freelancers crowded a venue already full of registered reporters. In the second round, riot police removed them and sent them to detention centres.
- Supreme Court’s question: Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by freelancers and content creators, a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) wondered if every citizen could be a journalist.
- Police protocol demand: A senior advocate sought a national protocol stopping police from obstructing any journalist with an employer’s identity card.
- Government’s concern: The Solicitor General said anyone with a mobile phone could claim to be a freelancer, even when making reels only for popularity or money.
Why does government accreditation fall short?
- Quota-based eligibility: PIB and DIP guidelines link accreditation to quotas: circulation for print, subscribers for news agencies, broadcast licences for satellite channels and unique visitors, distinct readers, for digital publishers.
- Excluded journalists: As a result, not all journalists in recognised media organisations get accreditation.
- Growing pool of claimants: More and more people with a camera now claim to be freelance journalists.
What would a national media council do?
- Proposed model: A statutory national media council would recognise all working journalists, freelancers, camerapersons and technicians, like the Bar Council of India for lawyers or the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
- Professional qualification: The council may require a degree or diploma in journalism and mass communication before granting a licence, just as practising law requires a law degree.
- Earlier drafts: The Press Club of India drafted a Media Transparency (and Accountability) Bill that mandated a national media council. Other journalists’ bodies have since submitted a memorandum to the government with the same demand.
Challenges
- State control of recognition: Governments accredit journalists, so the state decides who may report on protests against it.
- Employment-linked definition: The labour code ties journalist status to employment, leaving freelancers outside its scope.
- No test for content creators: No settled criterion separates freelance journalists from people making reels for popularity.
Way Forward
- Statutory media council: Parliament should create an independent national media council to recognise all working journalists.
- Work-based criteria: Accreditation should rest on professional work rather than circulation or audience quotas.
- Police protocol: The Centre should frame a national protocol barring police from obstructing journalists with valid identity cards.
Conclusion
The dispute has moved from press freedom in general to the narrower question of who holds the power to recognise a journalist. Whether the government takes up a statutory council, and how such a council balances professional standards with open access, is the development to watch.
Freedom of Press in India
- Constitutional basis: Press freedom is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. It derives from Article 19(1)(a), subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2).
- Basic structure: In Indian Express Newspapers v. Union of India (1985), the Supreme Court held press freedom to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
- Press Council of India: The Press Council of India Act, 1978 set up the Press Council of India (PCI), a quasi-judicial body that upholds press ethics. It can censure newspapers but lacks punitive power.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2022, GS2, 10 marks] Discuss the role of the National Commission for Backward Classes in the wake of its transformation from a statutory body to a constitutional body.”
