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Press Clubs urged to restore public trust in media: N Ram
At the Federation of Press Clubs conclave, N Ram said erosion of public trust and threats to press freedom are interconnected challenges facing journalism.
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Press clubs across India need to take a more active role in rebuilding public trust in journalism, which has been eroded by political propaganda, misinformation, and sensationalism, said N Ram, Director of The Hindu Group, at the National Conclave of the Federation of Press Clubs in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Ram identified two interconnected challenges confronting the media: a decline in public trust and growing threats to press freedom. He said the trust deficit stemmed largely from disinformation on social media, but some mainstream outlets had also contributed through sensationalism, inadequate verification, communal rhetoric, and “invisible or reluctant corrections” alongside excessive proximity to political and corporate interests.
“When journalism becomes indistinguishable from political propaganda and when television debates substitute noise for information, public trust inevitably suffers,” he said.
Ram argued that a free press cannot survive on constitutional safeguards alone. Public trust, he said, is equally essential for journalism to function as an effective democratic institution.