Former SC judge flags ‘silence’ of journalists over media laws

Supreme Court judge B. Sudarshan Reddy has expressed alarm over the "silence" of journalists in response to the Union government's plans to introduce media laws. At a panel discussion on the need for collective action to protect journalists from state coercion, Reddy urged journalists to seek broader societal support to safeguard their rights.

He warned that the growing influence of neoliberal economic policies and internal divisions within the journalistic community were exacerbating journalists' vulnerabilities. Reddy emphasized that the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression in Article 19 was insufficient for the protection of journalists. To effectively safeguard their rights, a deeper understanding of the current socio-economic and political landscape is crucial, he added.

Hartosh Singh Bal, executive editor of The Caravan, and a member of the committee that drafted the Media Transparency (And Accountability) Bill, highlighted the increasing prevalence of contractual employment in journalism and the weakening of journalists' unions as areas of concern. Bal stressed the importance of journalists uniting to resist efforts by media management to weaken trade unions and infringe upon journalists' rights.

K. Sreenivas Reddy, chairman of the Telangana Media Academy, voiced concern over the declining standards of news reporting. Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, president of the Press Club of India, moderated the discussion.