The public row over the real state of the autonomy of Prasar Bharati might seem ugly but the points made by the CEO against the I&B minister must be carefully considered by the powers that be or the powers to be. The proximity of the CEO’s comments to the polls, when a change of government is in the air, might lend itself to the suspicion that the officer may be currying favour with his future masters. Even so, the principles behind what he has said are far more important than the context of the edited interview of one party’s leader.
His track record suggests Manish Tewari has been an interventionist minister who wasted an opportunity to strive towards the ideal of an autonomous public broadcaster in the best traditions of the First World. No politician has been above interfering blatantly with the news division, although in the new age no censorship can be absolute as matters tend to spill out in the media over which the government has no control. The pity is a young minister should have known, and performed, better.
Doordarshan and AIR are relevant even today since their terrestrial reach makes them so easily available to large sections of the population. The credibility of such organisations becomes suspect only because politicians have always believed in controlling the flow of information. It is a moot point whether as a society we can afford to have the government control information, apart from necessary technical editing, in today’s world of WikiLeaks, whistle-blowers and open media.
