Does the Press enjoy immunity from breaking the law? No it doesn’t. A media person is supposed to obey the law as much as any other professional and citizen of this country. So, each time a media person is accused of being on the wrong side of the law, why do some media bodies rise to register their protest and cry for media freedom. Journalists are not above the law or do they enjoy immunity of any kind.
Why is the Editors’ Guild of India – top names in Indian journalism sitting in the exalted chambers – oblivious of this basic fact? Do they support those in the media who work against the nation or violate the law? Kashmir is facing a hybrid proxy war in which sections of society are to be used against the country to defame and harm it. One shouldn’t be surprised to be told that there are a few individuals holding the Press cards supporting this hybrid activity. Let the police fish them out and the courts give a verdict on their complicity or lack of it. Also, why is the Press Council of the Editors’ Guild silent on scores of cases of violation of freedom by the terrorists, extremists and religious bigots?
Editors and senior media professionals must realize that the hegemony of some individuals in the profession is over. In Today’s digital world, the game is played differently. While every owner of a mobile with a camera is a reporter, everyone is free to give his opinion on social media and thus making opinions of those sitting in ivory towers or commenting cynically with editorial authority redundant. The digital space cuts both ways; it gives as much advantage to the saboteurs as it gives to those responsible for tracking them. So Police is also equipped with digital powers and they use irrefutable evidence to catch people involved in hybrid activities; they don’t need lessons and pontification from the Media Mughals sitting in Delhi