Presented by

Ranjeet Kumar Singh

MEDIA AND ETHICS

APPROACHThe study was a mix of primary and secondary research

a.Primary Research: Involved discussions and meetings with various stakeholders from:,

a. Medical Profession

b. Legal Community

c. Viewers

d. Media Person

b.Secondary research: Involved various sources:

a. Analyst reports

b. Publications

c. Websites

d. Documentaries

Name Designation

XYZ ABC

DISCUSSION WITH STAKEHOLDERS

WHAT IS MEDIA ETHICS ?Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the internet.

Three Areas of Media Ethics:

•Ethics of Journalism•News manipulation•Truth•Conflict With The Law

•Ethics of Entertainment media•The depiction of violence and sex, and the presence of strong language.•Product placement.•Stereotypes•Taste and taboos.

•Media And Democracy

Media has a huge reach

Media is one of the most influential tools to reach to people and affect their opinions.

Electronic media is deeply integrated with our lives.

Three cases to illustrate the importance of media ethics:i. Naveen Jindalii. satyamev Jayateiii. Zee TV reality TV show

MOTIVATION TO CHOOSE THIS TOPIC

CASE 1- NAVEEN JINDAL’S CASE

NAVEEN JINDAL'S STING OPERATION ON ZEE TV ...(1/2)

• In March 2012, the Coal Block Allocation scam hit the country

• The Government of India was accused of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period 2004–2009

• As a result both public sector enterprises and private firms came under the purview of this scam

• Zee TV was said possess an important video related to this case which allegedly showed involvement of Jindal's company in coal block allocation scam

• This video should have been given to CBI or could have been aired on TV

NAVEEN JINDAL'S STING OPERATION ON ZEE TV ...(2/2)• Jindal and his team members performed a sting

operation on the editors of Zee TV

• Footages showed a conversation where editors of Zee TV were seen demanding advertising commitments from Jindals in exchange of burying negative coverage on Jindal's company

• Mr. Naveen Jindal filed a criminal case against Zee News accusing the reporters of demanding Rs 100 crore to block the airing of the video tape

CASE 2- SATYAMEV JAYATE CASE

SATYAMEV JAYATE - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE ...(1/3)

• Satyamev Jayate, an Indian television talk show aired on various channels premiered on 6 May 2012.

• On 27th May, it aired an episode on Medical Malpractice.

• The episode was unbalanced, unfair and biased against doctors. And there was hardly any doctors presence to point out their view in scientific manner.

• The on-going trial of Major Pankaj Raj case was aired on the show. It is best to avoid trial by the media as this may potentially vitiate the outcome of the court proceedings.

• The experience shared by Dr Amol Pandit regarding doctors asking for commission was biased and generalised.

• Aamir Khan’s presented the facts and figures as a layman with regards to the medical practises. Some of them are :

i) Telling the audience that patient on dialysis live up to 15-20 years. Even the 5-year survival rate of patients on dialysis is about 25-30 %

ii) Expressing surprise that a diabetic patient had to lose a toe in the hands of a surgeon. Losing not only a toe but the entire limb is not an uncommon occurrence.

• Dr Gulhati said that pharmaceuticals companies give Rs 1.31 lakh per doctor per year amounting to a total of Rs 12.5 thousand crore. He also pointed out that in medical line, only taking bribe is illegal, not giving it.

i) He has not given the source of his data about the figure of Rs 12.5 thousand crore.

ii) It is a loose and prejudiced statement that giving bribe in medical profession is legal

SATYAMEV JAYATE - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE ...(2/3)

SATYAMEV JAYATE - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE ...(3/3)

The following desirable things should have been included by the program:

•Representation from IMA and from the legal community

•A statement that the case of Major Pankaj Rai is already in the court and the aim of the program is not to influence the outcome of that case by indulging in trial by media.

•A statement that patients having grievances against doctors can easily complain to the medical council or the consumer court or even to both of them at the same time.

•Amir Khan needs to retract his wrong statements at the next episode

CASE 3- SOLVETHELLAM UNMAI- A ZEE TV SHOW

SOLVETHELLAM UNMAI’S CASE ...(1/2)

• It's a reality show in Tamilnadu telecast on Zee Tv in which family problems are discussed by two sides involved with anchor of the programme , Ms Nirmala Periyasamy, a former TV news reader

• A petition was filed in Madras High court to ban this by a person who was made to answer the questions without his knowledge and the management turned down his request to stop the telecast

• In another incident a man was badly bruised after he was assaulted by his second wife and her mother following a heated argument on the show

• Madras High Court judge KK Sreedharan said if a person's prestige in the society is affected by media, there should be an action taken against such media houses and notice was sent to Zee TV official

SOLVETHELLAM UNMAI’S CASE ...(2/2)Ethical issue involved:

• Is it right on the part of broadcasters to invade the private life of a citizen in the pretext of resolving family feud ?

• People do have a need for privacy

• Ethics which involve responsibilities rather than rights are a better bet in privacy decisions

• Consent is a defence to invasion of privacy. But there may be tricky issues here. What if one party give consent for the use of embarrassing footage or information about the family issues and such publicity may be highly offensive to the other party involved ?

WAY FORWARD• Mass media has a prominent role to play in modern society. It can bring about radical

changes and improve social situation as it influences our social, civil, cultural, political, economic and aesthetic outlook

• Growing consumerism and materialism have adversely impacted media

• Deliberately creating sensational stuff and running after opportunistic gains are two issues with media

• "Rules" are seldom the answer. There are too many exceptions, special circumstances and additional factors to consider.

• Respect everyone's privacy.

• It's conflict between two deeply held beliefs: The right to know and the right to privacy & fair treatment. It is not a conflict that can be resolved with a single formula, but only on a case-by-case basis

THANK YOU !!!