Journalism is neither silence nor noise but a credible voice. Comment

Media space in India is tight as there is a monopoly of the state in the radio news and even the regional newspaper markets are being controlled by a few people who enjoy strong affiliations with the politicians. Thus, both production and distribution of content remain in the hands of only a few individuals which shows that this high level of concentration of ownership is basically due to gaps in the regulations. It is the discretion of the papers of what to highlight or hide, print articles which completely ignore other perspectives on issues. It is the absence of liberty to talk on certain issues which leads to noise on stories which are completely mundane and lack essence. There is an evident lack of pluralism despite India boasting of around 1.2 lakh publications in print, more than 550 FM channels and approximately 880 TV channels which include about 380 channels on news. Noise in such a scenario is seen as a medium to drown voices which are coming from various quarters. But, in the case where censorship is concerned, noise is much more powerful than silence. But, one should not forget that journalism is not just about noise or silence but a credible voice.

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