History of journalism in India and role of Journalism in society

         History of journalism in India & role of                                  Journalism in society

The first newspaper in India was circulated in 1780 under the editorship of James Augusts Hicky, named Bengal Gazette. The first Hindi language from Calcutta published by pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla. James Augusts Hicky is known as the father of Indian Journalism.

The paper lasted just two years before being seized by the British administration in 1782 for its outspoken criticism of the Raj. Several other newspapers followed such as The Bengal Journal, Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier, and Bombay Herald. All of them, however, were curtailed by censorship measures imposed by the British East India Company.

Throughout 1799, 1818 and 1823, the colonial administration enacted several Acts to regulate the press in the country. The legislative outlier during this period was the Press Act of 1835, better known as the Metcalfe Act, which introduced a more liberal press policy.This asted till the revolt of 1857, after which, a perturbed foreign administration, shaken by the mutiny, introduced the Licensing Act in 1857. It gave the colonial administration the powers to stop publication and circulation of any printed material. In 1867, the administration enacted the Registration Act, which required every book or newspaper to bear the name of the printer, the publisher and the place of publication. Additionally, all books were to be submitted to the local government within a month of their publication.

One of the most stringent regulations on the freedom of the press in India was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. Introduced by then Viceroy, Lord Lytton, this act provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. It was an attempt to prevent the vernacular press from criticising British policies. The measure was an answer to the shortcomings of the ‘Gagging Act’, which the press was impervious the reference to the Vernacular Press Act, a special mention of Bengal’s Amrita Bazar Patrika gives a glimpse into the spirit of the Indian press at the time. After the Vernacular Press Act was imposed, Amrita Bazar Patrika began publishing in English too, as the Act was not imposed on English newspapers.Four new measures were enacted between 1908 and 1912 — the Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908, the Press Act of 1910 and the Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act of 1911.The Press Act of 1910 particularly hit Indian papers hard. It empowered the local government to demand a security fee for any ‘offensive content’ against the government. Nearly 1,000 papers were prosecuted under the Act.Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha widely used the Press to rally the masses against the British. This further heightened the tension between the Press and the government. With Gandhi’s arrest in 1930, the government enacted The Press (Emergency Powers) Ac of 1931. It gave the provincial governments censorship powers. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought further restrictions. The government demanded stiffer censorship, in spite of the Press Emergency Act of 1931. It controlled and filtered international news that was coming in Amidst such acts of censorship, the All-India Newspapers Editors’ Conference was conceived. It was aimed to be a protector of press rights in the country. It fought with the British government to lift the restrictions and advocated for better relations with the government.

Role of journalism in society

A journalist or Reporter ,is responsible for researching and writing informational news articles and stories about real events.

Journalism servers as a public 'Watchdog' by monitoring the political process in order to ensure that politicans carry out their duties well.

Roles of Journalism:

The role of journalism is primarily to provide information and news. Journalism can be of varied types and a journalist can write or present various genre and styles. For instance, a journalist can cover daily, news, investigative news or write features on varied topics. A journalist today can also write and present varied stuff that may not qualify as hardcore news or journalism and this is a genre all by itself called Lifestyle journalism which is based upon news about Travel, Food, Luxury, Clothing, Automobiles, Fashion, Sex, etc,. A journalist could write on environment or health. A journalist can also be a content writer.Many Professionals from the world around be it Doctors, Lawyers, Environmentalists, Botanists, Zoologists, Engineers or IITians, have taken to journalism to make people aware and inform them on varied topics which cannot be presented by ordinary citizens. This rise of Technical writers is indeed a boon as it creates a plethora of information on various topics, erstwhile unknown to many people. 

As a journalist who writes and/ or presents information to the people, it is important to remember that Journalism is a tool that epitomises information that is to be proclaimed on the wings of truth, authenticity, objectivity, loyalty and Honesty. The “Purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their government”. 

Role as Mediator: 

It is the role of the journalist to inform, educate and stand as the voice of the people of the country. While, journalism of different genres is a requirement, News journalism has an important role to play. A journalist has to be the voice that acts as a mediator between the People and the Government. Agenda setting by journalists has led to important issues being discussed and decisions taken to support People's demands of justice. While, it has been doing that for many years, times have changed and the patterns have changed too. 

Role in Agenda Setting: 

While some issues have achieved success in grossing the media limelight, some urgent issues have deliberately been suppressed. Agenda setting on one hand has brought certain important news to the forum, but on the other hand, has given way to deliberately giving a spin to news and to often making the people think what media wants them to think. Journalism has fallen victim to economical pressures and in many cases death threats to loyal and brave journalists who have become victims to power ideologies, political battles, ideology gimmicks and economic fiasco. And this is not just the case in a country like ours, but world over. However, Online journalism has come as a respite as that which is sidelined by most TV channels tends to go viral over the net.

Role in Development and National Integration:

Historically, the story of Journalism especially in the ‘freedom struggle’ ages of India is a bold story of immense courage. While it began with Hicky’s Bengal Gazette being printed; It had a very challenging phase in the freedom struggle where, various freedom fighters implanted the spark of the freedom struggle in the hearts of Indian Citizens using printed literature. The Britishers wanted to ban this movement of Indian press which was blossoming in order to encourage the freedom fight. However, this was not to be. Gradually India gained freedom. The press found its voice speaking for the people of the country and for development causes. The journalists were not to cow down even during the Emergency. Therefore, Journalism has the important role of playing a catalyst in India's development measures, National Integration and fight for justice. India has a history of stalwart journalists just like many other countries. However, the arena drastically changed with the arrival of economisation and the need for TRPs to get ad revenue. Digitisation, Monetisation and Business has led to a media that often succumbs to the demands of economic demands. Hardcore business entities entered the Journalism arena and this was just the beginning of the downfall of objectivity in many cases of journalism. Advertisement moolah has become a prime necessity for most channels.The meddling of Business manoeuvres and politicians have taken a toll on authentic journalism giving rise to a news reporting that has turned into a hob-nob for eye balls on Television debates and a politicising agenda for parties that wish to rule the rooster. As rightly said by Willams and Carpini, “it’s the power to set the “news agenda,” which determines which topics and issues are included in the news— and those which are omitted.” 

There are journalists who have adapted to the economic scenario in order to safeguard their bread-winning jobs and the demands of their firms, while others have stood the ground and paid the price. A twist to tales with a high dosier of subjectivity in the news is today excepted as a clause acceptable to people. This is not justifiable and not to be considered as journalism. Bad news reporting or rather biased and unfair means of news reporting leads to an ill-formed public. It diverts the attention of the people from important concerns to trivial unimportant maters. In the long run, this trend could turn dangerous as people will lose regard for those who have woven lies under the mask of truth in the minds of people. So, it is here that Journalism needs to undergo a rampant transformation.

Role as Gate-keeper:

Gate-keeping is another issue that leads to a massive amount of news from all over the country getting filtered. While the print media is still a better source of News and information, gate-keeping has led to a vast chunk of news especially from smaller towns never reaching a national platform. Most news channels barring a handful have become debate tables, with very little news from all over India about the needs of the people. These have turned into political pot-boilers debating on issues that evade other pressing issues that plague the country. The situation is also, not as bad as it could seem with authentic journalists heading towards social networking forums to present the voice of Truth.The newspapers both printed and Online, and the vernacular press are far better in their presentation of news. These also bring to you important international news which is sidelined by many channels. The major scams being exposed despite this unending trend of interference in media is an ode of triumph for the few motivated, honest and brave journalists. Though, these have to also pay the price as there are those who have succumbed to murders as a price of truth.