Patna, Oct. 3: Surendra Pratap Singh Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication and Bihar Working Journalist Union (BWJU) together organised a daylong workshop on “Paid news and its impact and challenges”.

The workshop was organised at the Indian Institute of Business Management (IIBM) hall today.

Speaking at the seminar, K.S. Reddy, secretary-general of the Indian Journalist Union, Hyderabad, said: “I am happy that an academic institute and the organisation have come together to organise such a workshop. The aim is to expose this pernicious practice in media, both in print and electronic, which is endangering the very foundation of the democratic polity. It is also a timely discussion as the process of election to the Bihar Assembly is also underway,” said Reddy.

Director-general of Indian Institute of Business Management (IIBM), U.K. Singh spoke on the dangers of paid news practice.“Paid news can cause a double jeopardy to the Indian democracy. On one hand, it can affect the free functioning of the press and on the other hand, it may vitiate the process of free and fair elections,” Singh said.

Namrata Singh, a journalism student, said: “The paid news phenomenon is an assault on people’s right to information and a major threat to electoral democracy. The journalist fraternity in the country have the duty to resist such practices because it is a question of survival of ethical journalism, media democracy and electoral democracy.”

Another student of S.P. Singh Institute, Deepak Kumar, said: “The Election Commission of India should set up a special cell to receive complaints about paid news during elections and initiate a process through which expeditious action could be taken on the basis of such complaints.”

Director of the institute Samir Kumar Singh said: “It cannot be controlled or eliminated by legal means alone. Professional journalists should take up the responsibility to curb such dangerous practices and uphold the highest moral and ethical standards of the profession.”

Talking about the concept of paid news, Reddy said: “The Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists first exposed the paid news scam of newspaper managements in Andhra Pradesh in April 2009 in the run up to the general election in2009. The Andhra union was also the first to coin the word ‘paid news’.”