It was a joy to see the so called media moghul Rupert Murdoch, his son James and their chief executive Rebekah Brooks grovel before the House of Commons media committee. Rubert Murdoch described it as the most “humble” day of his life, while all three tried to soft talk the British lawmakers into believing their innocence.
The answers were for the most part vague, and for those of us in the profession it is impossible to believe that payments were made to private investigators, and sensational stories published with James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks being in the loop. The old man might not be aware of the finer details. But that dirty journalism was undertaken by his media group of course is beyond doubt. Rebekah Brooks at the hearing maintained that everyone else on Fleet Street was doing the same, but that does not take away from the fact that News of the World had crossed all ethical boundaries. Particularly when it hacked into and deleted voice mails of the kidnapped British school girl, subsequently killed, without informing the authorities. Her relatives thought she was alive, and the police was completely thrown off the track. Dirty, sordid journalism at its worst.
Of course the Murdochs and Brooks did the usual round of apologies at the hearing. And kept insisting that they did not know, in responses to fairly penetrating questions from the MPs. Murdoch has set up a media ‘empire’ and as the international television channels reported, Prime Ministers went up to meet him rather than the other way around.
India should learn from the Murdoch experience, as corporate monopolies over news are being encouraged and supported by the political class here. The moment any one particular business family starts dominating media vehicles of varying forms and kinds, the result could well be that news becomes censored at the onset. The fact that the corporate houses are dependent on sympathetic governments also lends a slant to the news that projects what suits both, and blacks out the inconvenient. This censorship is sinister and dangerous, as it takes away from the democratic space that should remain freely available to the people of this country, particularly the poor and the marginalised.
This is not to paint the entire media with the same brush- there are so many notable exceptions. But to point out that unless there is serious introspection and remedial action by the media and the public – note, not the government – the ailment will become a terminal disease with the Indian democracy being robbed of an invaluable pillar and watchdog.
