HYDERABAD : There is no escape for the media from corporate influence unless the model of The Guardian, which is insulated from such pressures by the funding it receives from a Trust, is followed, the Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu , N. Ram, said here on Monday.

He said that up to 80 per cent of a newspaper's revenue came from advertising and its influence was perceptible in some newspapers, which were even willing to compromise editorial space to accommodate advertisements. Added to this was the element of subsidy to the reader in the form of low cover price in the wake of price wars. Those who did not cut prices stood to lose, especially when there was cartelisation as in Kerala.

Delivering the keynote address at a session on `Corporate influence on the media' at the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) conference, Mr. Ram said this situation undoubtedly required greater interaction between the editorial and marketing departments of a newspaper while drawing a line, a `lakshman rekha,' between the two.

Tabloidisation

He said that in spite of the growth of tabloids, there was space for serious journalism as in the U.S. and in Europe. But, there would be serious trouble if the mainstream media were afflicted by tabloidisation. At the same time, it could refuse to learn from the popular media at its own peril.

Referring to concerns over media concentration and conglomeration and the reports that three-fourths of global advertisement spending would land in the hands of 20 media companies, he said the First Press Commission had stressed the need for diversity and pluralism. Prof. C. P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh, in a recent study on the `economics of media diversity,' had noted that beneath this pluralism, there was an increasing concentration in the language media in the hands of a few.

Responding to questions during the interactive session, Mr. Ram said the media tended to get tense when Indo-Pakistan relations were on the downswing and become euphoric during détente.

On the worldwide uproar over the publication of cartoons by a newspaper in Denmark, he said that while the media needed maximum freedom, it had a social responsibility too and to be sensitive towards the feelings of a community.

He complimented the Sakaal group of newspapers on its appointing an Ombudsman on the same day that The Hindu announced the appointment of a Readers' Editor.

Expanding

Earlier, in his inaugural address, the former Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ravi Shankar Prasad, noted that the appetite of the media was expanding vertically and horizontally. Unfortunately, it was technology that was controlling the media's cultural content and not the other way round.

India, with 8.6 crore television sets and over 300 channels, was not immune to this trend. However, all was not lost since the nation's image was shaped by language newspapers whereas English papers counted for only in the metros.

He said India and Pakistan had an abundance of creativity and they could be the toast of the world, if they joined hands.

The former Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, who addressed the afternoon session, said his Government had laid the infrastructure of the development of information technology in Andhra Pradesh and the present regime was building the superstructure. "I welcome it," he said.

Mr. Om Thanvi, Editor, Jansatta, presided.

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