UNIT -5

MEDIA ETHICS AND LAWS

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION - ARTICLE 19 (1) (A)

Freedom of Speech and Expression

Speech is God's gift to mankind. Through speech a human being conveys his thoughts,
sentiments and feeling to others Freedom of speech and expression is thus a natural right, which
a human being acquires on birth is, therefore, a basic right. "Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
seek and receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
proclaims the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights (1948) The people of India declared in the
Preamble of the Constitution, which they gave unto themselves the resolve to secure to all the
citizens liberty of thought and expression. This resolve is reflected in Article 19(1) (a) which is
one of the Articles found in Part III of the Constitution, which enumerates the Fundamental
Rights.

Man as rational being desires to do many things, but in a civil society his desires have to be
controlled, regulated and reconciled with the exercise of similar desires by other individuals. The
guarantee of each of the above right is, therefore, restricted by the Constitution in the larger
interest of the community. The right to freedom of speech and expression is subject to limitations
imposed under Article 1902).

Public order as a ground of imposing restrictions was added by the Constitution (First
Amendment) Act, 1951 Public order is something more than ordinary maintenance of law and
order Public order in the present context is synonymous with public peace, safety and tranquility

Meaning and Scope

Article 19(1)(a) of Indian Constitution says that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech
and expression Freedom of Speech and expression means the right to express one's own
convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode.
It thus includes the expression of one's idea through any communicable medium or visible
representation, such as gesture, signs, and the like This expression connotes also publication and
thus the freedom of press is included in this category Free propagation of ideas is the necessary
objective and this may be done on the platform or through the press This propagation of ideas is
secured by freedom of circulation. Liberty of circulation is essential to that freedom as the liberty
of publication. Indeed, without circulation the publication would be of huge value The freedom
of speech and expression includes liberty to propagate not one's views only. It also includes the
right to propagate or publish the views of other people; otherwise this freedom would not include
the freedom of press

Freedom of expression has four broad special purposes to serve

1) It helps an individual to attain self-fulfillment

2) It assists in the discovery of truth.

3) It strengthens the capacity of an individual in participating in decision-making

4) It provides a mechanism by which it would be possible to establish a reasonable balance

between stability and social change.

5) All members of society would be able to form their own beliefs and communicate them freely
to others

In sum, the fundamental principle involved here is the people's right to know Freedom of speech
and expression should, therefore, receive generous support from all those who believe in the
participation of people in the administration. It is on account of this special interest which society
has in the free down of speech and expression that the approach of the Government should be
more cautious while levying taxes on matters of concerning newspaper industry than while
levying taxes on other matters.

Explaining the scope of freedom of speech and expression Supreme Court has said that the
words "freedom of speech and expression" must be broadly constructed to include the freedom to
circulate one's views by words of mouth or in writing or through audiovisual instrumentalities. It
therefore includes the right to propagate one's views through the print media or through any other
communication channel e.g. the radio and the television. Every citizen of this country therefore
has the right to air his or their views through the printing and or the electronic media subject of
course to permissible restrictions imposed under article 19(2) of the constitution.

Freedom to air one's view is the lifeline of any democratic institution and any attempt to stifle,
suffocate or gag this right would sound a death knell to democracy and would help usher in
autocracy or dictatorship. The modern communication mediums advance public interest by
informing the public of the events and development that have taken place and thereby educating
the voters, a role considered significant for the vivacious functioning of a democracy. Therefore,
in any setup more so in a democratic setup like ours, broadcasting of news and views for popular
consumption is a must and any attempt to deny the same must be frowned upon unless it falls
within the mischief of Article 19(2) of the Constitution.

The various communication channels are great spreaders of news and views and make
considerable impact on the minds of readers and viewers and our known to mould public opinion
on vitals issues of national importance. The freedom of speech and expression includes freedom
of circulation and propagation of ideas and therefore the right extends to the citizen to use the
media to answer the criticism leveled against the views propagated by him. Every free citizen has
undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases. This freedom must, however, be exercised
with circumspection and care must be taken not to trench on the rights of other citizens or to
jeopardize public interest
New Dimensions of Freedom of Speech and Expression

Government has no monopoly on electronic media: The Supreme Court widened the scope and
extent of the night to freedom of speech and expression and held that the government has no
monopoly on electronic media and a citizen has under Art. 19(1)(a) a right to telecast and
broadcast to the viewers/listeners through electronic media in television and radio any important
event. The government can impose restrictions on such a right only on grounds specified in
clause (2) of Art 19 and not on any other ground. A citizen has fundamental right to use the best
means of imparting and receiving communication and as such have an access to telecasting for
the purpose.

Commercial Advertisements: The court held that commercial speech (advertisement) is a part
of the freedom of speech and expression. The court however made it clear that the government
could regulate the commercial advertisements, which are deceptive, unfair, misleading and
untruthful. Examined from another angle the Court said that the public at large has a right to
receive the "Commercial Speech" Art 19(1)(a) of the constitution not only guaranteed freedom of
speech and expression, it also protects the right of an individual to listen, read, and receive the
said speech

Telephone Tapping: Invasion on right to privacy Telephone tapping violates Art. 19(1)(a)
unless it comes within grounds of restriction under Art 19(2). Under the guidelines laid down by
the Court, the Home Secretary of the center and state governments can only issue an order for
telephone tapping. The order is subject to review by a higher power review committee and the
period for telephone tapping cannot exceed two months unless approved by the review authority

REASONABLE RESTRICTICTIONS
Clause (2) of article 19 contains the grounds on which restrictions on the freedom of speech and
restrictions can be imposed-
1. SECURITY OF THE STATE: Reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the
freedom of speech and expression, in the interest of the security of the State. The term
security of state has to be distinguished from public order. For security of state refers to
serious and aggravated forms of public disorder, example rebellion, waging war against
the state [entire state or part of the state], insurrection etc.
2. FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN STATES: This ground was added by
the Constitution (First Amendment) Act of 1951. The State can impose reasonable
restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression if it hampers the friendly relations
of India with other State or States.
3. DECENCY AND MORALITY: Section 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code provide
instances of restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression on the grounds of
decency and morality, it prohibits the sale or distribution or exhibition of obscene
words. The standard of morality changes with changing times.
4. SOVEREIGNTY AND INTEGRITY OF INDIA: This ground was added
subsequently by the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963. This is aimed to
 prohibit anyone from making the statements that challenge the integrity and sovereignty
of India
5. CONTEMPT OF COURT: Restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression can
be imposed if it exceeds the reasonable and fair limit and amounts to contempt of court.
According to the section 2 ‘contempt of court’ may be ‘civil contempt’ or ‘criminal
contempt.’
6. DEFAMATION: A statement, which injures a man’s reputation, amounts to
defamation. Defamation consists in exposing a man to hatred, ridicule, or contempt.
The civil law in relating to defamation is still uncodified in India to certain exceptions.
7. INCITEMENT TO OFFENCE: freedom of speech and expression cannot confer a
right to incite people to commit offence. The word ‘offence’ is defined as any act or
omission made punishable by law for the time being in force.
8. PUBLIC ORDER: Anything that disturbs public order. Thus communal disturbances
and strikes promoted with the sole object of accusing unrest among workmen are
offences against public order. Public order thus implies absence of violence and an
orderly state of affairs in which citizens peacefully pursue their normal avocation of
life. Public order also includes public safety. Thus creating internal disorder or
rebellion would affect public order and public safety.

MEDIA ETHICS
 Ethics is consideration of what is right and wrong; laws are statements of what is
permitted and not permitted. Because everything you do in journalism may
involve ethical judgments and legal decisions, there is no single occasion when
you can use them to prepare for a specific assignment. You need to think about
ethics and legal question in everything you do.
 Some of the ethical principles we discuss are so important of professional
journalism that you really have the choice but to obey them. If you disregard these
central principles of journalism, you will not only have behaved as a journalist,
but you will also have undermined the very foundations upon which professional
journalism is built. Many ethical issues are not clear out. There are times when the
demands to do one thing conflict with the demands to do another. For example,
there are occasions when you can justify invading a person's private life in order
to expose something harmful to society, and there are other occasions when it is
not justifiable. These are decisions which can only be made case-by-case after
careful thought

 The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media ethics
primarily because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism Journalistic
ethics tends to dominate media ethics, sometimes almost to the exclusion of other
areas. Topics covered by journalism ethics include.
News manipulation: News can manipulate and be manipulated Governments and corporations
may attempt to manipulate news media, governments, for example, by censorship, and
corporations by share ownership. The methods of manipulation are subtle and many
manipulations may be voluntary or involuntary. Those being manipulated may not be aware of
this
Truth: Truth may conflict with many other values.
Public interest: Revelation of military secrets and other sensitive government information may
be contrary to the public interest, even if it is true. However, public interest is not a term which it
easy to define
Privacy: Salacious details of the lives of public figures are a central content element in many
media. Publication is not necessarily justified simply because the information is true. Privacy is
also a right, and one which conflicts with free speech
Fantasy: Fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is a legitimate goal of media content.
Journalism may mix fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical dilemmas
Taste: Photo journalists who cover war and disasters confront situations which may shock the
sensitivities of their audiences. For example, human remains are rarely screened. The ethical
issue is how far one risk shocking an audience's sensitivities in order to correctly should and
fully report the truth
Protection of confidential news sources: There is also the question of the extent to which it is
ethically acceptable to break the law in order to obtain news

DEFAMATION

Defamation happens when a person makes a false statement—verbally or in writing—about

someone else that damages that person's reputation.
Each state has its own defamation laws, but the basic principles of defamation law are the same
in every state.
A plaintiff (a person who brings a case against another in a court of law) suing for defamation
typically must show that the defendant:

 made an "unprivileged" false statement of fact (an opinion is not defamatory)

 the statement was made to a third party (someone other than the plaintiff), and
 The statement harms the reputation of the plaintiff.

Types of Defamation: Libel vs. Slander

Libel and slander are methods of defamation. Libel is defamation in written form. Slander is
defamation that is spoken out loud.

LIBEL:
Libel is the publication of a false statement about someone in writing that harms that person's
reputation by exposing them to public hatred, scorn, disgrace, ridicule, or shame.
Typical forms of libel include statements published in:

 books
 magazines
  newspapers
 newsletters, and
 on social media
Examples of Libel
Someone can make a libelous statement about a person or business in print or online. Examples
of potentially libelous statements include:

 a social media post spreading a false rumor about a person having a sexually transmitted
infection
 a Yelp review that falsely claims the reviewer got food poisoning at a restaurant
 a performance evaluation that falsely accuses an employee of stealing, or
 a letter to the editor falsely accusing an attorney of practicing without a license.
Libel is considered in context. If a writer describes an athlete as a "pimp" in a glowing profile in
a magazine, it probably isn't libel. In the context of the profile, the writer is likely complimenting
the athlete, not accusing the athlete of a crime.
SLANDER:
Slander refers to making false oral statements about another person, harming their reputation.
Slander causing defamation to another person is punishable as a civil or criminal offence under
the laws of different countries. The act of defamation may be against an individual, organization,
or company. The term 'slander' is used in legal terminology for verbal statements causing
defamation.
 Slander is the legal term used to describe false statements made by one party against
another.
 It is a form of defamation that is communicated verbally to a third party, which makes it
temporary.
 The subject of slanderous statements can pursue legal action against the slanderer(s).
 Slander can be hard to prove as the complainant must show the slanderer was driven by
malice and knew their claims were false.
 Slander is different from libel, which are false statements made through print or
broadcast.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT- 2005

The act is one of the most important acts which empower ordinary citizens to question the
government and its working. This has been widely used by citizens and media to uncover
corruption, progress in government work, expenses-related information, etc.

The primary goal of the Right to Information Act is to empower citizens, promote openness and
accountability in government operations, combat corruption, and make our democracy truly
function for the people. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep
a required track on governance instruments and hold the government responsible to the
governed. The Act is a significant step in informing citizens about the activities of the
government.

All constitutional authorities, agencies, owned and controlled, also those organizations which are
substantially financed by the government comes under the purview of the act. The act also
mandates public authorities of union government or state government, to provide timely response
to the citizens’ request for information.

The act also imposes penalties if the authorities delay in responding to the citizen in the
stipulated time.

What type of information can be requested through RTI?

 The citizens can seek any information from the government authorities that the
government can disclose to the parliament.
 Some information that can affect the sovereignty and the integrity of India is exempted
from the purview of RTI.
 Information relating to internal security, relations with foreign countries, intellectual
property rights (IPR), cabinet discussions are exempted from RTI.

Objectives of the RTI Act

1. Empower citizens to question the government.

2. The act promotes transparency and accountability in the working of the government.
3. The act also helps in containing corruption in the government and work for the people in
a better way.
4. The act envisages building better-informed citizens who would keep necessary vigil
about the functioning of the government machinery.

Significance of the RTI Act

 The RTI Act, 2005 empowers the citizen to question the secrecy and abuse of power
practiced in governance.
 It is through the information commissions at the central and state levels that access to
such information is provided.
 RTI information can be regarded as a public good, for it is relevant to the interests of
citizens and is a crucial pillar for the functioning of a transparent and vibrant democracy.
 The information obtained not only helps in making government accountable but also
useful for other purposes which would serve the overall interests of the society.
 Every year, around six million applications are filed under the RTI Act, making it the
most extensively used sunshine legislation globally.
 These applications seek information on a range of issues, from holding the government
accountable for the delivery of basic rights and entitlements to questioning the highest
offices of the country.
 Using the RTI Act, people have sought information that governments would not like to
reveal as it may expose corruption, human rights violations, and wrongdoings by the
state.
 The access to information about policies, decisions and actions of the government that
affect the lives of citizens is an instrument to ensure accountability.
 The Supreme Court has, in several judgments, held that the RTI is a fundamental right
flowing from Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee to citizens the
freedom of speech and expression and the right to life, respectively.
IMPORTANCE OF THE RTI ACT FOR MEDIA
 The RTI Act, 2005 is a very important tool for journalists, especially in a country like
India where the Press is not absolutely free. If Press freedom is partial, then journalists
can use RTI to get important information from the State and Central Governments. The
RTI Act of 2005 made it mandatory to give information to those parties who had
successfully filed the RTI to government bodies, after paying a prescribed fee. It
mandates timely response to any citizen seeking information from the government.
 The RTI has surely encouraged journalists and society to think large and ask more
questions about the affairs of the state and promote accountability.
 Today, the journalists are no longer required to go by the words of people or rumours.
 Through RTI, transparency in public affairs can be achieved.
 Information is considered to be the oxygen of democracy, where people live freely and
information serves greater good. There is direct relationship, which exists between RTI,
informed citizen and fair governance. The Right to information gives citizens an
opportunity of being informed.
 The RTI provides the most genuine form of information.
 In this regard, with Role Of Media the advent of RTI, journalists are no longer required to
simply rely on their personal contacts. Now, news can be more impartial and objective.
The RTI is now considered to be a very powerful source of information.
 It is not only easy to use but it is also reliable, and as such, the editors would hardly
question the authenticity of the data obtained through the RTI.
 It is to be noted that in earlier days, journalists were denied information but today they
can obtain the required information through the RTI
 OFFICIAL SECRET ACT 1923
This act was enacted by the Britishers during the British rule. Some amendments have been
made after independence but now there is strong public opinion by the Press Council, Press
Commission and Journalistic Associations to revise the whole Act because this Act is very hard
and strict. It extends to the whole of India and applies also to the government servants and the
citizens of India living outside India.
The Official Secrets Act, 1923 is a comprehensive document relating to official secrets and
defines a number of offences. The act is aimed at maintaining the security of the state against
leakage of information, sabotage and the like. It consolidates law relating to the official secrets.

It deals with 2 kinds of offences:

1. Spying (sec 3&4 )
2. Wrongful information of any other secret official code or password or any sketch , plan ,
article, model, note, document or information (sec 5)

Under sec 3 of the Act, it is an offence if any person for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or
interest of the state.
A. Approaches, inspects, passes over or in the vicinity of or enters any prohibited place; or
B. Makes any sketch, plan, model or note which is calculated to be or might be or is
intended to be directly or indirectly useful to enemy; or
C. Obtains, collects , records, or publishes or communicates to any other person any other
sketch , plan, model, article or note or other documents or information which is
calculated to be or might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy
Punishment for spying
Punishment for spying in relation to the country’s defense is up to 14 years.

Under sec 5 of the Act, it is an offence

• If any person voluntarily receives any secret information
• Person having a possession or in control any authorized information
• Retaining info without any authority
• Use of information in possession of government officers to help a foreign power,
• Communication with foreign agents,
• If the person fails to take a reasonable care of secret information,
• Incitement to commission of offence is also an offence
Under this provision of Act, any publication by a newspaper of an official secret, whether in the
form of note, document, code or password, sketch, plan or model, makes not only the
correspondent, editor, printer and publisher liable to punishment but also every director and
officer of the company or corporation with whose knowledge and consent the offence was
committed becomes guilty of a like offence.
Punishment
under this act, it is the duty of every citizen to give information regarding commission of offence
by any other person. Every citizen is requested to attend courts to testify. This section prescribes
punishment with imprisonment upto 5 years or fine or both
 COPYRIGHT ACT 1957

The copyright Act, 1957 provides the author with protection against unfair appropriation of his
or her work.
The law is too complex to treat here except to explore briefly the one aspect of copyright that is
of concern to most reporters: How much, if may, can a reporter quote from copyrighted material
without permission of the copyright holder.
The answer is not simple. A "fair use doctrine" has emerged from court decisions over the years
that suggest that a small amount of quotation from copyrighted materials is permissible in the
interests of a free flow of ideas.

In determining 'fair use' following factors are taken into consideration:

• Is the use for commercial or nonprofit purposes?

• What is the nature of the copyrighted work?

• How much is being used?

• Will the use damage the salability of the original?

The following guidelines, however, might help you in deciding how much to quote without
asking permission, assuming you are using copyrighted material in a local newspaper of general
circulation:

• In factual articles depicting a situation of public interest, quote not more than 5 percent of
an article or essay, or upto 200 words, whichever is less (For example, use not more than
75 words of a 1,500 word essay.)

• Do not quote from poems or song, lyrics without permission.

• Be wary of quoting from purely "literary" works such as novels, short stories, and plays.
Have reasonable justification for use of the excerpts.

• Do not reproduce photos, works of art, or statistical tables without permission.

• Have a noble reason for using a quote: public interest, public welfare, public health and
safety, the education of the young and so forth. The more public interest that can be
shown, the safer it is to use the material without permission.

• Remember that only the arrangement of words-not the facts themselves are
copyrightable. Therefore, facts contained in a copyrighted news story can be sued, though
they should be confirmed by your own independent research (never trust another
publication to have the facts straight.)
 • Always ask permission when quoting from private letters unless they were obviously
intended for publication (such as a letter to the editor). Common law protects unpublished
materials, and even a snippet of such a letter must not be used without the permission of
the author. (Common law is more strict in this matter than statutory copyright.) You must
obtain permission from the sender, not the receiver

• Always credit fully the source of the quotation.

• If in doubt about any of the above considerations, get permission. It’s seldom refused
when small amounts of quotation are involved, because local newspaper reproduction
seldom offers commercial competition to a copyrighted work. Indeed, it may even
enhance sales.

CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT, 1971

The Act of 1971, for the first time, gives a complete definition of the expression 'contempt of
court' in section 2 by codifying the result of judicial decisions. Clause (a) of section 2 states that
there are two categories of contempt under the Act:
(1) Civil contempt and
(2) Criminal contempt.

Civil contempt
Wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or
wilful breach of an undertaking given a court constitutes 'civil contempt' under Clause (b) of
Section 2

Criminal contempt
Any publication which interferes with or undermines the administration of justice or has a
tendency to do so constitutes 'criminal contempt' under Clause (c) of Section 2: and this the
category to which the Press generally becomes answerable. The definition in Clause (c) of
Section 2 is in the following terms:

Criminal contempt means the publication (where by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by
visible representations, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever
which

(1) Scandalizes or tend to scandalize or lowers or tend to lower the authority of any court, or

(2) Prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial proceedings,
or

(3) Interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of
justice in any other manner
PUNISHMENT
Civil contempt: In case of civil contempt, the contemptor cannot be sent even to simple
imprisonment. He can be detained in a civil prison for not more than six months, normally a fine
would be considered sufficient to meet the ends of justice.
Criminal contempt: In case of criminal contempt, a contemptor can be punished with simple
imprisonment only for a term expanding upto 6 months or with a fine upto 2000 rupees or with
both. If he makes a satisfactory apology, the accused may be discharged or the punishment
awarded may be remitted

The time limit for action for contempt of court is one year from the date on which the contempt
is alleged to have committed.

PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA

The Press Council of India is a statutory quasi-judicial autonomous authority mandated by the
Parliament. It was set- up in 1966. It has the objective of preserving the freedom of the press and
maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and the news agencies in India
exercising quasi- judicial functions over the authorities as well as the press person
The Council has its own funds for performances of its functions under the Act that comprises of
the fee collected by it from newspapers, other Central Government. receipts and grants in-aid by
from the

The PCI has the power to receive complaints of violation of the journalistic ethics, or
professional misconduct by an editor or journalist. The PCI is responsible for enquiring into
complaints received.

It may summon witnesses and take evidence under oath, demand copies of public records to be
submitted, even issue warnings and admonish the newspaper, news agency, editor or journalist.
It can even require any newspaper to publish details of the inquiry. Decisions of the PCI are final
and cannot be appealed before a court of law.

PCI Guidelines for Press

The Council draws its function from the Press Council Act, 1965 which s follows: are as

 To help newspapers to maintain their independence.

 To build a Code of Conduct for newspapers and journalists in accordance with high
professional standards.

 To ensure on the part of newspapers and journalists the maintenance of high standards of
public taste and foster a due sense of both the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

 To encourage the growth of a sense of responsibility and public service among all those
engaged in the profession of journalism.
  To keep under review such cases of assistance received by any newspaper or news
agency in India from foreign sources.

PCI GUIDELINES FOR JOURNALISTIC CONDUCT

The fundamental objective of journalism is to serve the people with news, views,
comments and information on matters of public interest in a fair, accurate, unbiased,
sober and decent manner. Towards this end, the Press is expected to conduct itself in
keeping with certain norms of professionalism universally recognized.
The norms and other specific guidelines appended thereafter, when applied with due
justification and adaptation to the varying circumstances of each case, will help the
journalist to self- regulate his or her conduct.

Important journalistic guidelines are as follows:

1. ACCURACY AND FAIRNESS: The press shall abstain from publication of
inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading or distorted material. All sides of the
core issue or subject should be reported. Unjustified rumors and inferences should
not be set forth as facts

2. PRE- PUBLICATION VERIFICATION: On receipt of a report or article of

public interest and benefit containing imputations or comments against a citizen,
the editor should check with due care and attention its factual accuracy apart from
other authentic sources- with the person or the organization concerned to draw our
his/her or its version, comments or reaction and publish the same with due
amendments in the report when necessary. In the event of lack or absence of
response, a footnote to that effect should be appended to the report

3. CAUTIONS AGAINST DEFAMATORY WRITINGS: newspapers should not

publish anything which is per se defamatory or libelous against any individual or
organization unless after due care and checking they have sufficient reason to
believe that is true and its publication will be for public good

4. PRIVACY: Instruction or invasion on the privacy of individuals is not

permissible unless outweighed by genuine overriding public interest, not being a
prurient or morbid curiosity. (Explanation: things concerning a person’s home,
family, religion, health, sexuality, personal life and private affairs are covered by
the concept of privacy excepting where any of these impinge upon the public or
public interest). Victims of sex crimes- caution against publication 0f names or
pictures

5. Journalists should judge no one unheard

6. CORRECTIONS: when any factual error or mistake is detected or confirmed,
the newspaper should publish the correction promptly with due prominence and
with apology or expression of regret in a case of serious lapse

7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: An editor who decides to open his columns for
letters on a controversial subject, is not obliged to publish all the letters received
in regard to that subject. He is entitled to select and publish only some of them
either in entirety or the gist thereof. However, in exercising this discretion he
must make an honest endeavor to ensure that what is published is not one-sided
but represents a fair balance between the views for and against with respect to the
principal issue in controversy. In the event of rejoinder upon rejoinder being sent
by two parties on a controversial subject, the editor has the discretion to decide at
which stage to close the continuing column.
8. CONJECTURE, COMMENT AND FACT: Newspapers should not pass on or
elevate conjecture, speculation or comment as a statement of fact. All these
categories should be distinctly stated
9. NEWSPAPERS MAY EXPOSE MISUSE OF DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY:
The media should make every possible effort to build bridges of co- operation,
friendly relations and in developing better understanding between India and
foreign states. At the same time, it is the duty of a newspaper to expose if any
diplomat is trying to misuse or take undue advantage of the diplomatic
immunities.
10. COVERING COMMUNAL DISPUTES/CLASHES:
News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes
should be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due
caution and restraint in a manner which is conductive to the reaction of an
atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, amity and peace.