By Kiran Patil
The practice of paid news is not recent. It was recently experienced in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, it was limited to the corporate sector and a bunch of journalists who would cover the corporate in the country. However, with the recent development of paid news it has become the established custom and can be tagged as, ‘forth estate on a sale’ WHICH is a sign of decline of the authentic media in the country.

Moreover, the shocking news is that this is not happening in particular region or territory, but the entire media is haunted by it. And all this is happening because of the dying competition and the desire to survive in the competitive world. This is like a monster entering the house and killing all the family members. If this is not stopped now, in the near future it will become actively functional and a vital part of the media organizations all over the country.
what is paid news? Although, it seems a little bit weird and difficult to define it, it can be called as a hidden way or a ghost reporting of advertising somebody or something.

This does not happen overnight. There must have been an analysis arrangement before the elections were held in the country. This is also believed that there were biggies involved in this process of paid news during the elections in the country. With this news coming to the limelight, it is clear to everyone how money and media in the country’s politics power electoral politics. ‘Money for voting’ formula has hardly remained a secret now.

In a country like ours that values democracy, fair and free elections should be considered equally important. Media also should be viewed within its preview. This needs to be stopped as soon as possible; otherwise, it will cause a catastrophe to the Democracy’s forth estate-Media.

What actually needs to be done to curb the paid news practice in the country? Here are some practical ways that can be executed to retain the media ethics.

News analysis: At present, it is done by the corporate sector, not by the media. The minor loopholes in the system need to be addressed in order to retain the credibility of the news.

Exposure practice: This should be done with accurate transparency. Media should state any conflict happening around. Each media organization should unleash the media ethics they execute. And experts should be appointed to disclose such things. Disclosure of revenues, partnerships with other media and connections with corporate or politics will enhance the credibility of the news and the belief of the citizens. Every single individual working with any media organization should disclose their assets, right from the editor to reporter.

Value the readers: Any kind of feedback from readers will help to improve the content quality and ways of reporting. There should be a reader’s editor who can answer the readers query and reply with their queries as clearly as possible.