original report on paid news on its website by October 10, 2011.
The report submitted by two member sub committee of Paranjoy Guha
Thakurta and K Sreenivas Reddy had named the big media houses which
took money to publish favourable news of certain politicians during
2009 Lok Sabha elections. This not only violated the media ethics but
also the political parties and candidates overshot poll spending
limits without fear of any taxes because the transaction had been
without any receipts.
However, on July 30 last year, instead of making it public, the PCI
decided to put the report in its archive as a reference document and
came out with a brief report which deleted all the names of those
found guilty and was full of recommendations and self regulation talk
than the facts found. It was suggested that there was pressure form
the powerful publishers' lobby against making the names public. The
new report also excluded the portion on the lacunaes in the Working
Journalists Act which had been pointed out in the original report.
When I filed the RTI on January 3, 2011, the PCI refused to give the
report claiming that it was seeking legal opinion. Even the first
apellate authority did not intervene and hence CIC was approached.
Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi ordered the PIO to put up the
report on the website under proactive disclosure clause of the RTI Act
even if its a reference document.
The original decision can be read here (http://www.rti.india.gov.in/
cic_decisions/CIC_AD_C_2011_000989_SG_14680_M_66957.pdf).
Regards,
Manu Moudgil
Primary Catalyst,
www.goimonitor.com
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