New Delhi: The Broadcast Editors` Association
(BEA) on Wednesday condemned the "irresponsible and negative
comments" by the Press Council of India Chairman Justice
Markandey Katju against the media and media professionals.
"Coming from a person holding an august office, the
utterances are extremely disappointing," BEA said in a
statement.
Taking strong exception to Justice Katju`s remark that
media professionals are of low intellectual calibre with poor
knowledge of economics, history, politics, literature and
philosophy, the BEA said it "shows scant knowledge" of the
great journalists the country has produced.
It said that in a democracy, criticism is welcome against
institutions by individuals and representatives of
institutions and gives a fillip to self-corrective process.
"But the criticism being made by Justice Katju is as
demeaning and denigrating as it is a manifestation of his
ignorance of media working. Any criticism made in a
holier-than-thou fervour defeats the very purpose it is sought
to be made for," the statement said.
The BEA said the electronic media has taken a "giant
step" in creating a self-regulatory mechanism under the
chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India Justice J S
Verma.
"Justice Katju accuses the media of dividing people on
communal lines and hence being anti-people. The sane and
balanced coverage of two recent incidents - Ayodhya judgment
and Gopalgarh riots - belies the assertion of the PCI
Chairman," the statement read.
PTI
