Media in a state of crisis, says Magsaysay winner

Manila : The Indian media is in a state of "crisis" which is not accidental or random, but systemic and structural, prominent Indian journalist Ravish Kumar said here on Monday as he received the prestigious 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award, regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.

Kumar, 44, is NDTV India's senior executive editor and one of India's most influential TV journalists who has been reporting real-life and under-reported problems of ordinary people, said the award citation by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.

"The Indian media is in a state of crisis and this crisis is not accidental or random, but systemic and structural. Being a journalist has become a solitary endeavour... It has become all the more important to evaluate the crisis in the media," he said.

"While I am happy for myself today, I am also filled with sadness looking at the state of profession I represent," Kumar said.

"As uncompromising journalists find themselves being forced out of their jobs by news organisations and those corporate owners are never questioned, nevertheless it is heartening to see still some journalists who continue to put their lives and careers at risk to practise honest and meaningful journalism," he said in his speech.

Kumar also touched upon the situation in Kashmir and the communication gag in the Valley following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.

"With the internet still shut down in Kashmir, most major news channels went along with the government's stand, yet there are some who have dared to report from that shut down and faced the wrath of the army of trolls," he said.

"While institutional journalism is facing a crisis, individual journalists are struggling to survive and question the authority," Kumar said.

The noted journalist said a democracy can thrive only as long as its news and information are truthful. "Sometimes resistance is not a matter of choice.

Not all battles are fought for victory. Some are fought simply to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield. I accept this award on behalf of all those journalists," Kumar said.