Saturday, July 30 2005 14:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (July 30, 2005) said that corporate interests and marketmen have come to acquire control over editorial policy, which could militate against freedom of the press.

"The convergence of corporate interests and the control that market men have come to acquire on editorial policy can militate against pluralism and even the freedom of the press", he said receiving the first copy of English newspaper 'Daily News and Analysis' which was launched in Mumbai today.

Singh also wondered as to how to distinguish between 'freedom, license and prejudice' as those who zealously guard the freedom of press from any social or public audit, deny it internally within the organisation.

"The media is an important institution of democracy. Like all other institutions it must also stand up to public scrutiny. If it ceases to carry conviction then it will be diminished in the eyes of the citizen, even if it continues to yield revenues for the investors", Singh said.

Noting that freedom of the press was not automatically ensured by multiplicity of publications, he said it had to be nurtured by society, by the State, and its institutions and by the corporate interests that invest in the media.

He said it was necessary to have professional codes, rules of the game and institutional frameworks that guarantee freedom of the press.

"A vibrant Press Council, an active association of journalists, a watchdog, Ombudsman and a transparent editorial policy are all instruments through which freedom of the press can be secured and ensured", he said.