Question : Which award is related with journalism?
a) Pulitzer Prize
b) Booker Prize
c) Ramon Magsaysay Award
d) None of these
Ans : a
Related Facts :
- Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021, a report by a New Delhi-based rights group said on Wednesday ( February 9,2022)
- At least six journalists were killed, 108 attacked and 13 media houses or newspapers targeted across the country, according to the India Press Freedom Report 2021.
- The highest number of journalists or media organisations targeted was in J&K (25), followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra (4 each), Goa and Manipur (3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala (1 each).
- In 2021, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department raided offices of media houses or newspapers and houses of journalists who were critical of policies and functioning of the government
- History of Journalism in India :
- The first newspaper in India is credited to James Augustus Hickey, who launched The Bengal Gazette, also the Calcutta General Advertiser, in 1780.
- Several other newspapers followed such as The Bengal Journal, Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier, and Bombay Herald. All of them, however, were curtailed by censorship measures imposed by the British East India Company.
- Throughout 1799, 1818 and 1823, the colonial administration enacted several Acts to regulate the press in the country.
- The Press Enquiry Committee was set up in 1947 with the aim of examining press laws in the light of fundamental rights formulated by the Constituent Assembly.
- In 1951, the Press (Objectionable Matters) Act was passed along with an amendment to Article 19 (2), which empowered the government to demand and forfeit security for publication of “objectionable matter”. It remained in force till 1956.
- A Press Commission was set up under Justice Rajadhyaksha in 1954.
- Other Acts passed include Delivering of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954; Working Journalists (Conditions of Services) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955; Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956; and Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publications) Act, 1960.
- Today, there is no formal body that exclusively deals with the freedom of Press in the country.
- All matters concerning the freedom of the Press falls under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
By Pawan Mishra