Volume : 8, Issue : 3, March - 2019

The Relationship Between Media Ownership and Media Credibility

Dr. Naresh Rao H, Darshana Choudhury

Abstract :

News media is an important source of news and opinion in a democracy. People trust what is given by the media and their decisions are based on this trust. But increasingly the commercial nature of news media in India is casting doubts about the credibility of the news that is disseminated. People’s trust in media is declining the world over and it is not different in India. Studies have shown the lack of credibility in news channels and online news sources. This study uses past literature to conclude that corporate ownership and credibility have a close and inverse relationship. More and more media houses are owned by corporates today and this is showing in the declining credibility news emanating from these media outlets have in the eyes of the consumers. TRPs rule the roost and every news channel is under pressure to convert the news into a saleable commodity for profits. News has deteriorated into a product to be sold without consideration for any ethics.