Monopoly, cross-media holdings are dangerous trends: Dasgupta

New Delhi, Dec 1(UNI) Communist Party of India(CPI)leader in Parliament Gurudas Dasgupta today joined scores of academicians, social and political activists and writers in opposing the increasing trend of the corporate houses to monopolise their control over print and electronic media by expanding their cross-media holdings.

"This trend would result in passing the control of the entire media network including films and other modes of communication to the corporate houses thereby adversely affecting the free flow of information and freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution," said Mr Dasgupta.

The CPI leader was addressing a convention organised by "Citizens for UNI,'' headed by eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar, to express solidarity with UNI employees opposing the sale of a majority stake in the news agency to a media house.

" The Left would continue to oppose concentration of the media control by some houses, a fact which has also been admitted by Information and Broadcating Minister PR Dasmunsi," he said.

Criticising the ongoing attempts by the monopoly houses to turn ''information into a saleable commodity and making editors subservient to the media managements,'' 'Tehleka' weekly's former editor Amit Sengupta said "the space has already shrunk for journalists as newspapers and televisions channels are being run like real estate business." ''The corporate control of information and monopoly press would not only affect the freedom of the press but also the democratic set-up to the detriment of a majority of deprived and marginalised people in the country,'' said eminent Hindi litterateur Mr Pankanj Singh and Mr Subhash Gatade, editor of a Hindi magazine, Sandhaan.

Lok Raj Sangathan leader Prakash Rao and JNU Teachers' Association leader Prof Chaman Lal said the attempt to take over UNI by a media house was akin ''to an attempt to control thinking of the people, blunting of their creative imagination and orienting people's mindset to the requirements of the market.'' Janawadi Lekhak Sangh representative Rekha Awasthi said ''efforts for retaining of UNI as cooperative body of newspapers with no one having a majority control were equal to that attaining 'Right to Information' in the real sense.'' Confederation of Newspaper and News Agencies Employees Unions' general secretary M S Yadav said they would call an all India Convention of journalists and non-journalists shortly on the UNI issue and to press the government for setting up a new Wage-Board for the newspaper industry.

Later, the Convention adopted a resolution for retaining ''independent and neutral character of the news agency and restoration of status quo ante.'' UNI JSS RP VV1855