Cola controversy lesson for media management
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the day after Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss told Parliament that the Centre for Science and Environment's (cse's) exhaustive study on carbonated beverages was
"inconclusive", the Delhi edition of the _Hindustan Times_ carried the story as its lead story on page one. As part of the lead package, the newspaper juxtaposed Ramadoss's
mugshot with that of cse director Sunita Narain. Below the two shots were quotes Ramadoss's carried the operative part of his "inconclusive" claim and Narain's carried a
statement pointing out that the health ministry report had quoted verbatim from the findings of a London laboratory funded by Coca-Cola. Balanced presentation and journalistic rectitude were
in evidence. The same story also appeared in the paper's Patna edition -- with one change. Narain's photograph and her quote had disappeared.There is, of course, no way for us to
find out what had transpired. But there is enough to speculate on media management by powerful multinationals and the complicity of press in compromising its independence. At the danger of
sounding nave, it may be noted that the advocacy of the public interest is no longer a part of the ethic of the fourth estate in a world driven by advertising revenues and bottom lines.