Press Council Gets New Line-Up As Government Nominates 13 Editors And Working Journalists

The government has reconstituted the Press Council of India (PCI) with the nomination of 13 new members, strengthening representation from editors and working journalists in the statutory body responsible for safeguarding press freedom and maintaining standards in the print media.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued a notification on Wednesday announcing the nominations under the provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978.

The reconstituted council includes six editors and seven working journalists from other categories, adding fresh representation to the body headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd).

The six members nominated under the working journalists' editors category are Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana/Narender Singh and Vinod Bajpai.

The seven members nominated under the working journalists category other than editors are Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.

The PCI currently has 14 members in addition to its chairperson. Its composition includes five Members of Parliament, six representatives of newspaper owners and three members representing institutions such as the Bar Council of India, University Grants Commission and Sahitya Akademi.

The Press Council of India is a statutory autonomous body established under the Press Council Act, 1978. Its primary mandate is to preserve the freedom of the Press and help maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country.

The latest nominations bring a larger group of working journalists and editors into the council at a time when issues surrounding press freedom, journalistic standards and the responsibilities of news organisations remain central to discussions around India's media landscape.

The reconstitution is expected to give the council a wider mix of professional experience as it carries out its mandate of promoting responsible journalism while protecting the independence of the Press.