All you want to know about National Press Day

Bhubaneswar: Today is National Press Day for the year 2019. Each year November 16 is observed as the National Press Day in India. The day is celebrated to commemorate the establishment of the Press Council of India (PCI) that was formed in 1966.

Origin

On 16 November 1966, the Press Council of India (PCI) assumed the role of the moral watchdog to the fourth pillar of the country, in order to ensure that the press maintains the quality and high standards expected from it and does not get affected by any external factors in its functioning.

Also read: Achyuta Samanta Wins Rs 1250000 At KBC Karamveer Episode

Objective  

The Press Council keeps a check on the quality of reportage provided by the Indian press. It also ensures that journalistic objectivity is not compromised due to “influence or threats of any extraneous factors.”

National Press Day stands as a day symbolic of a responsible and free press in the country. The Press Council of India is a unique entity in its duty to safeguard the independence of the press.

History

The Press Council of India was constituted on 4th July 1966 as an autonomous, statutory, quasi-judicial body, with Shri Justice J R Mudholkar, then a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman.

In 1956, the first Press Commission had concluded that the best way to maintain professional ethics in journalism can be achieved by creating a statutory authority body consisting of people mainly connected with the industry and can arbitrate the activities. This led to the birth of the Press Council of India in 1966.