Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on Monday suggested a common entrance exam for aspiring journalists to ensure the sector is monitored and to abolish sensational journalism from the industry. Journalists, however, view this as yet another threat to the freedom of the press.

The minister, speaking at an event on how to raise standards of news media and education, said, to pursue the profession, journalists should be given licenses, which may be revoked if he/she fails to stand by ethical journalism. “... Like you have a Bar Council exam, medical exam or exams conducted by other professional bodies that issue licenses to pursue the profession,” Tewari said. “Rather than possibly prescribing a curricula, which is then standardized across institutions, the media industry could think about having a common exam.”

Tewari’s idea did not sink well with industry veterans. Talking to dna, journalist S Nihal Singh, who has spent over half a century in the industry, said journalism cannot be compared to advocacy or medicine as “it’s a completely different profession” and requires self-policing. “Such governance is an assured road to patrolling the media industry,” Singh said.

Citing instances of media ownership by businessmen, columnist and former editor of Hindustan Times, Prem Shankar Jha told dna that such a mechanism, of holding exams conducted by the government or a private body will make free speech very difficult in the country. Instead, the government should go after those businessmen who endorse paid journalism and biased reporting, he said.

“It (licensing) will empower a body to take actions against journalists under the new provision. If anything goes awry, the journalists will be held up and their licenses would be cancelled,” Jha added.

While Tewari has emphasized the need to standardize media education, Press Council of India chief, Justice (retd) Markandey Katju, had earlier raised the demand for minimum qualification for journalists.