Independent, internal ombudsmen are the need of the hour Ever since the Mumbai Police filed a supplementary chargesheet containing about 1,000 pages of WhatsApp messages between Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council CEO Partho Dasgupta, the discussions in the media have been about ethical transgressions, manipulating institutional arrangements to show increased audience reach, and breaching the line meant to protect the autonomy and efficacy of regulating bodies and external research entities. For a news ombudsman, the main issue is that an effective institution of self-regulation for the Indian media does not exist. Media regulation There are four bodies in India for media regulation. The first is the Press Council of India, created through an act of Parliament. It is headed by a former Supreme Court judge. Its mandate is to preserve the freedom of the press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. It has 28 members — six editors; seven senior journalists; six media managers; one representative from a news agency; one nominee each from the Bar Council of India, the University Grants Commission, and the Sahitya Akademi; three members of the Lok Sabha; and two members of the Rajya Sabha. The tilt is towards the executive writ. This reminds us of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendation while examining multiple ethical breaches in the U.K. media. He suggested that the regulatory body should be free of serving editors and MPs. But this idea has been rejected by governments everywhere.