It is time for every journalist, whether with print or television or digital to look deep and hard into why allegations of paid news have come up, and think that this is not the first time the media has been accused of being ‘managed.’ Its reputation stands besmirched and there is a loss of credibility when this comes up.

The recent allegations began on Thursday, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised the AgustaWestland chopper deal issue in Lok Sabha, expressing concern over misuse of media by the Italian company, which had earmarked Rs 50 crore to clinch the VVIP chopper deal.