Indian journalism hit a new low when covering the Aarushi murder case earlier this year. Journalists appeared to have lost all sense of decency; hounding a grieving family, based on the sketchy, sordid details provided by the police.
I don’t want to dwell on the distasteful coverage again. I have written about it here before.
But the questions that remain are: What lessons has the Indian media learnt from the episode? Has it evolved a standard for the future? Will it self-regulate or will wait for a national outcry again, before learning to behave?
I’m sure there are internal codes of conduct for every organization but this needs to happen at an industry-wide level. In neighbouring Pakistan, the media has understood its influence as a player in politics and in fact even its power to make and break governments. And while the country is not exactly the beacon of democracy, Pakistani journalism is taking a few very democratic steps, worthy of emulation.
Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C., Zaffar Abbas, the resident editor of ‘Dawn’ in Islamabad said last month, “We handled the previous government; a new government has come in but it’s now time to have a self-assessment of our own performance.”
According to Abbas, “The role of the vernacular newspapers has become very important with 3 to 5 million newspaper readers and 50 to 60 million viewers of 24/7 news channels. It has suddenly changed Pakistan – changed Pakistan to an extent and with a speed that now people have started to say – what are these TV channels telling us? Is that the real politics in this country? Should there be some kind of control over the way issues are being raised? People are raising questions about anchors and reporters - have they become real players in making and breaking governments? Should that be allowed?”
To temper this new found power and influence the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has evolved its own code of conduct, part of which involves the setting up of a Media Complaints Commission.
Abbas explains, “We need to have a commission largely because some newspapers and TV channels in this country have started on the notion that since we are independent we can broadcast anything that we think is right. The difference between what is right and what we think is right is huge! And that is why the whole debate has come in. Do TV channels have the right to intrude upon anyone’s privacy? Can they cross the line of objectivity? What should be reported and what should not be reported?”
“So the whole concept is to go for self-regulation and to allow the members of the public to approach the complaints commission with their own views and their own complaints.”
A panel of retired judges and professors will look into the complaints and decide whether a particular newspaper or TV channel has violated the self-made code of conduct.
It sounds like a fairer, more democratic way of doing things although it is still in its nascent stage and has not yet been tested. And of course, being open will bring with it attendant problems. For starters, it will probably require tremendous effort and paper work to keep such an operation going.
It is however still worth trying in India because in a democracy why should power be concentrated so heavily with the media? Why should the media go unchallenged if it destroys reputations and careers without evidence? Why shouldn’t people be able to contest the way they are represented? If a free press is a crucial pillar of democracy, shouldn’t the media also be more democratic?
In the spirit of fairness, that most basic of journalistic tenets, this is worth trying.
Showing posts with label Indian Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Media. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
WHAT'S WRONG WITH INDIAN TV NEWS
Keep in mind an old Indian road safety sign while watching the latest Indian television news.
“Speed thrills but kills.”
Yes, speed is killing some of the most basic tenets of journalism on television, such as accuracy and challenging power. Being wrong is pardonable, but being late, absolutely not. Viewers have many choices today, so keeping it fresh draws more immediate benefits than keeping it honest. That’s why Indian television news has competed in one rapid race, but to the bottom. And viewers are insulted.
The double murders in Noida have become a lightning rod for viewer criticism of this trend. The media’s split personality is under scrutiny. It is a crusader, but also a moral leper. It is a watchdog, but also a vulture. It is high-minded, but also hypocritical. And competition, which is normally a good thing for the consumer, is driving such extreme behaviour. Competition has killed critical thinking, so, dear editors, do something about it.
For instance, 24-hour news places immense pressure on reporters and editors. So, if the police make a new statement theorizing about extra-marital affairs or honour killings, it is dutifully reported “as it happens”, since wall-to-wall coverage requires that things move forward. Newsrooms do not debate the merits of a police statement. That responsibility has been abdicated. Besides, there is no time to grapple with such professional and ethical niceties because the competition has already put it on air. It’s up to the viewer to think and evaluate.
But anyone who justifies this blind reporting is making a very self-serving argument. An editor of a Hindi channel recently defended his channel’s actions in the Noida murder coverage as merely “reporting what the police was saying”. Yet, the same channel has also started a parallel investigation by hiring private detectives. Clearly, it doesn’t believe the police, so why report it?
Also, take a closer look at the cast of characters who appear on the screen when there are such stories of investigations into murders, frauds, scams or controversies. Usually, the most vulnerable are on air as in this case — a grieving family and friends. Rarely will you see the policeman or politician involved turn up in a studio for the evening news, open to being grilled.
Jayalalithaa had nearly 44 corruption cases against her. But be sure you’ll never see her in a studio.
The bureaucratic and political establishment has learnt how to game the system by feeding the news machinery with a meaningless and quick sound byte while entering or exiting a building. Yet, you would imagine that if 25 reporters decided they weren’t going to budge till they got an interview, corrupt government servants would eventually have to answer some tough questions. They are duty-bound to. But that seemingly simple option doesn’t happen because of the pressure to produce. The 24-hour hungry beast waits for no one and people such as Jayalalithaa have figured it out. Dodge the media a couple of times and they give up. Grieving families and poor folks don’t know that and are made to believe they are obliged to talk to the press.
There is a sub-culture even among reporters. Better to sink together than stand alone. For instance, to avoid getting into trouble with each others’ editors, reporters may decide to collectively abandon a painful wait for a politician. Dodge-them-and-they-go-home works exceptionally well. Thus, competition has given us some variety but also more of the same.
Who will break this vicious cycle? Who will show the courage to construct a fiercely independent style? Who will endeavour to cultivate an intelligent audience? The decision has to be made at the top and the foot soldiers on the field will follow. Whoever decides that things need to change will show leadership, courage and critical thinking — qualities television news can profit from.
Published in Mint on June 5th 2008.
“Speed thrills but kills.”
Yes, speed is killing some of the most basic tenets of journalism on television, such as accuracy and challenging power. Being wrong is pardonable, but being late, absolutely not. Viewers have many choices today, so keeping it fresh draws more immediate benefits than keeping it honest. That’s why Indian television news has competed in one rapid race, but to the bottom. And viewers are insulted.
The double murders in Noida have become a lightning rod for viewer criticism of this trend. The media’s split personality is under scrutiny. It is a crusader, but also a moral leper. It is a watchdog, but also a vulture. It is high-minded, but also hypocritical. And competition, which is normally a good thing for the consumer, is driving such extreme behaviour. Competition has killed critical thinking, so, dear editors, do something about it.
For instance, 24-hour news places immense pressure on reporters and editors. So, if the police make a new statement theorizing about extra-marital affairs or honour killings, it is dutifully reported “as it happens”, since wall-to-wall coverage requires that things move forward. Newsrooms do not debate the merits of a police statement. That responsibility has been abdicated. Besides, there is no time to grapple with such professional and ethical niceties because the competition has already put it on air. It’s up to the viewer to think and evaluate.
But anyone who justifies this blind reporting is making a very self-serving argument. An editor of a Hindi channel recently defended his channel’s actions in the Noida murder coverage as merely “reporting what the police was saying”. Yet, the same channel has also started a parallel investigation by hiring private detectives. Clearly, it doesn’t believe the police, so why report it?
Also, take a closer look at the cast of characters who appear on the screen when there are such stories of investigations into murders, frauds, scams or controversies. Usually, the most vulnerable are on air as in this case — a grieving family and friends. Rarely will you see the policeman or politician involved turn up in a studio for the evening news, open to being grilled.
Jayalalithaa had nearly 44 corruption cases against her. But be sure you’ll never see her in a studio.
The bureaucratic and political establishment has learnt how to game the system by feeding the news machinery with a meaningless and quick sound byte while entering or exiting a building. Yet, you would imagine that if 25 reporters decided they weren’t going to budge till they got an interview, corrupt government servants would eventually have to answer some tough questions. They are duty-bound to. But that seemingly simple option doesn’t happen because of the pressure to produce. The 24-hour hungry beast waits for no one and people such as Jayalalithaa have figured it out. Dodge the media a couple of times and they give up. Grieving families and poor folks don’t know that and are made to believe they are obliged to talk to the press.
There is a sub-culture even among reporters. Better to sink together than stand alone. For instance, to avoid getting into trouble with each others’ editors, reporters may decide to collectively abandon a painful wait for a politician. Dodge-them-and-they-go-home works exceptionally well. Thus, competition has given us some variety but also more of the same.
Who will break this vicious cycle? Who will show the courage to construct a fiercely independent style? Who will endeavour to cultivate an intelligent audience? The decision has to be made at the top and the foot soldiers on the field will follow. Whoever decides that things need to change will show leadership, courage and critical thinking — qualities television news can profit from.
Published in Mint on June 5th 2008.
Monday, March 26, 2007
MISTAKES AND INDIANISMS
Some awful Indianisms have made their way into the newspaper. It’s so disorienting to see it in print…. Quite, like an itch in the middle of your back. I remember meeting a farmer in Thanjavur recently, who said that he spent his evenings at the local library reading ‘The Hindu’ to learn English. If he’s read the following, we know which way his English is headed.
After India’s shock defeat by Bangladesh ‘The Hindu’ carried a front-page photograph of some delinquents destroying Dhoni’s house. The caption read, ‘People breaking M.S.Dhoni’s under-construction house.’
Then there was another story on the inside pages about education and ended with ‘students going to abroad.’
The New Indian Express splashed the story on Bob Woolmer’s death on the front page. But it was littered with mistakes. It said, Bob Woolmer was planning to ‘part company with’ the Pakistanis. Then the paper informed us that it was a ‘high pressurized job.’ It ended by saying that the stresses of coaching the Pakistani side might have taken their ‘tol’.
On the second page of that days paper was a puzzling headline which read, ‘Middlemen play on the poor.’ What ...like step on them and use them as a playground? What?
And if anybody from a newspaper office is reading this, could you please stop saying, ‘Very much thankful’. It’s wrong.
Have you seen the totally bland quotes that make headlines in ‘The Hindu’? For instance, ‘Parents advised to guide students during exams.’ I always look forward to reading the headline on the Governor’s insipid speeches. For example, ‘Governor advises youth to work hard.’ Such illuminating stuff!
I’ll end with this hilarious headline from ‘The Hindu’ once again, the morning after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. ‘Idols immersed, Three feared drowned.’
After India’s shock defeat by Bangladesh ‘The Hindu’ carried a front-page photograph of some delinquents destroying Dhoni’s house. The caption read, ‘People breaking M.S.Dhoni’s under-construction house.’
Then there was another story on the inside pages about education and ended with ‘students going to abroad.’
The New Indian Express splashed the story on Bob Woolmer’s death on the front page. But it was littered with mistakes. It said, Bob Woolmer was planning to ‘part company with’ the Pakistanis. Then the paper informed us that it was a ‘high pressurized job.’ It ended by saying that the stresses of coaching the Pakistani side might have taken their ‘tol’.
On the second page of that days paper was a puzzling headline which read, ‘Middlemen play on the poor.’ What ...like step on them and use them as a playground? What?
And if anybody from a newspaper office is reading this, could you please stop saying, ‘Very much thankful’. It’s wrong.
Have you seen the totally bland quotes that make headlines in ‘The Hindu’? For instance, ‘Parents advised to guide students during exams.’ I always look forward to reading the headline on the Governor’s insipid speeches. For example, ‘Governor advises youth to work hard.’ Such illuminating stuff!
I’ll end with this hilarious headline from ‘The Hindu’ once again, the morning after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. ‘Idols immersed, Three feared drowned.’
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