Who will watch the watchdogs?

Sometimes, it is embarrassing to be called a journalist. And one such occasion was just recently, when a newspaper devoted its entire front page; unprecedented in itself, to the movement of Army troops to Delhi as a possible “coup.” The story belonged more to the ranks of fiction writers; with innuendoes replacing facts, and conjecture passing for news. Despite the flurry of strongly stated denials from the government and the Indian Army, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief stuck to the story for a day before dropping it like a burning hot potato altogether.

Several questions arise from this, and all have to do with journalism. On what basis was such a story written? Who planted it? Why did the newspaper not check it from the proper authorities within the Army and Defence Ministry? What kind of action is due?

And importantly, who is there to take any such action? The Press Council of India is a toothless & redundant body and there is not a single institute that can serve at least moral sanctions against erring newspapers and television channels; and make them apologise for baseless reports. The media is clear about not wanting any intervention by the government, and rightfully so. But in an atmosphere where a code of ethics does not exist, and basic norms of journalism are being flouted everyday, what can be done to ensure that freedom is respected and yet not violated.

Television news channels and sections of the print media have moved away from the basics of impartial reporting in the news pages, to comments and opinions that are no longer confined to the editorial pages. Reporters are encouraged to give their views about ongoing events, with information becoming secondary to opinion. Single source stories are being encouraged with the editorial guidance and control that is necessary to ensure that the facts have been checked at all levels and from all sides, slipping dramatically as news becomes linked entirely to the business rationale of ratings and advertisements. 

The situation needs to be addressed urgently. Bodies like the Editors Guild, perhaps, can rise to the occasion and play a role in effecting some kind of check on news from within. There is a need for introspection and quick action to keep news straight and narrow, instead of crossing all ethical lines. The watchdog cannot become a rabid dog, as it will then self-destruct.

Wittingly incorrigible

The media did not do itself very proud in the coverage of the Assembly elections. The spotlight of course, was on Uttar Pradesh that seemed to hold the key to the Congress party’s fortunes at the national level as well, and for the initial weeks into the campaign the media seemed mesmerised by Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. At one point it began to seem as if the “carpet bombing” by the Nehru-Gandhi clan has affected the electronic and print media more than the voters, with the former hyping the campaign to a pitch that the voters were clearly not in tune with.

For a while all possible assistance was given to Rahul Gandh to win a good number of seats in the UP election by a pliant media that refused to look beyond the Nehru-Gandhi family. After a while it was clear even to those with blinkers on that the electorate was moving towards the Samajwadi Party, and by the end of the campaign the media had clambered onto Akhilesh Yadav’s bandwagon. In the process they made the cardinal mistake of almost writing off the BSP that retains its core vote bank in the state, and SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav who still calls the shots within the party. In fact the vote in UP was for “Netaji” with his son being a contributory albeit important factor in the mood swing towards the party.

Painstaking journalism has been replaced by quick TRP driven journalism where the desire is to create media personalities that sell, and convert the serious business of elections as one line slogans. There is little to no desire to understand the nature of the constituency, the nature of the vote, and what issues are determining the swing, if any. The media follows the blitz, and often creates it to get the viewers and the advertisements, and when it gets it all wrong, starts apportioning the blame. The pollsters are wrong, is the outcry usually. Yes they are, but did they ask the 24 hour news channels to air their predictions as if these were the final results? Instead of qualifying the exit polls with a perhaps and a maybe, and a heavy dose of skepticism, journalists who are themselves no longer well informed portray exit polls as the actual results. This is bad journalism, and inexcusable at the end of the day.

The print media, always quicker to learn from mistakes than television, was not as quick to be off the mark this time. There were levels of caution evident in the analysis of the exit polls, and this time around several journalists had been encouraged to go out into the field to report from constituencies and campaign trails. This did make a difference as at least a few newspapers were able to sense the mood in UP long before the results, with scribes even reporting a debacle for the Congress from the Nehru-Gandhi bastions of Rae Bareilly and Amethi.

Hopefully this trend will continue as India moves into the general elections, with sound reportage replacing hype and journalists getting back some of their credibility in the process.