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Open ForumThe Prabodhini's Mission includes anything and everything about democracy, leadership, good governance and volunteer work, as also development activism, institution building and above all, human development! All those desirous of contributing to this Forum, should send their articles, essays, features or just plain thoughts to forumeditor@rmponweb.org Understanding Mediaby Ratan Sharda - 2nd April, 2009It would be stating the obvious that Media is biased. That voice of nearly 26-30% voters who support nationalist party like BJP and NDA alliance is not given enough space or treated with ridicule while news about regional outfits or Marxist parivar who have miniscule presence gets more prominence is something that needs to be analysed. So, the question should be - Why is media biased? Is the reason ideological or economic or is it simply a matter of intellectual laziness and working within comfort zones? To counter my own bias towards Media I dwelt a little deeper into the matter and had some ‘pragmatic’ understanding, why Media has become so biased towards Congress and its cohorts. Actually, you can’t really blame poor media people. Any pragmatic businessman would see from where the butter comes for his bread. Like the smart rodent of ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ he has to keep looking for cheese in new places. But, if one gets more cheese from the same source, why worry? Congress, the most suitable party of governance by hereditary rights, since last 60 years, knows how to keep media guys happy. After all, the days of dedicated and idealistic journalism died with late Mr. Goenka of Express fame. During last few years, the pricing of imported newsprint has been reduced by slashing duties, to hell if the local paper industry goes sick, let them grow trees! Want more money? Allow foreign players to increase equity. But, to keep the power tabs on sons of the soil, this equity cannot be a majority stake. The same media which doesn’t tire of promoting majority stake to foreign players in other industries, gets epileptic fits if they are given hint about it. So, the media foxes are kept from baying too hard with stick of majority stake stick. Media is also kept ‘happy’ with take aways like cheap leased land which they rent out against law to make good money. Friendly journalists are rewarded homes and plots. If they have already amassed all comforts, government Padma awards work like charm! We all know the real margins come from advertisements. Infact, many venerable papers push some news in between advertisements to cover all the spaces and to avoid being confused as daily souvenirs. And it would be stupid to ask a question but let me ask to keep you interested - who is the biggest donor of this largesse with no accountability? Well, ofcourse, the big brother – the government. Who pays for it? You and me! As elections have come near, you would have noted pages and pages of advertisements by various ministries. Suddenly, ‘public interest’ advertisements have flooded us through newspapers and media advocating all kinds of causes, right from public health, education, tourism to environment. What better time than the election time to educate people when they are most perceptive to these nation building ideas? Being in power also gives you privilege of giving friendly nudges to corporate world to create a ‘feel good’ environment with some advertisements. It would be interesting to study the ownership pattern of all the media houses of India. You would be surprised to find out the share holding of obscure investment arms from India and abroad who can have no specific interest in media apart from having some levers of power in it. It is instructive to note that the tag of ‘national press’ appropriated by English press is a myth as their reach is much smaller as compared to regional giants like Malayalam Manorama or Eenadu or Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagaran etc. But, this vocal minority claims to represent the opinions of the majority of population. Same is true of so called national TV channels versus regional channels. I would be unfair to the journalist tribe if we were to ascribe money and profit to be the sole reason for bias. Many of our friends are motivated by political idealism passed on to them by their West educated seniors who spent prime of their lives in the golden era when Marx was God and being Left was Right. Unfortunately, our new generation journalists have not done any study of their own to have their own minds as it requires intellectual discipline and dedication. It is so comforting to use ready to use labels like ‘liberal’, ‘post-modernist’, ‘communal’, ‘fundamentalist’ and feel holier than thou. It is so easy to write breezy stories over evening drinks with easy to file in reports. The funny part is that so called liberals are, infact, are equally fundamentalists in their views and fundamental liberalism has become an ideology which is not open to any new ideas with which they are uncomfortable. Marxists and alleged secularists are specialists in covering up the deficiencies in their arguments with abusive language. One has only to read carefully between the lines to separate grain from chaff. So, any new idea needs to be shut out of the system if it challenges their world view, defeating the very idea of liberalism. The new generation of journalists is post emergency and post 1984 riots. They know of Ram Janmabhoomi incidents but not anti-Sikh riots. They have not witnessed Bangladesh war, nor seen Punjab terror days or Assam agitations against foreigners, or some of the worst national disasters like Bihar famines. etc. etc. Nor is there any motivation or incentive to read even modern post independence history. It is so easier to write about ‘pub culture’ or ‘pub bashers’ and so much easy create desktop stories from ‘sources’. Ask any journalist, specially from English media, any question about Western history and culture – he would be a easy quiz winner like our ‘slumdog’. Ask him a question on Indian history and mythology, he will be tongue tied and would immediately ask for ‘helpline’. The media lives on sensationalism and fast food like news. Follow up of stories is too much of an effort and doesn’t make good copy as it shows them in poor light. The famous Ahmedabad tailor Ansari who became the secularist’s poster boy of Gujarat riots is news when he goes to West Bengal, but his return to Ahmedabad is not that big a story. Killings of Hindu pilgrims by Muslim goondas in Gangasagar in West Bengal is not worthy news nor is the burning of national flag in Kashmir a news – but killing of a local citizen by army even accidently becomes a burning human rights issue! The news stories end with human miseries like floods and earthquake with crying images, but the cameras hardly ,if ever, reach inside relief camps being run by government or non government voluntary organizations to spread a psotive message. Thus, casting a negative pall of unhappiness over the society. Media needs to have a serious look at itself, which happens only once in a while when there is a major goof up by it. For it to earn faith of majority of Indian people, it has to learn see India through India centric eyes and treat all approaches to its growth with equal respect and in an unbiased way, letting viewers or readers decide what is good for them or nation. Other Articles |