Sunday, February 21, 2010

NEWS AT WHAT COST?

This piece is being reproduced from the Article section on Invisionindia.com

The phenomenon of ‘paid news’ made quite a few ripples lately after reports that the media took recourse to it during the 2009 General Elections on a large scale. Favourable reports and flattering interviews carried a premium and the political parties and leaders readily obliged the media. It was only much later that the Election Commission, the Press Council of India and the Editors’ Guild took note of the malpractice and decided to work out measures to control it.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also came out against the paid news syndrome, just ahead of the release of his movie ‘Rann’ in which the actor essays the role of a media baron. May be what Bachchan said on the issue during a promotional tour for the movie was well timed to promote his latest flick, but the gist of what he said hits the nail on the head. “The media is a nation’s conscience. It’s also a business … That’s the war,” Bachchan said while calling it a malpractice. Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla had expressed the Election Commission’s “increasing concern” about the paid news syndrome.
Indeed, the sacred split between editorial and advertisement is now being sewn together and if not checked in time, the syndrome could take away all credibility associated with the media, considered the fourth pillar in any democratic society. It’s for the owners and editors to strike the right balance between any media organisation’s business interests and its role as the conscience-keeper of the society at large.
The concept of ‘paid news’ is nothing new. More than two decades ago, the term ‘advertorial’ came into currency in media. As paid advertisements, advertorials masquerade as editorial making readers believe they are reading a news story. This raises the big ethical question whether any media organization should fall for it as a source of revenue and an overwhelming opinion is against it.
But it will not be an easy task to check this malpractice. First, it’s very difficult to prove that a particular report was published for a consideration. Second, elaborate guidelines need to be in place and more importantly the bodies that act as watchdogs of the media like the Press Council of India should have enough teeth to bite if anything goes amiss. As it stands today, the PCI cannot take any punitive measures and its powers are limited to passing strictures against erring media houses. Its writ needs to be given a legal sanctity for it to act like a deterrent against any malpractice. Suitable amendments may also be required in the Representation of the People Act.
Sale of editorial space can be a lucrative business, much more paying than even the Sunday classifieds. All stakeholders- the political parties, editors, the Press Council of India and the Election Commission – need to work together for a consensus to prevent media houses from becoming an extension of PR firms. The process of consultation is on and one only hopes something concrete comes out of it.
Triumph of the Trivial
The impact of the process of trivialization or what has come to be known as ‘masala news’ can be gauged from the fact that the likes of Rakhi Sawant feature on prime time news bulletins with an alarming regularity. Even promos of movies and television serials are packaged as news stories. Be it the goings-on in the ‘Big Boss’ house or Abhishek Bachchan’s TV show ‘Bingo’, all such inconsequential stories occupy prime time news space on news channels. About the vernacular channels, the less said the better. Some channels and publications routinely put out absurd stories which have no public consequence what so ever as part of their staple news bulletins.
Also there is a boring similarity in the pattern of coverage of news stories by TV channels as they imitate one another for TRPs. It has led to what is being called McDonaldization of news or McJournalism. The emphasis is on quantity and standardization which have replaced quality and variety. Like the fast food joints, the focus is on delivery time rather than catering to the taste of the palate.
Like the paid news syndrome, driving news content, too, is a dilemma for news organizations as it they find themselves torn between business interests and their role as conscience-keeper of the nation.
Entertainment does play an important role in society-building and can be used a vehicle to send message to the masses. There are a host of entertainment channels and publications to cover it all. But an overemphasis on this by news channels only dilutes their credibility. The challenge is to strike the right balance and that’s what will pay off in the long run.
pradip.bagchi@gmail.com