When Will the Media Grow Up? Tabloid Journalism

["Sanjai Kukreti" <skukreti@home.com>]

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Rediff

Colonel Anil Athale (retd)

Will our media grow up?

The recent riots in Nepal, over remarks that were never made by Hrithik
Roshan, again underscored the power of the printed word. Many in India
gloated over the apparent 'irrationality' of it all and felt that the
Nepalese media was guilty of being gullible and fell victim to a
disinformation campaign masterminded by the Mumbai Mafia or Pakistan.

It is time the Indian print media also held a mirror to itself to do
some
introspection. On December 31, 2000, The New York Times carried an
interview
of Suhail Malik, a Pakistani terrorist in an Indian jail, taken by its
correspondent. This Lashkar e Tayiba fanatic openly admitted that he
took
part in the massacre of Sikhs in Chattisinghpora, carried out on the eve
of
Bill Clinton's visit to India.

Public memory may be short, but many would recall the editorial comments
in
the so-called national media that virtually swallowed the line that the
massacre was actually a handiwork of the Indian army. The sole reason
for
this astonishing and naïve conclusion was that the terrorists who
carried
out this act were dressed in army like uniforms. Is the Indian media any

better than their Nepalese counterpart?

There was every chance of this mischief by the media snowballing into
violence. The only reason this did not happen was that the ordinary
citizens
showed more common sense than the all knowing journos.

Right at the outset of the Kargil conflict, a young, enthusiastic
journalist
travelled there and when denied access to any officer, spoke to a jawan.

This jawan, with a as much knowledge about the operations as the
journalist,
then gave out that 'thousands of soldiers have died and the government
is
hiding the fact.' Soon this became the truth, and no one bothered to
reflect
on the basic fact that with all jawans insured in group insurance
scheme, it
is well nigh impossible for any authority to hide the real figures of
casualties.

Since the last few days a similar one sided campaign has begun over the
'Samba Spy Case'. The media has jumped to the conclusion that every
single
person sentenced in that affair is innocent. No journalist has bothered
to
see the evidence of indiscretion and fat bank balances that some of
these
'innocents' had accumulated for which they could give no explanation.

Even on major issues like the Pokhran tests of May 1998, a leading
economic
paper had screaming headlines about the impending economic disaster due
to
sanctions. Well, the sanctions came and are partially gone. The Indian
economy in 1998-99 grew by six per cent and the Resurgent India Bonds
actually netted more foreign exchange than what was lost due to aid
cut-off.

In none of these cases did the offending scribes or the newspapers have
the
honour, grace or professional ethics to admit -- 'We were wrong?'

It is understandable that today with competition from 24 hour TV news
channels and the Internet, the print media is under pressure. But the
answer
to that is not to have a 'print and be damned attitude.' The printed
word
has survived in the West despite the TV boom because it is still the
best
media for analysis.

Also, it is the printed word that carries greater weight and has long
lasting impact. This puts a heavy burden on newspapers to be accurate
while
reporting. Will our media grow up to the stature of The New York Times
and
sift the grain from the chaff, the disinformation from news?

Col Anil Athale (retd) is co-ordinator of the Pune based Inpad --
Initiative
for Peace and Disarmament.





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