'Ethics and Social Responsibility' Must Be the Watchword
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A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA ISSN 0042-5303 January-March 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1 Rs 50 ‘Ethics and social responsibility’ must be the watchword Media ethics and social responsibility have always been important but never so much as today. Information like knowledge is power. Hence, intelligence gathering CONTENTS was from early times basic to statecraft. The liberal • Sexual harassment: a revolution that followed the Reformation and Renaissance metaphor for absue of democratised information. But none of this compares with power / Shoma Chatterji the communications revolution ushered in our own lifetime by the satellite and the chip, the computer and Internet • Tarun Tejpal case has B.G. Verghese lessons for the media / he commications revolution has created an instant Ranjona Banerji world – shrinking space and time. Convergence and miniaturisation have • Tejpal: fall of an icon / Tgiven us the cell phone and the iPod and we now can hold the world A.J. Philip in the palm of one hand. This has in turn created an entirely new medium called social media, manifested in the Web, YouTube Facebook and Twitter. • A gotcha trial by media / Information is now popular power and not just state power. B.G. Verghese The press has been transformed from select opinion sheets to news-papers • Does the legal system per se, providing the public, in theory, with all the news that is fit to print. measure up to fight sexual But apart from constraints of space, there have been compulsions of ideology, harassment? / Vrinda ownership interests, political preferences and pressures and such other Grover speaks to Pamela considerations. Likewise in the broadcast media. Philipose If the body demands a healthy and varied diet, so does the mind. Bias, misinformation and disinformation can be as insidious and dangerous as food • Muzaffarnagar: When or drug adulteration. Standards and ethics are therefore vitally important in women were cowed by the media world which has graduated from being the Fourth Estate, alongside sexual assaults / Anjali Singh the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, virtually to becoming the First Estate, sought and feared by all. • How television reinforces Governance, as much as life, revolves around communication, which gender stereotypes / triggers responses and actions. Given the technology now available, the global Bharat Dogra 24x7 media is most often the first to get and disseminate news, way ahead of intelligence agencies, the government, the military, corporates or anybody • Gandhian Journalism and else. It sets the agenda, tone and parameters of discussion and relays back the Salzburg Declaration / J. V. Vil’anilam responses. This position of immense information-power obviously entails a • History of Malayalam corresponding individual and social responsibility of the media, from the Journalism / Mrinal Chatterjee (Continued on page 3) January-March 2014 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR An editor’s spectacular fall from grace also spotlights media frenzy oa police writing to Hollywood star Rober De Niro seeking answers to a set of questions related to the alleged sexual assault against Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal would have seemed like some obscene fantasy not too long ago. But life as they say is stranger than fiction. Whoever would have thought that the founder-editor of a magazine that has blazed a trail in Indian journalism would be accused of sexual Gmisconduct by a colleague almost his daughter’s age! Making the story all the more bizarre was the young lady accusing him of having molested her twice – on two separate days – and, that too, in a hotel lift in Goa (where Thinkfest, advertised by Tehleka as an event for the world’s best brains to meet, was being conducted). Two years ago, Tejpal at the same event is said to have made the remark: “Now you are in Goa, drink as much as you want. Eat and sleep well with anyone you can think of, but get ready to arrive early because we have a packed house.” In a rather cruel irony of fate, those very words seemed to have returned to hound Tejpal in the third week of November 2013. Even though some credit must be given to him for owning up, Tehelka, the institution, received a body blow from which it may well take months to recover. The public outrage and media playing it up 24/7 ensured that the man who had achieved cult status with his searing investigative brand of journalism now had nowhere to hide and hardly anybody on his side, at least in the open. I do not wish to dwell on the case because a lot has been written about it, and there is quite a bit in this issue as well. But there is absolutely no doubt that the matter is one of credibility and trust. When you lose credibility as a leader, the fall from grace can be spectacular. For journalists and editors, there can be no greater prize than goodwill and credibility because they occupy positions of trust and have a social responsibility. Like good doctors and lawyers they must practise what they preach. The Tejpal fall will thus have repercussions for the whole industry. The other worrisome aspect is trial by media, which is not a welcome sign at all. Often, even before the law has taken its course, judges have examined all sides of the case and held somebody guilty or innocent, media (television especially) has made its pronouncement. Is such a development good for society? I wouldn’t think so. Even judges, who are human, can be influenced by what they see and hear on television. As far as Tehelka is concerned, I find it difficult to believe what one of our writers has mentioned in her piece in this issue – that Tejpal will be back at the helm at Tehelka some time soon. The institution may well survive and grow stronger so long as it is led by a competent core team that can take forward the founding mission of fearless and honest journalism. Sadly, a journalist of the high calibre of Shoma Chaudhury had to leave, unable to cope with all the media frenzy. However, it is good to know that an empowerment committee has been formed within the organisation with its members stressing that they will make the workplace free of any form of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. As we head to the general elections in the midst of an increasing mood of despondency, it is a testing time for the country and for the media as well. Let’s hope we will have the courage to overcome the odds and emerge stronger. Here’s wishing all of you a Very Happy New Year! Sashi Nair [email protected] 2 VIDURA January-March 2014 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: (Continued from page 1) pressures, ambitions, competition, vantage points and ‘edited’ by ego, cupidity, human frailty their states of mind. So do we have reporter, photographer, copy and folly. Costs have soared. No one truth and three stories, or are editor, news editor and up the surprise then that for some, much there many sides of the truth? The line to the analysts and editor. or most of the media ‘mission’ has media has therefore to report all How and what they sift makes been corrupted into ‘commerce’ sides of a story and provide the them gatekeepers. The media combined with the arrogance of background and perspective for its in this sense holds a position of power. News and images can be better understanding. This may not trust and social responsibility that created to suit given needs to create be possible at one go, but through makes newspapers and broadcast a new virtual reality. careful investigation and follow- channels public trustees of news, The Japanese play Rashomon up. informed comment and good taste. tells of the murder of a prince at But then we find owner and This is as much an ethical and a crossroads in the forest at dusk advertiser interests and angles social responsibility as a legal one. that is witnessed by a woodcutter, coming into play. Sources can be By law, the editor is the one finally a merchant and a robber. The event subjective and leaks motivated responsible, though publishers as is first portrayed as it happened. and selective to give colour to owners and managers obviously The rest of the play consists of events in line with the demands of matter. the subjective versions of what interested parties. Information may This is the theory, the ideal happened as told by the three be carelessly collected, fed from a situation. But we live in a world of others as observed from their poisoned chalice, or poorly collated January-March 2014 VIDURA 3 or trivialised to create sensation. Self-regulation clearly has not autonomous public broadcasting It may even be fabricated or worked and regulation by the service. Unfortunately Prasar distorted to create misinformation state, now under consideration, Bharati has been emasculated by or disinformation. Haste to beat the has aroused a good deal of alarm. the Government, Parliament, the competition, make ‘breaking news’, Attempts at controls and censorship advertisers, entertainment world win dubious TRP ratings or self- must and will be resisted. But just and the commercial media all of glory can result in error, invasion as powerful, high-speed cars are whom would prefer to see and of privacy, failure to double check, only safe given good brakes and label it as an official trumpet. trial by the media and other ills. traffic controls, today’s immensely The private commercial channels With rising costs, economic powerful media needs some must earn their keep and therefore slowdown and falling advertising, measure of regulation to ensure cater to the up-market advertiser.