Media Ethics in Times of Demonetization: Framing Debates in English News Channels A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Media Studies by Darshana Choudhury (Reg. No. 1730012) Under the Supervision of Naresh Rao H Associate Professor Department of Media Studies CHRIST (Deemed to be University) BANGALORE, INDIA April 2019 Approval of Dissertation Dissertation entitled Media Ethics in Times of Demonetization: Framing Debates in English News Channels by Darshana Choudhury, Reg. No. 1730012 is approved for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Media Studies Supervisor: ______________________________________ Chairman: ______________________________________ General Research Coordinator: ______________________________________ Date: …………………….. Place: Bengaluru (Seal) ii DECLARATION I, Darshana Choudhury hereby declare that the dissertation, titled ‘Media Ethics in Times of Demonetization: Framing Debates in English News Channels’ is a record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Media Studies. I have completed this study under the supervision of Dr. Naresh Rao H, Department of Media Studies. I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation. Place: Bengaluru Date: Reg No. Department of Media Studies CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru iii CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Darshana Choudhury (Reg. No. 1730012) titled ‘Media ethics in times of demonetization: Framing debates in English news channels’ is a record of research work done by her during the academic year 2017-2018 under my supervision in partial fulfillment for the award of Master of Philosophy in Media Studies. This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation. Place: Bengaluru Date: Signature of the Supervisor Dr. Naresh Rao H Associate Professor Department of Media Studies CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru Signature of the Head of the Department Department of Media Studies CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru iv ACKNOWLEDEMENT I am immensely grateful to the Almighty God for granting me wisdom and strength to overcome my challenges and successfully complete this thesis. I would first like to thank Dr (Fr) Thomas C Mathew, Former Vice Chancellor, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), and Dr (Fr) Abraham VM, Vice Chancellor, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru for giving me the opportunity to pursue research and facilitating me to complete my study. I am very grateful to my supervisor Dr Naresh Rao H, Department of Media Studies for being always approachable, understanding and constantly guiding and motivating me to persist in my endeavours with conviction that has enabled me to complete my thesis. He consistently allowed this paper to be my own work and steered me in the right the direction. I express my sincere thanks to Dr. Kannan S, Department of Media Studies for his management, monitoring and valuable inputs throughout the study. I thank the entire Department of Media Studies for taking time out, guiding my thesis and encouraging me at every stage. I also extent my gratitude to the experts (journalists) involved in this research project. Without their passionate participation and input, the study could not have been successfully conducted. Last but not least, I extent my sincere gratitude and praise for the everlasting love and support from my family, especially my mother for believing in me and encouraging me throughout the journey. v ABSTRACT Objectivity has been a traditional ideal for journalism. Journalists are trained to be objective; they do not frame stories by themselves…or do they? Faced with the pressure of deadlines, strained resources and the perception that audience prefer reportorial style, journalists resort to amusement or conflict based reporting positioning one side against the other and often aggravating facts and issues. The public today expresses disappointment with current media practices. Media watchers argue that instead of improving the quality of programming, competition has resulted in a race to the bottom, where news channels have conveniently forgotten basic ethical norms. This study is an attempt at re-visioning media ethics. It is believed that ethical journalism is never more important than in the time of crises. Taking India’s recent economic crisis, demonetization, this research aims to answer what makes it difficult for journalists to adhere to ethics especially during crises? With emphasis on situation faced by reporters, pressure imposed on them by various sources and ethical dilemma, this study provides answers to the questions posed on the work of journalists. Content analysis of demonetization debates broadcasted on two popular English news channels and interview responses of experienced journalists of Indian news media goes to explain how demonetization was represented by Indian news channels and to what extent journalistic ethics was reflected in their content. Keywords: debates, ethics, framing, news, television vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval of Dissertation ii Declaration iii Certificate iv Acknowledgement v Abstract vi Table of Contents vii List of Figures ix Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 1.1 Evolution of television in India 1.2 News Channels in India 1.3 Politics in News Channel 1.4 Broadcast media journalism and ethics 1.5 Journalism in Times of Crisis 1.6 Demonetization in India: A Crisis Chapter 2 – Review of Literature 12 2.1 Journalism and Ethics 2.2 Media and Crisis Coverage 2.3 Media Reporting Demonetization 2.4 Research Gap 2.5 Research Objectives 2.6 Research Questions Chapter 3 – Theoretical Framework 25 vii Chapter 4 – Methodology 28 4.1. Why NDTV and Times Now? 4.2 Why Content Analysis? 4.3 Why Expert Interview? Chapter 5 – Data Analysis and Findings 33 5.1 Content Analysis 5.1.1 Analysis of demonetization debates on NDTV 24 x 7 5.1.2 Analysis of demonetization debates on Times Now 5.2 Findings 5.2.1 NDTV 24x7 5.2.2 Times Now demonetization 5.3 Interview 5.3.1 Analysis and findings Chapter 6 – Interpretation and Discussion 96 6.1 Framing Demonetization 6.2 Ethics 6.3 Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards 6.4 Experts on Demonetization Coverage 6.5 Fighting unethical practices Chapter 7 – Conclusion 111 References 115 Appendix i Appendix ii viii LIST OF FIGURES Fig 1. English news channels weekly impression 29 Fig 2. Panelists 96 Fig 3. Hashtags 100 Fig 4. Frames 103 Fig 5. Relationship between theories 112 ix Chapter 1 Introduction How responsible has been the Indian news media in last two decades? This is one obvious question that lingers around any debate on the conduct of media in India in present days. News was never supposed to be merely a product of media; media as a source for engaging people with the government, democracy and issues around the world. It is one ubiquitous feature of human social formation and continuation of social life (Preston, 2008). More generally news is mirror to reality and this vision of reality is constructed by journalists. In this age of information technology where we are flooded with information or news coming to us from all sides, journalist today is evolving. Practicing the freedom of press, unearthing rampant issues, reporting crime and sexual assault are journalists of the new millennium. The profession however is blamed to be hollowing out of its integrity and honesty. Rather than mirroring the reality, news media construct reality from the perplexities of the world and in the process distort it (Stocking & Gross, 1989). News media in India from past two decades has been continuously under question. Poor functioning of this industry is not only criticized by the critiques and experts but also by the common people who regularly consume it. Studies say people today have a good knowledge of the press and can differentiate between what is news and what is not news but mere sensationalism (Jaggi & Majumdar, 2009). Now what are the common reasons we know that has led journalists and news media to act in such dubious ways - privatization, corporatization, deregulation, technological convergence, profit motives, TRP and most deeply political interference and political ownership as most studies highlight. Not only news reports but the entire content of news media has undergone changes in last two decades specially television news. Evening slots after primetime news have turned into fighting rings where politicians and journalists involve in excessively opinionated debates. Information is suppressed to short texts rolling as tickers and slugs at the bottom of the screen. It has shifted from public interest to one rating obsessed industry that surely has effect on 1 news agendas and editorial priorities (Thussu, 2007a). Despite of all the criticisms news media is free from any kind of regulations from government and still attracts a large audience particularly the broadcast media. This is mostly because without media there will probably be no quick and effective communication. There is a universal agreement that media are powerful shapers of our images of events, through both the information they provide and the "spin" or interpretation they place on it (Soderlund, Wagenberg, & Pemberton, 1994). Perhaps that is why the strength of the news media and specially television as a medium for it never relegates. This study deals with television in India and the news channels in particular. Before understanding the process of news production and ethics related to it, the researcher shares a brief history of the evolution of television in India. Discussing evolution of television is an attempt by the researcher to highlight the fact that television and news industry is always about changes.