A Sting On Media
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
28 October, 2012
Countercurrents.org
The Jindal expose of the Zee TV has actually brought into limelight the delicate media industry relationship. It has also highlighted that how media has been selective and using the news to make and unmake people, tarnish reputation and develop perception without doing its home work. Sting operations are not acceptable legally but then media never cared for that and finally became its own victim.
The Zee TV-Zindal episode has raised serious question about the working of the media and its ‘underworld’. For years, this factor is a known fact that ‘paid news’ became an accepted feature in major news organizations and one of the biggest newspaper chains in the country actually mentioned shamelessly that news is a product. The press council also worked on it but the major news organizations did not bother except for late Prabhas Joshi, the indefatigable founder editor of Jansatta, the Hindi daily who would always question it and strongly wrote against it.
There are grave realities are about media and it need to be understood in today’s world. That so called national media is not ‘mission’ as many of them used to do their journalism under a ‘mission’ whether they belong to any particular thoughts but there were nationalistic concern. Those serious people would not sit with the political leaders to seek favors or demonize them if the favor is not done. There was a quality in the class of their writings. But in the post 1990s, journalism has passed through serious changes and now after the advent of electronic media, it look seriousness is gone and media has assumed role of middle class upper caste protagonist. Media’s reach has grown and now there is a cut throat competition among them hence to strengthen their TRPs, they have to resort to all the nonsensical gimmicry using superstition, religion, films, cricket and crime stories. In fact, middle class crime stories are a huge hit if it has sex in it.
As happens, the Media particularly the electronic media and its programmers are suffering from a manglomanic disease about their ‘influence’. There is no doubt about their reach which has grown but today they are not just reporters and anchors but they consider us their Gods. Many of them speak intimidating language and ‘cross examine’ people in the ‘witness box’ crudely. Ofcourse, those who accept the invites also understand that they reach the large masses but the fact is people do not remember so many faces unless somebody informs them that they appeared on the media but them middle class hunger for appearance on visual medium is too high and is used.
That media can make and unmake political leaders and set the agenda for the country is the new threat which has been unleashed by them. In their zeal they have continuously ignored the ethics and gone like a propagandists for a particular thought and persons. The campaign against corruption has a strange irony. It had support of media as well as ‘industries also. It is also a well-known fact that the campaign targeted the political class only and never bothered about the hugely corrupted and equally powerful other sectors such as business world, cinema, cricket etc. It was not for any reasons that many of those who claim to be part of the campaign may not be that clean in their public life.
The anti-corruption movement helped the media to strengthen its grip over the power structure. None can deny the fact that media is a business today and is used to blackmail, pressurize and safeguards the interest of the owners and their vast business empire. It is not for unknown reasons that many of the newspapers and news channels are surviving not because of their circulations and reach but because their owner want them to run to exert the political pressure on the powerful people. It is not for nothing that many powerful individuals leave the big media houses and join the nondescript ones just to work as PR for their companies and business interests on huge remunerations. The anti-corruption movement has not helped the people and it was never meant to help those who are victim of corruption but to help the middle classes who actually bribe the officials. The media has over rated their influence and hence it became a victim of its own practices.
Long back, I had an opportunity to interact with a hugely reputed international channel to work with on a particular issue. The task was difficult and a good footage would only have been possible through hidden camera. They categorically rejected the idea and in fact asked us to ensure that each interviewees who is being interviewed or filmed would give in writing or those who were illiterate would speak on the camera about their voluntary interview and being informed fully about the issue. In India it has become a fashion to do a sting on your opponent and blackmail him. Sting is a disease and should be used in rarest of the rare cases. Media must stop using public forums to Kangaroo trials in their TV studios. They are not having any reasonable debate as the anchors want you to respond to them according to their perceptions. Many people after coming out from the studios inform how they were sidelined. It is clear, the media has already decided who they should give time and who they should not, who is an authority on certain issue and who is not. And they do not go beyond those few ‘experts’ who themselves are nothing more than mouthpieces and using media to build their own ‘brand values’. Sting operations are mostly done with an idea to create public perception as sting is not really acceptable in the court of law. It is a conversation between different people and not a legal signed deal between the two parties and you can call it it is ‘off the record’ talk. But then media has always violated this principles and journalists used the ‘off the record’ information to blackmail the people resulting in untimely end of political career of many.
The Jindal group sting operation of Zee TV is a perfect example of media being trapped by the monster it had created. Definitely, Jindals are equally powerful and too can run a media house. The big companies do not require media but media require them more as the salaries, remunerations of the journalists rise too high and once they are part of market, how would they critique a structure which they are so closely associated and enjoyed every bit of it. Now, the Zee News is completely rejecting the sting operation and saying that Jindal tried to purchase them. Of course, when the news is a purchasable commodity then there must have been bargained and when they fail the operation is actually called sting.
Now, the media particularly electronic media will have to think more on desisting targeting people without ample evidences and starting a public trials. There are due processes in India and if media has them, they can give those evidences to the lawyers. News cannot be edited according to the conveniences of the editors and owners. The image of a person cannot be tarnished and crucified of an event which you have recorded. That is building a perception for your political purposes. Now, how can the media reject the sting operation conducted by Zee News if they have used sting to crucify others. Media is the watch dog of democracy and its role has broadened now from just providing information to entertain and also build up perceptions but it is also being watched by the people. Now, it is possible that when media people go to meet a political person to seek a favor or anywhere, they may also face sting as the wall of trust is breached now.
However, there is an important lesson here too. Even if Zee News is primarily seen as violating media ethics and victim of its own creation, they must be given a chance in the court of law. These things cannot happen based on a CD which might be edited and may not contain the information before the recording and after it. There are lot of things which are inter-related in it and hence need thorough scrutiny. Hopefully, the media will learn a lesson or two from it that they cannot make people criminal based on a report and should stop building up the false perception for the sake of their political and business masters. Zee news need legal support today and it is rejecting the sting and the same logic applies to earlier stings too which were politically motivated and trapped people into corruption and bribery and ruined many political careers.
There is an important point too in this episode. Jindal is a big company whose reputation among the people of Chhatishgarh is not so great as the middle class might think here. It has definitely used its political clout and ventured into huge mining fields in Chhatishgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Whatever may be the news-ethics, Jindals do not become a clean house after the operation and Zee News must hand over all the details of Coal block. The problem is that a news story can be on the air or not on the air depending on your deal and it is the most dangerous aspect of the modern media.
The fact is that like the politicians, the credibility of media is also low and not everything is taken on face value by the people. It is time, media need serious introspection. It need regulation and not self-regulation as media too is part of a nation state and need serious check and balances. Press Council of India must be strengthened and made a quasi-judicial body to look into the media matters specifically and right to call media owners and editors as well as compel them to publish apologies, rejoinders as deemed fit. It is now essential that these corporate media nexus be examined fully and regularized otherwise, not everybody is as powerful as Jindal who could take on the media, less mortal souls are slaughtered by the brutal prosecutors sitting in the newsrooms.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter : freetohumanity skype : vbrawat Facebook : Vidya Bhushan Rawat [email protected]
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