B.G. Verghese opened his talk with a vivid description of the tremendous changes the Indian media has seen over the years.  ‘We do not realize the profound transformation technological changes have brought to the media…,’ said Verghese. 

Picking up strings from there, B.G. Verghese took the audience on a comprehensive journey of the Indian media.  He explained how the Tele-printers of the good old days have been replaced by cell phones and internet delivering pictures, sound bites and text instantly. 

Journalists no longer enjoy the luxury of a 24-hour deadline—particularly those working for the electronic media.  For them, the deadline has shrunk considerably and every moment is a deadline. Today, nobody waits for the morning newspaper to read the headlines.  Headlines are made every moment on the electronic media as well as the new media.

The journalists hardly get any time to check or verify the information they receive given the time constraints. Journalists working for a 24-hour TV channel are under pressure to deliver news reports in  a jiffy as they have to beat competition and ensure better TRP ratings for their channel.  And, they are on a 24-hour roll.

Gone are the days when the government was seen as the prime source of news.  In the fast changing scenario, the government is often stirred into action by reports appearing in the media.  Besides, security concerns have created a distance between the people and the leaders and it is the onerous responsibility of the media to bridge this gap.  Security concerns have also curtailed the access of the media persons to political leaders.  Today, no media person can walk into a minister’s office of the prime minister’s home without a prior appointment.

Until 1991 when economic reforms were ushered in, India did not have much room for advertisements in newspapers.  The problem was further compounded by shortage of newsprint. The economic boom that resulted from the economic reforms opened up the floodgates for advertisements. With that the whole concept of newspaper management underwent sea changes.

Most editors have little ‘say’ in the editorial policies of the newspaper these days because newspapers are not floated or run as a mission anymore.  Newspapers have become an industry and they are run like any other business. The trend that began with The Times of India has spread like wildfire to other newspapers.  Today, the prime concern of most newspapers is not to act as a watchdog to the nation but to make profit.

These days, the media is viewed as a business venture where financial viability takes precedence over editorial policies.  The marketing department which sells space has become a powerful department in the news industry. Those who rake in the moolah are dictating the editorial policy.  Today, many journalists are told what to write and what not to write.  And, their copies are edited to fall in line with the policies of the newspaper when they overstep their brief.

Speaking on ‘Paid News’ syndrome, Verghese pointed out that even in the ongoing general elections in the states, the Election Commission has detected over 40 cases of willful use of money to promote their party or their candidates in spite of the strict warnings issued by the commission.

In the olden days, the government obliged journalists with priority allotment of telephone connections or allowing them to jump the queue when they wanted to buy a scooter or a car. The economic boom has brought plenty of freebies to journalists.  Handing out liquor, suit-lengths and other gifts at press conferences are commonplace these days.  Flying with the prime minister in his plane has come to be seen as the yardstick of the importance of a journalist these days.

‘News is sacred,’ reminded B.G. Verghese as he expressed concern over comments and views creeping into news columns. When views creep into reporting or news columns it infringes upon the space allotted to the editorials and views columns whose job it is to interpret news for the readers.

Another topic on which B.G. Verghese made interesting comments on relates to panel discussions hosted by television channels.  He feels ‘many panelists or uninformed.’

In fact, many such uninformed and misinformed panelists are known for channel-hopping making a tidy sum for their uninformed comments on any topic under the Sun. 

‘The important thing is that the media still holds public trust,’ emphasized B.G. Verghese.  This places a huge responsibility on the media and it must perform its bit in the national interest.  The job of the national media as distinct from the mouthpieces of cultural organizations and political parties which actually work as party organs must be clearly understood.  The national media needs to be unbiased without any leaning towards any political entity.  However, it is hard to find that kind of a sense of public trust in most of the national media today.

B.G. Verghese was also concerned about lack of action against improprieties committed in the name of journalism.  He said: ‘portions of CAG report or court judgments’ are revealed by television channels to score points over rival channels. Such selective revelations are often out of context and run counter to full and complete reports when they are released.  But, nobody is taken to task for such transgressions.

Self-regulation has failed in India where freedom of one is restrained by the freedom of others.  India is the only country where the content of the electronic media is not regulated.  There are regulations for technical aspects but not for the content which is aired.  Verghese felt the need for reasonable restrictions on the lines of US Fairness Doctrine. He was particularly critical of new radio channels that have cropped up in recent years.  Verghese felt that many of them are given to irresponsible reporting.

Wrapping up his talk, B.G. Verghese displayed a positive approach to the changes that are taking place in the Indian media.  He felt that there are ‘honourable exceptions’ in the Indian media even among the current crop who are conscientious enough to uphold the sacred principles of news reporting.

Om Tanvi, Editor of the Hindi daily ‘Jansatta’  of the Indian Express group stressed the need for professional editors in news organizations. 

In the absence of professional editors, the editorial content of the newspaper suffers as there is nobody to keep tabs on the editorial content.  Also, the news organization itself becomes directionless. 

In many newspapers—mainly regional newspapers—the owners double up as editors.  It is not that they are qualified or otherwise equipped to handle the position of editors…it is just that the editorial position gives them instant access to the state machinery and the powers-that-be.

In other newspapers which are being run as business ventures, the editors do not enjoy editorial powers.  The editorial powers in such organization are vested in owners or those who manage the business of the newspaper, that is, the marketing department.

The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of newspapers used to be the views columns that interpret news for the readers.  Many Hindi and regional newspapers are using translations of writings by big names in English journalism including editors and columnists.  They build big names into brands and use these brands to promote their sales. In this connection, Om Tanvi, affirmed that the Indian Express follows a clear cut policy on this and avoids such translated pieces. ‘Jansatta’ feels no need for using translated pieces as it finds sufficient writings in Hindi that can match up to the writings of English journalists.

Commenting on the deteriorating news sense among national dailies, Om Tanvi, remarked that murder was never reported in the front page of a newspaper in the past.   But, now, you find such crime stories on page 1. He was also critical of sensationalism in journalism.  He hinted at a prime time crime coverage by a television channel where a professional actor has been engaged as the anchor to dramatise crime reports with a view to increase the TRP ratings of the channel.

With the changes that have hit the newspaper industry turning newspapers into business ventures, the readers are no longer seen as readers by the newspapers but are being increasingly viewed as customers.  He said there is no place for ethics in market.  The only ethics that drives the market is earning maximum profits. This has resulted in the fall of editorial standards.  He wanted to remind everyone that we even have senior editors who have taken to writing on the hospitality industry and culinary precepts.

Differentiating print journalism from television journalism, Om Tanvi, felt that if you make a mistake in print, you are expected to issue a corrigendum but that is not so in case of television reporting. 

Another point which irked Om Tanvi was the anxiousness of Indian editors to double up as reporters to accompany the prime minister or the president on their foreign visits. He clarified that such beats are best handled by the reporter who covers the PMO or the parliament or the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Talking of ‘Paid News,’ Om Tanvi explained that we should not restrict ourselves to just election misdemeanours but also focus on the day-to-day examples of paid news that populates newspaper pages in the form of promotional material.  There are instances of features offering publicity to performance  and development of certain states which are sponsored by respective state governments where the newspaper conveniently forgets to spell it out that it is an advertorial or pushes the same under some other guise.  Such paid news confuses the readers and often leads them into believing that such features are part of the reportage of the newspaper.

With reference to the Press Council, Om Tanvi remarked that the president of the Press Council is appointed by the government.  That leaves little scope for independent functioning.

The President of the Press Club of India, New Delhi, T.R. Ramachandran delivered an impromptu talk at the instance of the moderator Rahul Jhalali.  He categorically stated that self-regulation does not work in this country.

 He also narrated the story of how he quit the job as an editor when he failed to see eye to eye with his publishers on an issue which involved their business interests.

Another incident he shared with the audience was about a critical report he had written about a former president of India.  He said, the president set the Intelligence Bureau after him as a result of that.  This sheds light on the professional hazards of journalism.

In the interactive session that followed, B.G. Verghese fielded a question from the audience and reiterated that it was not only important to publish a corrigendum when a mistake in made by a newspaper but also to ensure that the correction is displayed as prominently as the original report and not tucked away in some insignificant corner of the newspaper.

In response to a question from senior journalist, Sanjeev Upadhyay, who wanted to find out how to balance the quality of journalism with financial viability of a newspaper  venture, Om Tanvi responded by saying that the prime concern of most of the newspapers that are mushrooming all over India is not financial viability.  For most of the newspapers floated by business houses, of which many have been floated by real estate magnates in recent years, the purpose of entering newspaper industry is to protect their other business interests.  

In conclusion, I must admit that newspapers do have that kind of nuisance value as they give them a key to build up pressure against government actions.