His Sexcellency?

The 85^th birthday of former Prime Minister and BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee is front page news, especially when you have the present prime minister showing his reverence with folded hands. So is a sex scandal by a governor of the same age. Both the items had their dignified place (the latter solely from journalistic point) in the front pages of the news dailies.

News channel Andhra Jyothi broadcast a tape on Friday morning purportedly showing the Andhra Pradesh Governor, Narayan Dutt Tiwari having sex in the company of three women. The Indian Express followed the story with a juicy title “His Sexcellency?”, and a detailed coverage supplemented wherever needed with the interview of Andhra Jyothi’s managing editor, V. Radhakrishna. The editor admitted that the women purportedly having sex on tape were aware of the sting operation and had agreed to participate. The story had an overall balanced treatment bringing in the angle of the “woman broker”, Radhika who was promised a mining lease for allegedly “supplying women” to the veteran politician.

More revelations

The tabloid Mail Today that follows the story with bold headlines, and quite expectedly so, brings in more surprises in its report. It states that the Telugu TV channel that telecast the video claims that the clippings were of a bedroom at Raj Bhavan. The tabloid quotes Radhika saying that there were times when the governor would meet dignitaries in the hall in Raj Bhavan while the girls were kept in his bedroom on the first floor. She also claimed that a few Congress MPs would come to Raj Bhavan to sexually exploit the young girls and that the girls could identify these MPs.

The managing editor of the news channel has revealed that they took two months to prepare the sting. If these claims are true it will not only make a mockery of the Governor’s office but also of the High Court’s order. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had asked the channel to refrain from broadcasting the tape saying it was likely to “demean and denigrate” the gubernatorial office. How will the court save the gubernatorial office from denigration if the allegations against Mr. Tiwari is established?

One-sided story

The Hindu provides only a one-sided picture of the story. The headline, “N.D. Tiwari embroiled in a controversy” is as mild as the treatment to the story. The report states that the AP High Court has restrained the ABN channel from showing visuals allegedly of Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari in a compromising position with three women in the Raj Bhavan. The English daily quite noticeably brings in the Raj Bhavan side of the story without even going into the allegations against the Governor and former Union Minister. It quotes extensively from a press note issued from the Raj Bhavan. The note from the Raj Bhavan argues that “Mr. Tiwari is 86 years old and in the evening of his life” and laments that “constitutional functionaries are dragged into needless controversy with utter disregard to propriety.” If the assertion of Andhra Jyoti channel is authentic, which it claims it is, it will be in utter disregard to propriety – of the gubernatorial office.

Dipu Shaw

conciousdipu@gmail.com

Media jobs...OOps! Lay offs

The bad news continues. NDTV has sacked people at Metro Nation, including a couple of senior editorial staff, Mail Today has sacked several, and so has DNA. Exchange4media reports pay cuts at Outlook by less than 10 percent, of all those in the Rs 12 lakh annual salary bracket.

The Live spectacle

The round-the-clock live coverage of the state’s response to the terror attacks in Mumbai has brought to focus the reckless and insensitive attitude of news channels to such crisis. Quite evidently they were competing among themselves with each one of them claiming that “We are the first to have this news or enter this area.”

The media, especially the news channels, was chaotic in its coverage of the terrorist attacks. In their bid to be the first to show a particular picture or tell an exclusive story, they compromised the efforts of the security forces. The second-by- second accounts of the police operation would have even helped the perpetrators to relocate themselves or plan subsequent counter mechanisms. The television crew was on the side of the police, and their coverage showed the steps that the security personnel were taking.

Reporters ducked down and gave sleeping Piece To Cameras with the sound of bullets in the background, as if they were heroes in a thriller movie. The hype factor was never out. Their response gave the impression of “celebrating the tragedy.” Was all this asked for?
One news channel (ZEE NEWS) which was not showing live coverage of the terrorist siege repeatedly kept claiming that “their channel cared about the security” lest the viewers comprehend that they did not have the footage. The repeated claims made one skeptical of the real cause of restrain, so unlikely of the Indian media.

The visuals of blood-stained floors and copses made heart-rending and dismal viewing. The need that the media should tone down their coverage of terrorist strikes was undoubtedly felt. Instead of showing split body parts, they might as well choose subtle ways to showcase vital information.

Time and again, anxious camerapersons and reporters were tripping over their boundary, and security guards had to intervene to send them away. This was more evident on Saturday morning when the siege was over and the NSG platoon was still looking out for booby traps inside the Taj Mahal hotel. Though barred from going near the building, camerapersons and young reporters were too excited to follow instructions. In their race to be the first, they had no time to follow the ethics of their profession.

The media should behave in a way that helps those who are performing their duty. But what we witnessed in the last three days was a situation in which the security personnel were required to tackle the media. The Indian media have a lot to learn from their western counterparts. They need to be reminded of the 9/11 coverage by the American media.

Dipu Shaw
E mail – conciousdipu@gmail.com

Does the media care?

Speakers at the seminar on Does Media Care Pix: Gargi Nim

As questions are raised on how efficiently Indian media is covering social issues, a seminar hosted jointly by the BBC World Service and MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia organise a seminar to debate the issues of media obsession and responsibility.
Dipu Shaw reports…

“There is something deeply absurd about the state of the nation today”, began Tarun Tejpal, editor in chief and publisher of Tehelka, in his assertive tone. The occasion was a seminar organised jointly by the BBC World Service Trust and the Mass Communication Research Centre of Jamia Millia Islamia and the media baron was delivering the key note address on “The Indian Media: Is it obsessed with celebrities and crime?”

The BBC World Service has collaborated with three of India’s journalism colleges: The Asian School of Journalism, Chennai, AJKMCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi and the Amity School of Communication, Lucknow to improve the quality of training in social journalism. The project is being funded by the World Bank.
This seminar titled “Does the Media Care?” was a dialogue on the coverage of social issues in the media and was another step in the direction.

Among the other panelists were Usha Rai, the first woman journalist of Delhi and a recipient of the Chameli Devi Award, Nilanjana Bose, a Ramnath Goenka awardee and Senior Special Correspondent of CNN IBN, PN Vasanti, Director of CMS (Centre of Media Studies), Rohit Gandhi a TV journalist of the Canadian Broadcasting and Dex TV in Canada and Thomas Chandi, CEO of Save the Children in India, the World’s largest independent Child Rights organization.

The debate highlighted some serious issues plaguing the Indian media today.

Tarun Tejpal who has a 24-year experience in the profession recalled the earlier times when almost every news channel had a rural reporter. “Today, the total coverage that the 250 million Dalits and tribes in India get is less than the share given to actress Kareena Kapoor alone”, he lamented.

Rohit Gandhi described the media’s obsession as one of “celebrity gazing and crime chasing” while PN Vasanti showed some statistics of news coverage tapped by the CMS. The discussion highlighted one central point – how journalism in this country had become entirely commercial and market driven.

The second session debated why there aren’t more stories about health, science and environment in the Indian Media. The key note address was delivered by veteran journalist and author Prem Shankar Jha. He began by referring to the Bengal famine of 1942. The point that the seasoned journalist brought out was the importance of follow ups in journalism. Paranjoy Guha, a documentary film maker and editor of “Realpolitic”, moderated the debate in his usual flamboyant style that sent instant energy waves through the air.

Film critique Ziya Us Salam who is a senior Assistant Editor in The Hindu, referred to the widening gap between rural Bharat and urban India perpetuated by the media. He pointed out how the Lakhme India Fashion Week had four journalists from one news channel for the coverage of the event while it did not affect the life of any one citizen. “The same time farmers in Vidharba committed suicide due to abysmal poverty”, he poignantly recalled.

Saeed Naqvi, one of the most successful and prominent journalists of India and a columnist of The Indian Express called the entire TRP game a façade, aimed to sabotage the real big issues. His frustration with the Indian media was evident in his reference to the present generation of reporters as ‘the lost generation”.

Aspiring journalists from the university and other eminent guests interacted energetically with the panelists. The speakers concluded that a good story teller could tell the most mundane of things in an interesting way and that was the essential quality for the journalists while reporting on any social issue. The counsel was a good one to take home for the aspiring journalists.

3:45 pm. Nothing showing on TV

A total black out at Media House. A shocking disbelief in the eyes of each employee. For most of them, this is a first incident of its kind.
A blackout should be going on air too. Nothing being shown in a 24*7 news channel. The rest can be managed subsequently. So, The output head gets on work. An old tape is rolled, until the technical defect is fixed.

The chairs circle around. Various topics get the intellectual involvement of the employees. Yes! Gossiping does not have a competitor when it comes to what people in this country do when not working. Another thing about the media is that everyone here has an opinion.

Trifles aside!
A freelance journalist from Mumbai comes looking for the producer in charge of Entertainment Section.
What the young man tells her was bound to catch my attention.

“ Mam, I can get you the inside stories. I have news and pictures about celebrities – completely nude!!... Doing all sorts of shoddy stuff. Original stories Mam! I am surprised the news channels only report petty Shahid-Kareena fights.” There are so many people with the character of Shakti Kapoor and he is the only bad man known.

On asked how he manages to get those stories, he said he comes across them when he goes for his own assignments as a journalist.

“They would really shoot up your channels TRPs, mam”

The journalist leaves leaving his phone number for further reference.

From Classroom to Newsroom

My experience with one of the television news channels is acquainting me with a lot of new things about the industry. I enter the office after getting my approval as an unpaid intern there. A whole new affair awaits me.

This is what I encounter.

Youtube being browsed incessantly. Video downloads. A new script written and voice over done. A lot of effects applied on the editing machine. And, package ready.

No outdoor shoot. No reporter. No cameraperson required.
Hey! That’s plagiarism, I express articulately. A dozen eyebrows raised. Another half a dozen eyes turn towards me. I realise my ‘mistake’.

“That’s what all other channels are doing”, the assistant producer and my team leader tells me.
I now fathom how various amazing videos are being shown in channels across the country. And that too astounding videos from far off lands.

No attribution required. It would take away the surprise factor. The exclusivity factor too. And it would be like striking your own feet with the axe.

How a 20 second video clip can be stretched to a two minute story, I learnt here. My classroom had taught me to shorten a long sequence of shots into a compact and succinct package. The reverse was applicable here.

The simple knowledge of cutting clips on the editing machine was not enough. It required a professional editor who had this godly skill of “playing” with the clips.

HOW true was the video clip, WHO had posted it, WHERE did the incident take place, WHEN did it happen and WHY. WHAT actually happened?

These 5 Ws and H were an important factor in the classroom. Here, the building up of the surprise factor is the only important component.

The discipline of verification has lost its dignified place. It was of prime importance in my classroom. Not very important here.