Author: M.V. Kamath
Publication: Afternoon Despatch & Courier
Date: June 16, 2006
URL: http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=editorials&xfile=June2006_mediawatch_standard147&child=mediawatch
Media is supposed to be the watchdog of the
nation. But if it behaves irresponsibly who is to be the watchdog to keep
a watch on this particular dog?
Changes in the media are in the air. This
is attributed to competition. Competition primarily from the television channels
which are drawing more and more viewership. For the print media, the option
is: Change. No change means slow collapse. Pick up a copy of the Mumbai-based
The Free Press Journal. It has changed beyond imagination in lay-out, design,
news copy and editorial approach.
Now much the same has happened to Hindustan
Times starting with June 2, 2006. Two innovations are immediately noticeable.
The first innovation is HT2 Business & World, an 8-page pull-out about
business and world news, views and trends. There is a reader-friendly stocks
page and a weekly spread on personal finance with elaborate mutual funds listings.
The number of World pages has been increased but one has to wait for several
issues before any comment is made on the in-depth coverage of world events.
More innovation
The second innovation is Hindustan Times on
Saturday. The Edit page is revamped. But does revamping the page help when
what one is more concerned with is editorial opinion? If this remains weak
or recklessly subjective, how does it help in modelling public opinion? Bigger
headlines, more colour, larger-sized pictures are all meant for morons. What
matters is, in the end, quality. Reporting is coloured. The anti-Narendra
Modi line persists - and it is sickening. The lead story on the first freshly-designed
issue (June 2) shows this clearly.
How often should one warn journalists that
what happened in Gujarat following the Godhra torching of the Sabarmati Express
coaches can in no way be described as a 'pogrom'? When will the Hate-Modi
campaign being run by Hindustan Times cease? The lead story in effect absolves
terrorists of their murderous game by suggesting that it was a reaction to
the Gujarat "communal pogrom". "Intelligence Experts"
- never mind if they are the invention of HT's reporters and do not exist
- are quoted as saying that "hate is fuelled by actions like Modi's announcement
of a Rs. 10 lakh reward to the police unit that shot dead the alleged terrorism
in Nagpur". "Alleged terrorists?" What on earth is that? Are
HT reporters joking or on cocaine? What should gangsters armed to their teeth
with AK-47 rifles, hand grenades etc. be called?
The Congress chief minister of Maharashtra
also has offered awards to the cops who killed the terrorists. But why should
Modi be singled out as the root cause for Pakistani hatred? Hindustan Times
has been a leader in sponsoring the Hate-Modi campaign which is the inspiration
for "alleged terrorists". Isn't it time our English media is called
to order?
On May 25, NDTV kept on flashing the headlines,
according to a former member of parliament, the several tourists dead and
injured in Srinagar in a bomb blast were all from Surat and Gujarat. Was it
necessary to stress the origins of the dead and injured? Does one have to
mention that those dead and wounded were from Gujarat? It will only add to
the anger being felt in Gujarat with the way the English media and the television
channels have treated Gujarat and Gujaratis.
NDTV has done even worse. It ran an episode
showing how Muslims in Gujarat are losing out in business and even in housing.
It was a vicious way of dividing the people. Presuming it is true, has NDTV
bothered to find out why Gujarat Hindus have been behaving the way they are
alleged to behave? Could they possibly have any reason?
Things were going on smoothly without any
tension until the torching of the Sabarmati Express coaches took place. That
was clearly the handiwork of Islamic terrorists with the cooperation of the
Muslims in Godhra. No matter what has been said by way of excuse for Muslim
behaviour, the attack on the train was pre-conceived and led to the burning
alive of over 55 women and children. That has constantly been underplayed.
Since then Gujarati Hindus have been named as villains which does no credit
either to the English media or to the TV channels among whom NDTV has achieved
notoriety. Damning Gujaratis comes easy to them.
Could Gujarati Hindus have possibly any grievance
against Muslims that nobody is aware of? Why is the English media constantly
going at the throats of Gujarati Hindus? Is the UPA government aware of what
is going on? Is it doing anything about it? An entire state is being damned
along with its chief minister without any rhyme or reason. Somebody has to
call a stop to it. In the name of freedom of the press and secularism, a vicious
propaganda is being run by the English media and NDTV among TV channels that
calls for action.
Even the Narmada issue is being taken as a
peg to hang the media's hate-Gujarat hat on. So far there has been not a single
attempt to study the issue of rehabilitation of the tribesman displaced in
the process of setting up the Narmada Dam or raising its height; no White
Paper has been issued. No one knows the correct position. For Gujarat, the
Narmada Dam is a godsend. Obviously it has hurt many thousands.
It is not the responsibility just of the Gujarat
state. It is the responsibility of the government of India as well. We are
trying to divide the people of India not only on communal and caste lines
but even on linguistic lines and the UPA government must be made fully aware
of what is happening under its aegis. Demonising Narendra Modi may suit the
UPA government, but in the end it will be the entire country that will have
to pay for the centre's folly.
Lack of responsibility
The media has been behaving with an astonishing
lack of responsibility, and nobody, so far, has dared to take on the media
because politicians are unwilling to get on the wrong side of the media. The
media is supposed to be the watchdog of the nation. But if the media behaves
irresponsibly who is to be the watchdog to keep a watch on this particular
dog?
How long is the nation to put up with the
Hate-Gujarat Pogrom that is being carried out so ruthlessly and so deliberately
by a section of the media? What is the Ministry of Information doing? What
is the Press Council doing? And let the government remember: yesterday the
target of the Islamic terrorists was the RSS HQ in Nagpur. No one knows who
or what the next target will be in the coming weeks. And the media will say,
as Hindustan Times has said, that it is all because of Narendra Modi and Gujarat.
And that would be exactly what the terrorists want to be said as an excuse
for their terrorist activities.
Is there a government in Delhi that is aware
of the damage that the English media and TV channels are wreaking almost week-after-week?
Is there no one to call them to order?
