Should newspapers, the harbingers of freedom and intellect let their content overpowered by popular tastes and advertising diktats? Such hard-hitting questions were raised in a discourse held at 11th chapter of FICCI FRAMES. Vidisha Jha reports…
Media, often faces flak from media watchdogs over compromising the quality of content. So, who, eventually dictate it advertisers, readers or editors? This sensitive question echoed on the second day at FICCI Frames 2010 where noted journalist and author MJ Akbar, was representing media fraternity. A bright and inquisitive audience was present to shoot sharp questions, pertaining to the role and responsibility of media. He kept his audience grinning with his wisecracks as he asked, “Would Shakespeare get a job with The Times of India?” Akbar thinks Shakespeare would, because he wrote for his market and understood “the need to keep the till moving”.
The problem before the media industry, Akbar said, has been created by the owners themselves, who have forgotten the fundamentals. “If you want to communicate, remove yourself from the content. Get the ‘I’ from information and replace it with ‘We’,” elucidates Akbar. He also highlighted that journalists worldwide are losing their jobs and profits of the international media are declining, because of the increasing unfairness and pompousness among journalists.
He said that the editor as a dictator is a myth because dictatorship cannot survive, particularly in the communication industry. However, he quickly added that consumers cannot command the content either, because they don’t have the knowledge of what news has to be published and where. “Newspapers are meant for those who consider themselves to be on the saddle of the society,” believes 59-year-old Akbar.
Talking about the flaws in the print media, the veteran journalist said that readers have become incredulous about the news served to them. He added that journalists have lost touch with the ground reality and people have been denied from any element of choice. Therefore, today, readers prefer to read news online, as they can be selective.
So, what factors wreaked the loss of credibility of news? The prolific author blames government bodies. According to Akbar, “The biggest purchaser is not the private but the public entity. The problem is in Delhi and not in Mumbai.” To back his stance, he added that journalists are given housing aid by the government which is buying their credibility. Also, the equation of real power has been transferred within the realms of the publication houses. “The Advertisers’ interference with journalists is mutilating the content and blurring the imaginary line drawn between the editorial and marketing in the news industry,” sighs he.
Akbar also expressed his concern over the apathy of media towards public agony. He cited the instance of the Mumbai terror attacks. “What you saw on television was high-voltage anchors creating hysteria, in a bid to grab maximum eyeballs,” remarked founder and former editor-in-chief and managing director of The Asian Age.
He, however, ended on a positive note saying that the credibility of Indian media is still on a substantial high because we keep communication with the readers.
