A Time to Speak

25 October 2007

Ever heard anyone screaming so desperately that you cant be sure if it’s a human or animal? No? All you had to do was tune into “a particular TV news channel” a week ago that was showing a woman being dragged down a flight of stairs. Bump! Bump! Bump! And her screams were unreal. The sound was worse than that of pigs being slaughtered. My interpretation of a scream that hysterical is that it’s of disbelief. The woman was caught in a “compromising position” with her married lover. She was being dragged down the stairs of an apartment complex by the lover’s wife’s family members while an ace journalist and his cameraman tracked the sequence of events. So it’s the scream of one who is left with not a shred of dignity intact and that sets one free of a conditioned societal propriety allowing one to scream like an animal.

It’s the scream of disbelief of “I cant believe this is happening. Maybe if I scream loud enough I’ll wake up and all this will go away” or disbelief that “I cant believe this moron of a journalist actually thinks this is a story of national importance, if I scream loud enough, maybe he’ll wake up and go away.” Anyway, no one woke up, she and her lover were dragged slapped around, had their faces pushed in front of the camera lens as they tried to cover their faces etc etc. Just another busy day for a crack TV journalist, right.

It disturbed me. I picked up the phone and called the “particular news channel”. I asked the receptionist if I could speak to some one in authority since this was horrible. I asked her if she could see the images. She confirmed she could. I asked if they disturbed her. She said they did. I asked her if she had ever aired (not on air waves but aired in office) her opinion, she said she had not. But with a conspiratorial tone (quite thrilled) she said she’d connect me to the input desk and I could rant to someone there. I was connected to a female reporter who confirmed she could see the images but she was non-committal about having an opinion on them. Then a male came on the line and he too had no opinion, it was news, that’s all. I was then connected to the secretary of my former boss (I had worked with this “particular news channel” once). She informed me that he was out but would convey my disgust at the images to him. I asked her if the images made her question the ethics of the reporter or channel. She said she had not seen the story and does not watch much TV, not even her own “particular channel”. Actually enough of this “a particular news channel” nonsense. When we are talking about a crime story in some slum or the other no one hesitates in telling us the name of a Bhanwari Devi’s brother in law who raped his daughter in law’s sister’s bhabi..etc etc. Of course all this is alleged, not proven. But when talking about someone a little more empowered we get all coy and shy and say a “certain corporate house” or “a certain high profile industrialist” or a “certain media house” or a certain blah di blah. The channel was Aaj Tak. So there. Get it out of the way, and stop being coy and silly, right.

Why do “ethics” only become a debating point with sting operations and hidden cameras? A woman being dragged by her hair down the stairs of an apartment building for sleeping with her lover (OK a married one) doesn’t have a choice if the camera being thrust in her face is hidden or as big as a bloody Buick. And this reporter’s visiting card probably says  “special/crime/senior correspondent” or something as irrelevant, right.

A news anchor, Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC some months ago refused to read a news story about Paris Hilton.  She walked out of the studio, tore up the paper, shredded the story, burnt it with her lighter, quite dramatic actually, American style histrionics. Paris Hilton who is in the news for either a sex tape or a run ins with the law, did not constitute serious news for this journalist/anchorperson especially on a day that had been very eventful in several other “serious news” ways. Now that is wonderful and refreshing to hear about, right.

Because as a journalist, reporter, anchorperson what you mouth is your responsibility. One can’t pass the buck. A news professional can not absolve responsibility by saying its his/her job to talk about whatever is on air. It’s like a cop saying that he arrested and beat up and tortured xyz since he had orders from the home ministry. He is responsible for his actions, not the home ministry. That woman’s images being flashed across the nation was a beating that would have broken her spirit, completely.  No matter what the story from higher up we are responsible for our own immediate actions. We don’t have control over outcomes but we DO have control over our own actions. You know the karmanyavadhikaraste maphaleshu kadachanah etc. right.

Notice how journalists go after some DM, DC, DG who may have done some hanky panky on his boss’s orders. They are merciless and unforgiving, not that I’m complaining, its good they are. But one must be prepared to be weighed on the same scale as we weigh others. If former Punjab DGP Virk gives an excuse that he is Amarider Singh’s side kick so any hanky panky he did is not his but the former CM’s responsibility good enough to absolve him? No, right?

Similarly for a reporter being judged for some drivel spouted as news, the excuse that “my boss told me” is as lame. You have a mind, an opinion, sensibilities and a position in society that is privileged and empowered and if you are too meek to speak up, it’s pathetic.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece is NOT about grey areas issues where political or ideological leanings are across a large spectrum. That’s complex and one must put personal views aside and be objective. But human dignity, basic decency and humanity have no grey areas. They are Black and White. No matter how any number cruncher justifies it with TRPs, what “public wants”, freedom of press etc. That’s crap.

So moving swiftly on, a journalist or anchor is responsible for what he or she says on air, no matter who wrote it, not some input or output editor. If you air your discomfort about  the misuse of valuable and powerful airtime, you may not get a great Diwali Bonus but you wont starve to death either. The Honda Civic/accord/CRV can wait, and I believe cheaper and better models are on their way.

In a talent pool of 200, even if five comment on a story being in poor taste, it will have a chance of being pulled off air and not be repeated and I have seen that happen. And as a viewer you pick up the phone and rant to some one it WILL make a difference. Two minutes, one phone call that’s all it takes. Doing nothing is the worst thing.

And media professionals - Reporters/newsreaders aren’t exactly furniture. They have an opinion, in fact intelligence, that’s the popular perception of journalists.  It’s not like you have to walk out of the studio or shred the story Mika Brzezinski style and put your job on the line. Nothing that dramatic. I know not many of us can do that for a variety of reasons - from weakness, the need of a job, undeconfidence to vanity to a complete absence of integrity etc etc. But a casual remark like “Oh my God! What an inane/silly/offensive/obscene story. Which genius decided to run it??? Let me see how I can keep a straight face while reading the anchor link for such an absurdity. Hmm!!” Knowing how full of gossip places of work are, it’ll get back to the appropriate authority with lots of mirch masala. Bas. Job done!! Five-six such comments over two days will make the person responsible a little more of a responsible person. Just five-six comments. After all there are at least 5 such courageous, intelligent newsreaders/reporters in every news organization, right. Right! RIGHT?