THE MARKET has become a pre-dominant force today. “Most of the time, what we write on the editorial page, is opposed to the content of the newspaper. Advertisements determine the content today. All this has led to a fall in the credibility of the media,” rues Shailendra Kumar Shrivastav, editor of the Hindi daily, Jansatta, Kolkata, one of the most reputed Hindi dailies in the city.
The commoditised journalism of today, according to Shrivastav, has lost its ethics. “Several beats, such as fashion and life style have come up. Thus, there is no space for culture.” He is of the opinion that journalism today has forsaken its aim to educate and to inform; it has become mainly entertainment-based.
“The advent of electronic media in the last decade has had a great impact on the society.” This is one of the three changes in the media industry observed by Shrivastav. The other changes, according to him, are the fall in the social responsibility in case of vernacular journalism, and spreading of vernacular journalism to the grass roots, especially villages.
Aware of the digital transformation in media, Shrivastav considers this as a threat.
Shrivastav feels that digital media is posing a major threat to traditional forms of media. The race for being the first to declare ‘Breaking News’, he says, is nothing but a battle to increase TRPs. “It is senseless and incapable of proper journalism.” He sees the print media copying the electronic media in this sphere and considers it as a dangerous trend.
Speaking about online journalism, Shrivastav says, “Online journalism does not pose a threat to print media, as both deal with different areas. Certain classes have both the means, they can use online content to verify or add to the information. A lot of people on the other hand do not have both. The reach of the Internet in India is not as widespread as that of the print.”
Discussing the social responsibilities of the media, the editor suggests, “Media does not bring about change. The social, cultural, political and economical developments bring about a change in the society. Information seekers cannot do this.”
He feels that investigative journalism is important in India. “It is important to have such operations. However, they must be of social importance. One has to use it carefully as it is also used to mobilise people. Things like corruption in Public Office, which concern the public, should be focussed on; sensationalisation is not required.”
One of the biggest challenges to Indian journalism, according to Shrivastav, is maintaining its credibility and the faith of the people. He adds, “Vernacular press has to groom its own set of indigenous writers in different topics. Developing talent, especially in vernacular media, is also a challenge. Beat specific journalism has to be replaced with overall knowledge.”
The editor feels that it’s important to know both Hindi and English. “English language journalists,” he complains, “don’t want to learn. English-based journalism is taking its readers away from their social and cultural roots. They are not concerned with the grass roots. It is important for both forms to develop a very rational approach towards news gathering and dissemination.”
According to Shrivastav, media is a profession which is being portrayed as an industry. Comparing early journalism with contemporary journalism, he says, “Earlier, journalism was considered to be a good profession, people had respect for journalists. But now it is being labelled as an industry.” This industry will, however, fail without ethics.
In spite of these developments, he continues to regard the media as the ‘Fourth Estate’. He says, “Media continues to be the Fourth Estate, but has become weak. While other estates lack credibility, in journalism, too, the sense of social responsibility has become less.”
