A K Bhattacharya: Media and its many myths

NEW DELHI DIARY

Ever since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined the need for the media to become more responsible, we have seen in the last few weeks a new debate on whether newspapers, magazines and television channels ought to be regulated by an external agency or whether the existing laws to punish irresponsible journalism need to be strengthened. Some clear""and some misleading""messages have emerged in the process.

There can be no second opinion on whether the media ought to be responsible and adhere to facts while reporting or commenting on developments. But there is no need for setting up a new regulatory body to oversee whether the media is behaving correctly. That step, as has been well argued in the past, would be dangerous.

The reader or the viewer is the ultimate judge to decide whether a publication or a TV channel is dishing out material that is wrong, biased and unfair. A publication that believes as much in free and fair journalism as in owning up errors earns the respect of its readers, which should also result in its long-term credibility and growth.

Similarly, a publication that gives short shrift to readers' views and feedback on where it has gone wrong or right will pay dearly in the long run. These results may not be visible in a time span of a year or two. But let there be no doubt about the adverse impact of disregarding the basic canons of responsible journalism.

In any case, there is the Press Council of India that is expected to ensure that the media practises responsible journalism. If necessary, efforts could be made to strengthen this body and make it more effective.

Moreover, publications and TV channels could themselves start appointing independent ombudsmen to keep a check on what they are doing correctly and where they may have goofed.

On all these issues, fortunately, there are no doubts in anybody's mind. Where there is some lack of clarity, as was evident in recent debates and discussions, is on the issue of whether the media is a different kind of a product and therefore deserves a different treatment, whether the media is less responsible because the readers prefer to be entertained rather than being informed and whether responsible and good journalism creates barriers to running a successful media business. It is, therefore, important to place all these issues in perspective to gain better understanding.

It is often argued that a newspaper is like no other product. Of course, it is a different product, but it is a product nevertheless. And by calling it a product, there is no attempt at diminishing its inherent virtues or characteristics that go beyond the market place.

Just as a good soap needs to be sold on the strength of its inherent qualities of fragrance, cleansing ability and packaging, a good newspaper ought to be sold on the strength of responsible journalism and presentation skills. So, where is the difference? The myth that newspapers are not like any other product has done a lot of damage to journalism. A publication or a TV channel ought to keep in mind that its readers or viewers have certain expectations from them just as they do from soap or a refrigerator.

The second issue pertains to the debate between entertaining news and serious news. This too seems to be a deliberate red herring, aimed at hijacking the debate to a plane where the real issues are obfuscated. There are publications and TV channels that cater for different needs of the readers and viewers.

A business newspaper, for instance, meets different information or entertainment needs of a reader. It is the responsibility of those who produce the newspapers to decide on the mix of the components that would constitute the final product. In any case, just like art films can and should also be entertaining films, serious journalism can and should also be entertaining journalism. So, where is the debate?

The third controversy is about the so-called conflict between the media's need for raising revenue through advertisements and fulfilling the basic role of providing information and views in a responsible and independent manner. The media today follows a business model where close to three-fourths or more of its total revenue comes from advertisements.

This dependence has many consequences. But given this reality, the media has to decide on what the guiding principle of its business model should be. It is possible to build a successful media business by following transparent norms on advertisements. The two are not in conflict.

In fact, readers ultimately will reward those publications which make obvious the difference between what is paid information or message (advertisements) and what is an independent editorial message (news or views). Even enlightened advertisers""and their numbers should hopefully increase""admire those publications which follow these basic divisions that guard the readers' interest. Of course, whether the business model that makes publications excessively dependent on advertisement revenue and subsidises the readers, who do not pay the full price for the product they get, is a big debating issue that is not yet resolved. But then that is another story ...

akb@business-standard.com