Media Workshop with Journalists from Kerala

8–9 December 2007

Fireflies Inter-cultural Centre, Bangalore

Report:

As a constituent of the International Alliance of Journalists, Pipal Tree held a journalists workshop at Fireflies Inter-cultural Centre in Bangalore. This two days’ workshop held on the 8^th and 9^th of December 2007 were attended by 20 journalists from the major daily newspapers of Kerala, cutting across their ideological stance. The combined readership of these newspapers would be about 12 million readers.

The objective of the workshop has been in consonance with that of the Alliance in that it tried to explore the possibilities of expanding the space for social reporting in mainstream media, and to encourage journalists to give greater attention to social and environmental issues. Over the years, the Fourth Estate fraternity has often expressed a sense of isolation, ennui and low morale when working on these issues. The publications they work for seem to be less concerned with socially meaningful writing than with political and infotainment writing. In such a context, it is imperative to informally network with journalists to see if we can raise a support group: a community of concerned and socially-aware journalists, all over India, who could interact with one another through small group meetings, e-mail and a blog (devoted to reflections on the experience of development writing – the frustrations and rewards). The larger objective is to explore the possibility of journalists and social activists forming informal networks that may lobby politicians and bureaucrats to implement social programmes.

The media can, to a large extent, play a significant role in creating a vibrant civil society where local groups and organisations play a major part in tackling local issues in a participatory and democratic spirit. It can become, as it functioned sporadically, the face of a humanising and culturally energising entity that can instill hope and initiative among a large number of people and as the monitor of the process of globalisation in the interests of the poor and the marginalised peoples.

The immediate agenda of the workshop, however, was to discuss the following points.

1. Exploring and using the available space for cultural, social and ecological reporting.

2. Creating a network of socially engaged journalists in Kerala.

3. Looking at the short and long term possibility of strengthening institutions like the press council, ombudsman etc.

4. Exploring the possibility to create an interface between journalists, proprietors and the reading public.

8^th December

The workshop began with the self-introduction by the participants representing 10 major dailies from Kerala, which included the leading ones like Malayala Manorama (National Readership Survey places it at the top in India), Mathrubhumi, Deshabhimani, and Madhyamam.

Introductions over, Siddhartha, the representative of the International Alliance of journalists and Director of Pipal Tree welcomed the gathering and gave a summary of the activities of the Alliance.  In South Asia the emphasis was on highlighting issues pertaining to child rights, tribal (adivasi) empowerment, employment rights, peace and inter-religious conflict resolution and the environment. In his brief talk he drew the attention of the audience to the impending danger to our environment.  He pointed out how Bangladesh and the Netherlands could be submerged under water (and we do not have to wait very far into the future for this tragedy to happen, he sounded the alarm.) and how the melting of the Himalayan glaciers can affect our rivers. All due to global warming and other kinds of nature’s revenge resulting from our over-rated development activities that did not factor in the horrendous consequences. In the future we can expect refugees of different kind – the environment refugees torn away from their homelands when they will not have a physical homeland to lay claim to.   He also underlined the need of a vigilant and socially responsible media that could deal with the human rights violations that came with neo-liberal globalization.

He then invited the participants to share the present hue of journalism as they see it, especially from the perspective of the most literate state like Kerala. Since their opinions have more or less over-lapped, only the salient points are given here.

Kerala leads not only in literacy but in newspaper readership as well. There are about twenty small and big dailies in the State.  And, with a paper like Malayala Manorama claiming a readership of over 1.5 million and Mathrubhumi, 1 million, one can understand how the dailies have become a significant part of the Malayali’s life. Yet the profession as practised here cannot be by a long chalk credited with all that journalism is believed to stand for – impartiality and neutrality.   When the publishing houses have their eyes on profit by increasing circulation, their prime aim is to please many and displease as few.   The writing is now more tailor-made to fit in the middle-class culture.  In such a mind-set, where is the scope for upholding social issues like human-rights?

In such a scenario, the participants were more or less unanimous in expressing their disgruntlement with their profession.  Early idealism at the beginning of the career gives way to a lackadaisical attitude, which is translated into doing what their bosses want.  Rare is the journalist who regards journalism as more than a way of making a living; no more is it looked upon as a socially significant and noble vocation.  Of course, most of them admitted that they too have contracted the disease of modernity – that of I before you and others.

Another aspect of journalism that is egregiously more patent than anywhere else is the ownership of publications by different political parties – CPM (the communist party) has its mouthpiece, so have the Congress party, the Muslim League and others.  Their main game is promoting their own interests and ideologies and missing no chance to sling mud at each other.

In this kind of self-serving journalistic set-up, news that should concern every conscientious Indian is given a step-motherly treatment.  The plight of tribals (adivasis) fisher-folk and people condemned to mere existence are given short-shrift.  They are subjected to constant exploitation and inhuman treatment, yet not much exposure is given to these atrocities.  But their heart-wrenching stories have little import to the present species of readers who have been constantly fed infotainment dainties like the pre-nuptial, nuptial and post-nuptial stories of Bollywood actors, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachan. These eat up more and more columns inch and that too front-paged. Also, the number of readers among the deprived and marginalsied are minimal.  There is sporadic reporting of mass suicides of farmers in some states or mindless destruction of nature to provide infrastructural facilities or private construction works, often illegal, but these do not occupy enough centre-stage to impel the public for action. In short, in Kerala, as in many other parts of the world, Gresham’s Law is active in journalism: the bad currency driving out the good.

All of them are more or less equally convinced that what they have heard of as committed journalism as practised by their predecessors is no more a fact.  Infotainment and political shenanigans sweep burning social issues under, so to say, the carpet. Sensationalism seems to rule the roost.

Siddhartha introduced Mr. Leo Saldhana, environmental activist, to the participants.  He said that Leo and the organization he heads, the Environmental Support Group, have been in the forefront of all issues that affects our environment.  He and his organization not merely raise their voice against any kind of assault on environment but act – the number of pubic interest litigations Leo and his group have mounted against powerful vested interests who blithely flout environmental protection laws is legion.  And these in the teeth of threats to their person and other kinds of harassments. But they have stood their ground despite all this, armed only with the courage of their convictions.  As recently as a couple of months ago Leo was manhandled by the hired security personnel of an extremely influential contractor who is behind the construction of a new and needless road to Mysore that illegally encroached upon the lands of many poor people.  Even his complaint to the police was not admitted because the security people who attacked him happen to be ex-policemen.  And this despite the photographs of the incidents shown as proof of the incident!  (Here, Leo, with fetching humility, made light of the incident saying that he never expects pats from the powers-that-be.)

Discussion on Environment:

It is in a lighter vein that Leo Saldanha began his talk.

He had some pertinent questions to pose.  Are we truly committed to social and environmental issues and causes?   How do we approach them?  The audience did not find the questions rhetorical; they averred that they too in their own way were seeking answers to them.

Lip-service to the safeguarding of the degenerating natural world, Leo continued, is now a routine with many.  For all you know and care, they all must be reading from the same script. We see each year the number of ‘protected’ habitats (national parks, for example) grows proportionately to the worsening condition in those already in existence. Each year measures for pollution control are announced even as pollution increase from the offending sources and new processes and activities further contaminate the world around us.

All this in the name of development.  Development of what?  A life style of opulence where energy-guzzling gadgets and fossil-fuel depleting vehicles become the order of the day in trying not to keep with the Joneses but go one better over them.  At this point, a few from the audience interjected stating that the boom in construction sector in Kerala has led to irresponsible and illegal sand mining from the river beds.  Some of the famous rivers of Kerala, once flush with water, like Bharatha Puzha in Malabar area, have dried up into pathetic strings that can be barely called rivers.

Leo whole-heartedly concurred by citing the example of Bangalore where illegal quarrying of stones in which political leaders themselves have great stakes for construction. All the while destruction of valuable vegetation goes apace.

Where are all these leading to?

Tens of thousands of animal and plant species are doomed beyond recovery.

We hear, now, a great deal of the ‘new threat’ to biodiversity – the diversity of life – and read about it in magazines and newspapers. But the conditions obtaining today make it more appropriate to talk of the ‘dying’ of biodiversity thereby giving a truer picture of what is happening.

Preservation of biodiversity is acknowledged to be of crucial importance to human life cycle.  When biological wealth suffers, it is difficult to attribute economic value to it in the same way as material wealth.  But, it is becoming more and more clear that biological wealth is beyond measure – their lifecycles and food-chains provide the very foundation of human existence.

How far-reaching can be the effects of degradation of biodiversity on global environment?  Our tropical rainforests contain the world’s richest ecosystems and the greatest variety of animal and plant life.  Half of these were wantonly felled in the single decade of 1980s, with scant regard for their relationship to our climate, atmosphere and environment, leave alone their economic significance to the livelihoods of indigenous people.  The trees that grow fast and die young are incapable of storing as much carbon dioxide as the hardy perennials of rainforests.  The annual uptake of carbon dioxide by plant and animal life is estimated to be much less than its output from human action. And the ever increasing industrial emissions of this gas further increase the danger of un-stored carbon dioxide and the consequent accelerated global warming and poor rainfall. Also, there is the threat of other noxious gases like methane and nitrogen oxide.

These issues are constantly talked about by the media and environmentalists.  But no long-term solution solutions are in sight.  How can there be solutions, some of the participants asked? The political panjandrums we vote into power in collusion with profit-before-anything business houses for whom pushing the growth-rate is more important (because the rich grows richer) than sustainable development.  Journalist Radhakrishnan felt that all is not yet lost.  Media can play a stellar role in checking our suicidal tendency.  Our attitudes, views, perceptions and life styles will have to be changed.  When technology developed, we called it development.  But this so-called development has not done anything to ameliorate the conditions of the poor.

The relevance of environmental journalism is demanding greater urgency.  It must wring a change in the consciousness of people in general.  The growing number of you’ve- never-had-it-so-good middle-class, thanks to the economic reforms of the past fifteen years, doesn’t get overly excited about anything that isn’t of immediate concern. They appear to be content with the status quo, as long as it doesn’t hamstring their upward mobility.  The departments concerned with environmental issues, Leo said, are by and large ignorant about the wider implications of their action or inaction.  He spoke about some of his futile attempts at convincing the powers-that-be.

Leo and his group filed a public interest litigation in the court against the company that was awarded the contract for the Mysore road, especially sighting the illegal encroachment of lands by the poor and helpless by the company.  In the name of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), land is taken from the poor farmers and further havoc is wrought about in terms of development.  The question that has to be asked is who are the beneficiaries of such developments, that turn out to be social and ecological disasters?

Each individual in his or her own way can adopt effective measure to reduce the burden on environment.  For example, Leo has painted his roof white.  Perhaps it might, he jokingly said, go against any aesthetic cannon, but it keeps his house cool, eliminating the need for fans or similar electricity consuming facilities.

He was to, some extent, skeptical about the role of the media. He narrated an incident in support of this.  A reporter from a leading English daily interviewed him about encroachment by builders who take away the land of the poor for their building projects, but her story was killed and the editor advanced in extenuation of his decision that the piece went against the editorial policy of the paper. Actually the real reason was that one of the board members of the newspaper was a partner in the building project.

While he was all praise for workshops like the one at Fireflies but was of the opinion that they should focus on practical solutions.  At the same time, they should not go to the extreme of some kind of ecological fascism, undermining any kind of development.  As if to drive home this exhortation by Leo, some among the audience referred to the shameful incident of the press camp at Muthanga in Kerala.  (On February 19, 2003, the police, on the then government order, fired at advivasis (tribals) in Muthanga forest who were struggling for gaining land rights and establishing adivasi gram panchayats.  Many lives were lost. This denial of the right to live is a threat meted out by the State, not only against the adivasis, but also against the dalits, the landless and the poor in general.)

9^th December

The second day started off, before the speaker of the day, Arun Subramaniam, arrived, with Siddhartha taking the invitees around Fireflies.  Fireflies, he said, is a unique eco-ashram – an ashram without a guru; a place of refuge, introspection, meditation, and activism – a secular ashram, if you like.  Fireflies is open to both spiritual and secular initiatives and is deeply involved in social change and environmental action. Its aim is to bring together a community of friends who revere the earth as their first mother. The visitors were enchanted by the verdant green ambience of the place, its scattered buildings acting as a relief to highlight nature, the sculptures dotting here and there. This is a place, he underlined, where people can go deep within themselves, to recharge themselves before they return to the world. To go inward, to take care of the earth, to cultivate the soil, to work hard, to meet people, to discuss the issues that make us who we are, and to bring people together from all over the world –this is Fireflies’ chosen dharma.

The second day’s lecture by Arun Subramaniam started after the tea break.

Siddhartha introduced Arun to the audience. He was the Business Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and is now settled in Bangalore.  Arun studied economics and law at the Universities of Madras and Bangalore, respectively, and initially worked as a project consultant to a Singapore-based NGO working with rural communities across South and Southeast Asia. He subsequently practiced labour law in Bangalore and Mumbai before turning to research and then to business journalism. He still continues with his occasional writings on business matters in publications here and abroad apart from being a visiting faculty in one of the premier journalism colleges in Bangalore.

Discussion on the state of the media:

Arun added a few more words about himself. He has worked mainly in business journalism; combining corporate, financial and economic analysis with coverage of legal and regulatory issues, particularly relating to the workplace and the environment. He considers the investigation into the notorious Bhopal gas tragedy that claimed thousands of lives as one of his great and meaningful achievements. Business India, where he was working then, first published his findings, which were subsequently confirmed by federal investigators and formed part of the prosecution’s case against the company. He is also the co-author of The Bhopal Tragedy (CIPA Press, NY, 1985). Arun has worked for leading Indian media including India Today and United Television and has regularly appeared as a political and economics commentator on CNBC Asia and CNN.

Arun began his talk with a tongue-in-cheek criticism of present day journalism in India.  Of course, he added that he spoke only from his understanding of English journalism, as he had no acquaintance with regional varieties and if at all he had any, it was only by second remove.  But, he said, what he had to say might be largely applicable to the press in general.  Journalism as it was practised in the 70s and 80s has literally become a thing of the past.  He laid the blame squarely on the wimpish editors (He had some choice epithets for editors that raised some loud guffaws from the listeners.) who daren’t stick their necks out that would in any way affect the advertising revenue.   Then there were at least slightly more than a handful of publications that tried exposing social injustice with relentless and crusading zeal and not letting the perpetrators get away from their atrocities.  To name but one instance was the Bhopal gas tragedy in which thousand of people went blind and the effect of which still continues.  When he was asked whether he was given a free rein to pursue the story, Arun said that the publication he was then working for did not hinder him in any way; on the contrary, it supported him to the hilt in getting the story out with all the skill in his journalistic armour. He added that it was not a kind of personal or institutional aggrandizement, but a matter of genuine social concern. Perhaps, on hind sight, he felt that this kind of tenacity for expose might have been largely due to the world press as it was then.

The young journalists present were pleasantly incredulous and added that they would not expect that from their publications.

What is happening today is a complete antithesis; a complete turnabout – a total abandonment of social responsibility.  By way of an example, he cited one of the major dailies of some respectable vintage, the Times of India. Under the dispensation of a new management that took reins some years ago from the earlier management, the paper’s credo became advertising revenue or revenue of any kind even if it meant all ethics of journalism is jettisoned.  So much so, stories began to be considered print-worthy if it is weighted with monetary consideration.

We have in Kerala a different kind of priority, said one of the journalist-participant.  Factions of the same party would have interests in two different publications; like the one headed by Pinarayi Vijayan and the other supporting Achyuthanandan, both belonging to the same Communist party but at ideological logger-heads.

Arun hasn’t, he admitted, come across such personal-biased political slander in English journalism.

For the present state of affairs, Arun’s indictment was against the present day western life style and a never ending slew of latest mod-cons that have made great inroads into Indian life via all media – television, films, fashion magazines and the like. Journalism has become flamboyant; naturally the media reflect the mind-set of the middle class reader and viewers who have developed an appetite for candy-floss infotainment. Where have they the time and inclination for serious news that do not directly, they think, impinge on their lives?  A view that Leo earlier and the participants were in close agreement. What do the suicides of farmers in Punjab, Maharashtra and Karanataka affect them?

Even issues like water, a commodity on which the future wars might be fought, do not merit the attention they deserve since they are not of immediate consequence.  If such a state has come to pass, according to Arun, it is mainly because of the leadership – a bunch of self-serving editors whose education stops at getting some fancy degrees but without imbibing in them a sense of values, values that would make for responsible journalism.  Earlier the editors were different; they stressed on accurate, fact-based, unbiased reporting.  There was a clear demarcation between comments, factual things and advertorial.  Credibility was of paramount importance then; now it has become a casualty. Time was when the news room and the editorial department were out-of-bounds for the marketing team.  Today the picture is different in moist publishing houses; every news item is often vetted by the marketing department lest it rub up the wrong way some powerful advertiser thereby jeopardizing the ad revenue.

The malaise is not only in the media world; it is endemic to the society as a whole. India’s almost galloping growth-rate may lull us into a euphoric state; but that is not sustainable.  It all boils down to governance.

Politicisation of every sphere of life has been our bane.  The people who vote our leaders into power are largely the illiterate poor and the backward classes.  The middle class, caught up as they are with their own narrow self-interests, is least bothered about the larger issue of proper governance. Even in Kerala the most literate of states, it is the poor and less educated exercise their franchise and they, the audience reflected, are swayed by the demagogic vapourings of the leaders and their mouth organs – the publications blessed by them.

That exactly is the reason, Arun insisted, why greater public participation in politics has become an imperative.  We do have mechanisms that are calculated to empower people; but they mostly remain idle for want of public will.  Governments both at the centre and the states should be made accountable to the people.  Seventy-seven percent of India lives on Rs 20 a day, but only half-hearted measures are taken to mitigate such appalling poverty.  Whichever party comes to power, governance follow the old familiar grooves; that of inaction.  The Left will go hammer and tongs at the ruling right criticizing it vehemently without offering any constructive solutions.  The right, including the BJP and its allies indulge in self-destructive and self-defeating solutions. Coalition too is of no significance as we have seen.  No doubt, many progressive legislation have been passed since independence but not to much avail.  It is high-time that a re-thinking of the entire democratic process is called for. This is where the media come in to generate the necessary critical awareness across all sections of people, be it secular, spiritual or religious.  The media can act as a powerful watch dog.

As an example of sensible governance, he extolled the scheme Mr Guhan, former Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Government during an earlier ministry of Mr Karunanidhi.  He introduced certain measures that went some way to increase the GDP of 2% to 20%.  To induce the children from poor backgrounds, he introduced the mid-day meal programme.  Since he found that the most impoverished families are further impoverished by wedding expenses of the daughters, he introduced the system of giving Rs 5000/- to families  with the proviso that the girl should reach the age of 21 for the family to be eligible for the scheme.  An effective way of raising the marriageable age.  As a third measure, he introduced a kind of dole for the aged poor – Rs 10/- per head per day.

It devolves on the media to explore such alternatives and workable solutions to improve our society.  Then only can journalism be called development journalism.  And there is still there is hope for, if not an ideal mode of journalism, the re-introduction of at least a modicum of sensible and socially responsible journalism.  And the readers are the change-makers, if one goes by the change for the better in the editorial approach of the Times of India.

Group Reflection

For the purpose of eliciting the response to the talks and the mutual interaction the participants were asked to form three groups and each group was given time to discuss and deliberate on the points they wanted to air.

Group One:

• Though they admit that their allegiance is to society, they are forced to be subservient to the interests of the owners of publications to safeguard their jobs. Often, socially volatile and sensitive topics like inter-religious conflicts gain a kind of parochial colouration depending on the editorial policy of the publication one works for.
• Faithfulness to impartial reporting is cast aside.
• The news of the suicides of farmers in Waynad was blown out of proportion.
• The reporting of the plight of tribals (adivasis) of Muthanga was weak. Such a serious revolt of landless tribals needed serious investigative reporting, which did not happen.
• Freedom of expression is curbed by many newspapers.
• Since the educated middle class favour infotainment, that is what the media cater to.
• News about acts of lawlessness and socially harmful news do not merit much support, but this often finds the limelight.

Group Two:

• The deterioration of social values in general has affected journalism as well.  Stories are twisted to suit the readership.
• Opportunities and spaces for journalism as it should be are unused, abused or misused.
• Freedom of expression does not entitle one to invade the privacy of individuals unless their acts are tantamount to be harmful to society.
• The various kinds of tantalising gift offers to journalists effects their sense of fairplay and objectivity.
• Journalists should bear in mind the need for highlighting acts that contribute to human rights.

Group Three:

• Any society is like the proverbial curate’s egg – good and bad in parts.
• The prime duty of a journalist is towards commonly accepted healthy social values.  His or her tenet should revolve around truth, justice and impartiality.
• The problem is in properly defining what is good and bad and who the arbitrators can be.
• Appraisal of values is purely relative and solely depends on the mental make-up of the appraiser.
• The allegiance of a journalist should be with those who are denied justice.
• What is happening is that different publications uphold their own brand of biased values irrespective of their social implications.
• In India, importance is given to negative journalism.  Society apparently wants it.  Publications are servile to the advertisers.  Privacy of the individual is largely disregarded.
• Journalism does not receive the kind of encouragement and public appreciation that society gives to business and corporate sectors.

Conclusions

The workshop was concluded with some observations and remarks made by the participants about the workshop. Some of these are:

• In Kerala, few such workshops are held. This workshop brought about a fellowship of journalists, and motivated them to think of the purpose of their vocation. This informal network should continue and morally support each other.

• The workshop has created the motivation for taking up socially vital subjects, individually or jointly.
• Follow-up of this workshop was necessary. The Alliance of Journalists must help continue the process, especially in organizing specialized sessions like the present one.
• It is not possible to enter into a discussion on the Press Council, for want of time and adequate preparation. At the moment the Press Council is a largely ineffective body. To make it play its legitimate role required a process that would take a few years time.
• The issue of commercialization of the press, and publishing ‘paid’ articles was of serious concern, and there was the need to bring ethical values into the discussion, especially among the owners of the media institutions.
• This workshop was free from conflicts and competition. Some who attended similar workshop held elsewhere were disappointed with the out come with these turning out to be conflictual and acrimonious. Despite the participants belonging to competitive publications, the overall effect of the workshop was in bringing unity.
• The journalists felt motivated to overcome limitations of the professions in highlighting stories that deserve to be printed and this meant even taking the stories to other publications that would see them in print.

By way of valediction, the participants said unanimously that their coming together here helped them see things from a new perspective, in a different way.  With the new insights gained at the workshop, they said they would endeavour to make a mark as contributors to healthy social change. How this can be done is of prime importance and they hoped that a few more such gatherings would steer them on the right course.