Media and the pandemic

 The news in media has been a macabre of horrors and the easiest possible way for a person to remain sane in such perilous times has been to avoid media reports. From a number of pyres queuing the crematoriums to endless faces in parts of the country gasping for breath in the national capital, Covid 19 has certainly left its mark and media has now been assigned with the massive task of chronicling and reporting such events. 

But perhaps in the face of it all, one wonders if only there has been some ethical line that would have been set up for the media in the face of such unprecedented situation. Last year at the peak of the virus invading the world, media was quite at a loss. Its role wandered between reporting on the different hypothesis of the origin of the virus along with covering the manner its spread across the different continents and reporting the success stories to major behavioral mistakes of the society. 

Enter the second year of the pandemic and nothing much seemed to have changed. The media now has to irrevocable assume a responsible role in news dissemination. According to Professor Chris Frost, Chair of National Union of Journalists’ Ethics Council, a good journalism can entertain, but should not be just entertainment; but good journalism’s main role is to inform and educate and there’s nothing like a national emergency to underline why this is true. This clearly brings out to light that the way the media should behave in terms of reporting the pandemic should not only be about touching the reader’s emotion but rather understanding why the reader needs to know that news. Zeroing down on Criteria’s for media’s role According to The Ethical Journalism Network’, a journalist should a. Stick to the Facts, b. Practice Accountability, c. Check Use of Terminology, d. Show Humanity, e. Challenge Hate, f. Practice Duty of Care and g. Avoid Social Stigmatisation and Stereotyping. The journalists should primarily stick to facts. For instance exaggerating or generalizing the numbers or the cases would simply lead to panic. Infact most people suffer from anxiety disorder primarily due this blanket statements made by the media. Many a times, one witnesses that certain terms are very loosely used by the media. This could lead to serious misinterpretation For instance there is difference between co-morbidity, life threatening diseases, terms of the different medicines among others. Journalists should report on individuals who have recovered, showing human tales of resilience victory. 

It is often a positive story that motivates others to maintain resilience. Such positive tales often provides a balm to those who suffer from mental anxiety. Media should often reflect the inspirational stories of frontline warriors battling it through and emerging victorious and those who have fought the virus maintaining their dignity. Careful illustration of the virus along with simple terminologies would provide an easy access to information for all groups of people. Fear or disillusion related to the virus must be done away with and individuals must be encouraged to use the available medical services when necessary removing all forms of stigma. Journalism is essential during the crisis, but should not put the health, including mental health, of journalists, editors, or sources at risk. Management must lead by example and encourage individuals to step back and take a break and recover Media and embedded journalism Another aspect that media needs to take into account is that while giving out information it should make efforts to filter fake news, conspiracy theories and apocalyptic prophecies. Media should be transparent and understand that every news that is disseminated should have to have a proper source. 

Simply quoting aggrieved people or parties in power or opposition would lead to subjective reporting. It is often during the times of such national emergency that media is often found exercising embedded news. Often, centralization of information about the pandemic by governments and international bodies with over-dependence on ‘expert analysis’ leads to nationalistic discourses. In such a scenario media ends up being a public relations medium and news could be largely filtered. The current time is a historical moment for different reasons and media has a mammoth role to play. For future reference the role that media entails would be found in textbooks, hence as obvious with great power comes great responsibility. Media which has this power should also exercise complete responsibility of being the connecting medium in all forms.

mob lynching: Are we celebrating violence?

The recent news of the Septuagenarian doctor lynched to death by in Assam, raised massive outrage and the people from different walks of life came together to protest the dastardly act. While the medical community took out protest against mob attack against their profession, most people began to feel insecure about the possibility of such attacks that could be triggered with the slightest mistake. Mob lynching is not new nor is it justified to only relate it to certain governmental policies or ideologies alone. Rather, mob lynching can be traced back to the times when it was usually associated in the early eighties. In the United States, it became an instrument directed toward blacks, who made up a highly disproportionate number of its victims. Lynching then overturned polarity to become not a white response to black atrocity but rather it took the form of white mechanism to keep blacks down. This kind of natural justice was not just directed to vent out unified anger but also as a display of terror of what possibly could be the fate, if things went out of order. With sporadic cases of mob lynching raising its ugly head time and again, it became a part of parliamentary discussion too, especially in the wake of the brutal lynching of Abhijit and Nilutpal in the pristine hills of Karbi Anglong where the people were said to be misdirected by fake news of child lifting. This was followed by similar stories repeating in West Bengal, Bihar and other states of India. Not simply attributing it to fake news or limiting it to be a techno-centric problem, we should keep in mind that mob lynching has a history and the root of this kind of attack lies in the fact that we often tend to celebrate violence in many forms. Violence conducted against another, be it a spouse or neighbor in public, is often covered extensively by media. A petty thief, if caught, suffers a horrific fate at the hands of the public or the owner of a vehicle who is part of an accident is often provided with mob justice, irrespective of who is responsible for the accident. The media through its extensive coverage always tends to celebrate this, which, in turn leads people to believe that mob justice is instant, self-righteous and effective. Most of the times, news channels are invited to witness pre-planned violence and sometimes vocal threats that are directed towards a particular party are very beautifully captured by the camera to show the audience. Of course, if the United States of America blames video games for gun violence rather than easy availability of arms for gun violence, simply attributing mob violence resulting from fake news or hatred towards a profession or community would be myopic. Should there not be a change in our attitude of providing instance justice? Has the legal system failed itself in providing timely justice? Perhaps it’s time to retrospect and that too very minutely at our news and television content. A change of perspective would be revealing. The story was published in insidene.com

Election-wise and vote ready

It is surely not the first time that as a voter, we have been exposed to media that reeks of political manifestos, propagandas and interest, but surely it is the first time where we fail to identify what is real, what is fake, what is trustworthy and what is not. Quite interestingly, media and politics have wrapped around each other so tight that its quite difficult to now identify where it all starts and where it ends. Television shows are now full of panel discussions abundant with mud-slinging and over-lapping of conversations with a jury styled journalist deciding who is right and who is wrong with little room for freedom of expression. The last time I heard radio was in the bus where there were ads designed to make the people question the policies and regular conversations without exactly telling people the outcome of each policy and hovering in whataboutery. Trolls and memes have taken over the social media and there hardly goes a scan in the social media where we do not see two people arguing over a political party, hell bent on proving their point to the large number of invisible audience who very quietly read the content and enjoy the public banter on a social forum. Even films are mostly biopic that represents a particular leader from a certain perspective designed to make the character look acceptable and lovable. What the real matter now is how media literate are we to consume media that banks heavily on content generated by the political parties? Are the people really matured to understand or segregate truth from fabricated ideas or is the country that is heavily dependent on social media thinking twice before forwarding a fake on half truth to others. These issues of misguided information are now circulating across and nothing remains completely aloof from politics. Last year alone there were close to 300 deaths resulting from fake social media messages and this year alone 100 messages are doing the networks every day that had little or no element of truth. Merely raising awareness on voting will not solve the issues of the largest democracies, but there should be series of workshops that will let people understand how to choose content over misinformation. Should there be not regulations on news presenters present unbiased stories or how headlines do not reflect opinion but objectivity. In a nation of a million voters, difference of choice is but obvious but what is important is how to identify whether the leader that promises to fulfil certain objectives are exactly what the voter is looking for. Large scale campaigns on media literacy in all the forms, print, television, radio, social media and even films is the need of the hour. This off course could be carried out by independent bodies whose primary objective should be to let people exercise their voting rights judiciously and not simply be swayed by appeals or agendas. Voting is a right and responsibility but voting responsibly should be the lookout for all members of the society For feedback mail at anupalahkar@gmail.com

Media and animal rights

“The ferocious leopard was hiding, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting man when he went to his garage to park his car. After the man saw the leopard, he immediately raised an alarm which led 15 people to march ahead equipped with weapons and rods. They dragged the beast out of the garage and showered him with brick bats. Someone called the forest department and they took the half dead leopard to the veterinary where he was declared dead,” stated the television journalist dramatically while recounting the horror of the leopard attack. As I try to spot the ‘beast’ amidst the crowd, I see a tired animal on its guard trying to find a way out of this hovering crowd. The recent stories of the marauding elephants plundering human habitats, storming into houses or crushing agricultural crops are just one side of the story. Most stories overlook the seriousness of man elephant conflict that has a long standing impact and often dwell on drama and repetitive narrative pertaining to animal ferocity. The encroachment of the animal corridors as well as the absence of protected fringe areas during natural disasters like floods find little mention in the news channel with no follow-ups. It is not always the leopard who is ferocious, hiding and waiting to pounce on the most unsuspecting victims as flashed across the news channels but rather the human habitats that have veered into their territory. The camera that tilts the angle on the animal to incite the ferocity of the lonesome tiger or the leopard is often assisted by dramatic music implying that the wild is waiting to conquer human habitats. The killing of the wild elephants through electrocution of the arrogant trains that slide past the elephant corridors brutally do not really get as much of coverage and what we have is only bewildered journo occasionally confusing a leopard between a tiger, wild cat or members of cat family In an interview noted environmentalist, three time green Oscar winner and a regular activist of animal rights Dr Mike Pandey states that, “The media has very limited knowledge on animals and ecological balance, hence their presentations are often half baked. There should be sensitisation on the different breeds, habitat and lifestyle of the animals so that the way they present does not belittle the safety of the animals.” Sadly the grim reality is quite the contrary. Most of the natural habitats of these wild animals have been encroached upon and these wild animals are pushed and bullied to survive in small swathes of protected areas which are fast losing their entity every decade. These uncomfortable truths are often sugar coated and very rarely spoken off. Quite recently when evicted forest land was cleared off, there were more stories of human interest and less stories of animal interest that were reflected upon. Notwithstanding the interest of the displaced, often the interest of the wildlife and forests are blanketed with political agenda. An animal activist of the state had recently stated, “If only animals could vote they would have been safe.” This statement echo’s the flaws in the existing forest laws and the recent softening While figures of the wild life records are hardly impressive and are close to being pessimistic, the current media can take up issues of wildlife and study the changing climate and environment condition bfore leding a comment to it. Quite interestingly, the recent extinction of the last male white rhino, Sudan has triggered global interest in wildlife conservation and one can only hope that the media will showcase similar sobriety in coverage of the wildlife issues that requires much attention.Here the African adage clearly applies which states “Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

When the tiny fingers are taught to write

Pre-school wasn't easy for me and I have vague memories of disdain for my pre-school teachers whose only job, as it appeared to me was to ask us to sit in our places, make no noise and echo the sounds of the alphabets in unison that were chanted out by the stern looking teachers. Off course their task was not easy, but for God's sake, how do you expect us the little spirited souls to sit in one place and do nothing. Just days ago we would wander under the sun, free and happy unaware of the societal burdens of expectations, success and comparisons. But that phase got over and so did my tears of resistance and we were chess-boarded into a rat race of marks, results and perceived notion of success. I knew I was an unhappy toddler in school not willing to learn and still not willing to make friends. After all my friends were my fictitious characters in my mind who would talk to me the way I wanted them to.Eventually I was promoted to a new school where I made peace with my inner conflicts and decided to give in to the frames of curriculum and school pressure but I never quite excelled at it and was a misfit all throughout. As adulthood swept over the years of innocence, motherhood followed with restlessness and undying love and concern. When I first held the quivering little one in my hands and felt his determined heartbeat behind the incessant wailing, I decided that my child would live free and nothing should ever tell him that he needs to jump into the race for success. Little did I realise that those tiny fingers that held me with firmness each time I fed him my milk would soon be led to the gates of a school that was more than willing to make him a square peg in a square hole. I could almost feel his heartbeat as we dressed him up in his uniform and equipped him with books. He wasn't sure what he was about to embark on, but the moment I let go of his tiny fingers to get inside the brightly colored yet a small room, his muscles became tensed and I felt the same tug of war inside his heart as I had experienced three decades back. Nothing changed, except for the fact that this time I was the one who was pushing him to get in and the last time I was pushed in to a new world. The little one screamed and clutched on to me like his life depended on it. His doleful eyes look at me questioningly and he wasn't sure what led me take this step. Uprooted him from his happy mirthful days and unquestioning self we were about to dictate his free will to cater to the demands of the society. As he struggles to write his alphabets with each passing day, I try to instill in him the interest to water theplants, find pleasures in the little things of life and question the strict norms that break and mutilate our individuality to fit into the struggles of every man who fails to learn that material acquisition is not the only road to happiness

Of giggling times and sunny days

“Just a few more days and two more subjects to go and then and then you can relax, watch TV , play with the neighbours as much as you want to”, Ma would announce . I and my brother would then start visualizing how the week after these gruelling examinations days would be and how soon we could afford to wake up late, go where we want to and race to the TV to grab a look at our favourite programmes most importantly the Sundays kid’s shows and forget we ever had books to torment us. Then off course, the preeminent part would be making a customary trip to all of our cousin’s place one after one, who would eagerly anticipate our arrival and fetch the latest blockbuster movie cassettes which was to be religiously watched together. Yes, it was precisely a decade and a half ago, when the heat of the summers did not really perturb us as they do now. It never mattered how humid it was as long as we could run around ‘aitas’ soft and damp playground and pick up flowers under the bokul tree and constantly keep our ears on the guard to identify a motor car’s sound which would mean that some of our siblings had just made their entry in the airy house full of places to run around and hide. It never mattered how we dressed and taking ‘hand me downs’ from out cousins were something that we cherished. Celebrating new years together or pulling each other’s leg was all too playful and very often a very regular joke from someone or a silly mistake we would leave us in a fit of laughter where we would be gasping for breathe. Yes , it was summers, the time to relax and let go of our performances in the first halves of the year. While ‘aita’ would be on her toes to see if we were all safe after running round and round the house playing hide and seek, our parents would discuss our messy wardrobes and irritating habits, and we still managed to promise each other plans of hide out together. Idolising and seeking attention from the elder ones and later enacting popular soaps with overdose of drama, hogging over the delectable pickles left out in the sun to dry and then going for a little snack drive, laced with a little exaggerated stories of our elders were the unadulterated pleasures untouched by the names of names of big cities, brands, social networks or expenses. When we enjoyed all the weddings we hardly realised that members of the family were moving out one by one. We were young and we imagined utopia with each other. This summer it suddenly felt like my first summer where the solace the AC’s and the happier moments were the quite sophisticated dinners outside. Agreed summers are getting unbearable but not simple because of the melting glaciers or the rising temperatures but also because of the lost paradise found under the gleaming sun of yesteryears.

The fall of the Indian Television

The article was published in The Assam Tribune, ‘My Space’, on 31^st July, 2011

Written By Anupa Lahkar

While we were growing up, our elders would always say “Work hard, imbibe talents and do your duties well, if you want to be very famous in life and who knows people may even one day see your pictures in newspapers and television for all the good reasons”. Little did they discern that television would one day become a den of the notorious lot, the who’s who of the crime world and a bunch of struggling actors or wannabes baptized with foul mouth and outrageous dressing sense.

Television has now become simply the podium of many who have taken the entire audio visual experience to a new low. Who can ever forget the time when veteran actor Aalok Nath would fight for strong family ties in ‘Buniyaad’, or Ashok Kumar summarizing the tale of a family and Indian values in ‘Humlog’, or for that matter the beautiful true to life stories of ‘Mitti ke Rang’. I still get a the high whenever I watch reruns episodes of Byomkesh Bakshi, where the detective would come up with dexterous ways of nabbing the criminal and bring out the darker personality of the most placid looking person. It was a golden era and my generation was fortunate to be a part of it.

Quite overwhelmingly television today is all about washing your, your fiance’s , your wife’s or your family’s dirty linen in public. And not just wash, but scream and sell your concocted private life for other’s entertainment.

Programmes, where a very perplexed person conducts loyalty test on his/her would be and then get ready with a pair of chappals to hit it right on the cheating better half’s face, all in the view of the camera is definitely quite tasteless.

Well, if that’s not meaty enough, television plummets its sense of ethics to several notches down, they bring in two extremely struggling, fame crazy, foul mouthed couples and lock them up for people to see their primal instincts come to the fore. Primal or not, the instincts to be on the camera is definitely evident.

What more, they even make families meet each other on well furnished studios and allow them to discuss ‘none of anyone’s business’ love lives of their spoilt wards on the set. If you’re jobless enough you can use the programme as a beeper because the beeping never stops (in an attempt to mute slangs being exchanged by their wards).

It is not ‘reality’ but ‘profanity’ that television channels are busy broadcasting, all in the lust of TRP’s.

Sadly our kids will probably never have the luck to boast about watching ‘Mahabharat’ together with the whole nation, they will never have common tunes of ‘Duck tales’, ‘Mowgli’ or ‘Shaktiman’ to hum and feel nostalgic. They might have their own take on television but can they ever think of life as a beautiful feeling completely blind to those desperate attention grabbers.

Just like movie clubs can we not have television clubs which would also feature stories, of valour, courage, heroism and honesty? Or the new generation will grow up with the feeling that everyone out there is a cheat trying to accentuate the blatant seven deadly sins.

 I guess every age has its own set of likes and dislikes and it overgrows those feelings always. Well I don’t really think that a set of prudish programmes can be beneficial for now but definitely television must leave us with a better taste rather than the bitter dose of nonstop nonsense.