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Book Review
Should one drink poison just because it is cheap?
By Dhruba Hari Adhikari
People familiar with the newspaper world do not need to be reminded that The Times (of London) continues to be a category in itself while The Times (of India), a legacy of the British Raj, is rapidly losing credibility primarily due to its palpable greed for profit. Brushing aside all established principles, norms and ethics of journalism, The Times of India sells its news columns and editorial space to those individuals and public relations (PR) firms working for enhancing
their public image. To make the matter worse, TOI deliberately avoids telling its readers that most of what they read are sponsored materials. An obscure, miniscule letter 'M' is often used to give a cover to the mischief it regularly plays. Yes, Indian quite a few journalists are talking about deception of a unique kind. This is the reason why 11 prominent Indian journalists decided to come in the open expressing their concerns over " crass commercialization of news."
This slim book, spreading over 60 pages, contains vigorously-researched write-ups drawing a common conclusion that what TOI has been doing in the last couple of years can't be expected to promote the right kind of journalism in that country.
"Leader who guards the reader" is not a valid claim any longer. Bennett Coleman group has ceased to be recognised as the owner of a respected newspaper. This indeed is a sad piece of news to those who have been TOI's faithful readers for decades. And a good many of them may be carrying nostalgic memories of the days when The Times of India was considered the standard-bearer of Indian journalism. Alas, this has now become a part of the history. What TOI does these days is to push advertising material in the garb of news and there is no way for reader to know which is which. This practice has placed the reader in a situation from where he/she begins to distrust news of all kinds. This trend amounts to a threat to entire Indian newspaper industry. That is why some of India's respected journalists have collected courage to name names.
" As the name of the book suggests," says Sunil K Poolani, editor of the anthology in discussion, " it questions the role of India's media in today's context." Headlines that follow the introductory chapter written by Poolani are a telling comment on the state of Indian journalism today. Here are some of these headlines: The Market is the Message, Pay and Read Paid News, What Price Truth ? , The Leader cons the Reader, Media or Cheap Fantasies Media ?, When Puppets Hide Behind Pomposity, Let's Not be BeHind the Times. In her contribution to the book, Sevanti Ninan, an acknowledged media critic of India, explains why the TOI-offered bargain in the form of an incredibly cheap newspaper is nothing but a big con ! In other words, readers are conned into buying a useless newspaper. Ninan elaborates this point in these words : " When you read a feature in Bombay Times, Delhi Times or Indiatimes you will not be told whether it is just soft journalism or paid journalism." But, as the saying goes, you cannot fool all the people all the times. People who have paid---and are prepared to pay---hefty sums to get their interviews printed in The Times of India---or in one of its siblings---should quickly understand that they are wasting resources because growing number of intelligent readers in India and its neighbourhood are prefer to skip this paper or are likely to avoid reading interviews which they rightly suspect are promotional write-ups. " Boycott the product," is the message the readers all over India are receiving. Frederick Noronha, another contributor to the book, refers to the emerging trend in which editors do not carry the clout they once did. One of the possible reasons of this change is the "unethical dealings in the guise of journalism."
In Nepal, most of the people attracted by English newspapers used to read TOI . Those close to power centres perceived it as the sole voice of the Indian establishment, often trying to find hidden messages for Nepal. That was the scenario of 1960s, 70s and 80s. The arrival of Internet technology changed all that and Nepalis these days read newspapers (online editions) from all over the world. Even within South Asia, they can read newspapers published from places like Colombo, Dhaka, Thimphu and Islamabad. And, among the Indian papers, print editions of some of the TOI rivals such as Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Indian Express and The Statesman are increasing their sales in Kathmandu and other major cities in Nepal.
This is a trend which needs to be understood by TOI-addicts everywhere. They should not let themselves be taken for any more rides by a newspaper which has become irresponsible.
" They must switch to more honest newspapers," Meher Pestonji, who is yet another contributor to the book under review.
When The Times of India is not seen as the name of a responsible newspaper in India how should Nepali readers view The Himalayan Times, the paper that takes pride in displaying its special relationship with TOI ? Should not Nepalis too pick up a cue from the boycott call given in the neighbouring country ?
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