The Hindu : 'National media played an exemplary role'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 04, 2002

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National

'National media played an exemplary role'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 3. The Editors Guild of India today dismissed as "specious'' and "self-serving'' the accusation that the fourth estate was a "major aggravating or even causative factor'' for the prevailing situation in Gujarat and rejected the "notion that the media should shy away from telling the country how it really is''.

Releasing the Guild's fact-finding mission report — Rights and Wrongs: Ordeal by Fire in the Killing Fields of Gujarat — here, the president, Mammen Mathew, articulated the team's conclusion that "the national media and sections of the Gujarati media, barring some notable offenders, played an exemplary role in their coverage''.

Refusing to gloss over the mischievous role played by certain Gujarati newspapers, the team suggested that a high judicial officer be appointed by the Government to examine "the writings of those sections of the media that are prima facie in flagrant violation of the law''.

On whether such a move would set a precedent and give governments an excuse to monitor the media in future, the convener of the team, B.G. Verghese, said: "wilful incitement to offence, propagation of hate and fuelling disorder are criminal offences. The freedom of the press should not be misused.''

Billing the Gujarat violence as the "first large-scale television and cable riot covered in real time'', the report acknowledged the new learning curve introduced by technology and said "there are lessons to be learnt, internalised and developed into codes of best practice''. Categorical in rejecting censorship as an answer to the challenges thrown up by technology, the Guild asserted that "sobriety, training, professionalism and codes of conduct are necessary''.

Documenting the difficulties faced by newspersons reporting the violence, it said "intrusive reporting of what some possibly thought would have better been allowed to remain a quiet vendetta invited trouble''. In fact, the fact-finding team — which besides Mr. Verghese included the Executive Managing Editor of The Times of India, Dileep Padgaonkar, and the Editor of Mid-Day, Aakar Patel — had a first-hand experience of the "intimidatory'' tactics of the VHP that print and TV journalists in Gujarat complained of.

Critical of the Information Department of Gujarat for not keeping people fully/properly informed through the official information channels, the team found that "what was put out was a travesty of the horrific events that engulfed the State. Much of it was one-sided and self-serving, eulogising the Chief Minister and focussing on a particular section of the trading community while Gujarat burned.''Turning the scanner inwards, the report took note of the manner in which "many so-called `leaders' of destructive movements and known criminals have been built-up, even glorified, by the media; howsoever inadvertently''.

Of the view that publicity made "megalomaniacs and crackpots — often puny figures — appear larger than life and twice as important'', one recommendation pertained to collective reflection on the issue and greater circumspection in interviewing and inviting such individuals to chat shows/panel discussions.

Also, the team faulted media houses for failing to appeal for funds as was always done in times of natural disaster/national emergency.

Stating that such a fund was not just a way of assisting the victims, but also gave citizens an avenue to reach out to those in distress in a "gesture of fraternal solidarity and sympathy'', the team urged the Guild to issue an appeal to set up a Fund for Gujarat through its members.

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