I have had enough of this media partiality in reporting news. This biased reporting could be attributed to geographical and religious affiliation. There are so conflicting reports on the same news. For example let’s take the recent foiled attempt to bomb planes.
Here is the BBC report
It is thought that the suspects were planning to blow up several planes by using liquid explosives carried in soft-drink bottles, and detonators disguised as electronic equipment. UK police said the explosions could have caused “mass murder on an unimaginable scale”. Flights from airports in Britain are still being delayed as passengers go through strict security checks. Services are returning to normal, but travellers are being warned to check with airlines before they set off. Operators at Heathrow airport said they did not expect there would be any new cancellations beyond those already announced by the airlines.
And here is the Aljazeera report
Meanwhile, some analysts say the revelation of the alleged “terror” plot at this critical time is carefully designed to divert the world’s attention from the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon, which has so far killed more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians.
Some analysts even say that the alleged “terror” plot in the UK threatens to take the world into World War III if the U.S., Britain and Israel succeeded in diverting the world’s attention from the Middle East crisis and blamed all the chaos on Hezbollah, Syria or Iran.
The same piece of news but with totally different perspectives. I have increasingly felt that news reporting is slowly is being compartmentalized. There are sites that cater to different sects. Their rhapsodized coverage belittles the noble profession of journalism. The situation in India is no different. Many putative newspapers and magazines have been accused of prejudiced reporting. Also Government influence cannot be ignored. No doubt national dailies have always done their best to be impartial. I still remember the kind of impact TV coverage had on Indians and the government during the Gujarat riots. I am refraining from giving any names just because these are my personal observations.
The condition of Urdu newspapers is really pathetic in this regard. I used to read ‘Qaumi Tanzeem’ but later gave up because of the puerile logic and news reporting. I remember once it talked about a girl turning into a lizard after she desecrated the Qur’an. My aunt told me of another incident. When Neil Armstrong landed on moon the whole world was hailing the event as a giant step in the field of science and guess what one Urdu newspaper talked about? It claimed that Neil Armstrong accepted Islam after hearing Azaan on the moon!! Any sane man would reject this claim but the audacity of the claim did cast a shadow of doubt in everyone’s minds. Obviously this was done for cheap popularity wherein religious sentiments were exploited.
One really can’t blame Urdu for this. In fact all regional newspapers are so biased towards the sect they represent. This has to do with the quality of journalists they get. Hindi print media is in a much better condition as compared to other regional languages. Sadly Urdu newspapers suffer from monetary crisis. Plus Urdu as a subject is increasingly being shunned in schools. As far as I remember my old school, St. Xavier’s, Hazaribagh, is the one of the rare breed in this; it still has Urdu as an option in CBSE board exams.
An attempt to revive Urdu newspapers and bring professionalism into has to be initiated. It’s because they still influence many in rural areas and few who are stubborn to accept English as means of communication. Opinions are shaped by these newspapers and any attempt to feign reports would create bias in minds which could be lethal in many ways. A newspaper affects mindsets of people and one looks to the world through the eyes of reporters. In that sense these papers are responsible to shape perceptions of an entire generation. Any bias on their part just narrows down the outlook and sows the seed of animosity and intolerance for the other community. This is particularly more relevant in a country like India with has such a diverse culture of religious minorities.
Madarsas are still more Urdu based and journalism could be a career option for the graduates.
Sharique (http://www.shaarique.com)
Urdu journalism also serves it purpose. The kind of reports you mentioned find a place in every society because there is a section that wants such reports.
You would surely remember it was not long ago that almost all national newspapes had reported the news of Lord Ganesha’s idols sipping milk and though some papers had put question mark or exclamation mark in the headline, the rest had apparently accepted it.
Newspapers and media are also from the society and journalists bring their biases with them, unfortunate it may be. Still, hard news reporting is being done and better than in the past. The birth of Al-Jazeera is nothing less than a revolution. BBC is much better than other world news agencies and channels as it has moral courage to say sorry if it mis-reports and they really try to understand ‘the other side’.
In India, Hindi papers are changing. Gone are they days when Dainik Jagran wrote about Ayodhya bathed in blood and similar provocative and wrong headlines. In electronic media, you can’t hide as you have to show things. Things will surely improve faster in coming days.
Sharique,
Excellent point. A competitive media scene is important to prevent people believing in conspiracy theories. The need is not for one good Urdu newspaper, several competing Urdu newspapers are needed.
Any idea why no one wants to invest in Urdu newspapers considering that the market is large in absolute numbers?
Nitin,
A reporter in this this field can answer better but it has to do with english taking over urdu. And plus people have also clubbed urdu as muslim’s language so its not given the same treatment as hindi.
We need more professional approach in urdu newspapers and this is only possible if urdu is taught and preferred as school level. And plus the people in this field should also contribute.
Nitin bhai, the problems are many. If a businessman runs the paper it will surely be more professional like the English press and Hindi press where the owner wants profit and tries out all sorts of things.
The newspapers are less politicised and have all sorts of columns and features. Like Karanjai, a non-Muslim, had started Urdu Blitz and it was a great success. Even today the most colourful Urdu paper is run by a non-Muslim ‘Hind Samachar’ of Jalandhar that has over 95% non-Muslim readers. Now Sahara has invested and the Urdu Sahara is going great guns.
The other problem is as I said, overdose of news on politics. One never gets to see the cartoon strips in Urdu papers (like Archies, Peanuts etc) and it also lacks in content about women, social issues, youngsters, teenagers though some papers in Hyderabad and Mumbai are now doing that. Sahara’s success may tempt more businessmen to invest in Urdu papers and get them the modern press, equipments and technology needed for publication of good quality papers that can attract readers, get more circulation and thus earn money also.
i totally agree…that the media /print/electronic/audio..projects the news in any manner and maximum of thr time it has happend that they foward the news without any evidence,,,,,.we the up cumming youyh need tho reform this system.SO that in the near future the people wont get crushed in the hands of the media……..