Special Story
Critique,
June 2012
By Manoj Chaurasia
The
size of the media is alarmingly
getting
smaller in Bihar. The
state
that was once home
to
many reputed newspapers, such as
The
Indian Nation (which virtually
held
a monopoly over English language
newspapers
published from Bihar till
mid-80’s)and
The Searchlight, now
appears
to be turning into “graveyard”
of
newspapers. The general feeling
among
the common readers is that
this
is the outcome of a change in
attitude
of the media houses. Their
mission
once was “journalism”. Now
it
is “professionalism”. The general
frustration
among the common
readers
these days is that there has
been
a very sharp erosion in the
credibility
of majority of the media
houses.
These media houses are busy
pleasing
the ruling party in a bid
lay
their hands on more and more
government
advertisements and mint
money.
For them any other collateral
cost
is immaterial.
Sadly,
the media houses have not
taken
any lesson from the past and
aspire
to join the ranks of the run
of
the mill business houses that are
driven
by the profit maximization
motive.
They seem to be missing the
point
that that the media industry
is
completely different from the rest.
In
this business, the main thing is
not
profits alone. But it is profits
without
compromising credibility.
The
credibility of a media house is its
only
stock in trade.
There
have been instances in the
past
about how the common readers
blindly
relied on the news reported by
a
certain media outlet. But today the
basic
thinking about journalism has
undergone
a complete change. Today,
majority
of the local editors seem to
be
acting as “liaison officers” between
the
government and the media
houses.
This has dealt a body blow to
the
credibility, sanctity and purity of
the
media. They must know that it’s
the
credibility that sells in the markets
and,
if this is gone, everything is gone,
including
their business.
This,
perhaps, was one of the
reasons
behind the closure of several
newspapers
published from Patna in
the
last over two decades. Ironically
many
newspapers had to cease
their
publications when they at the
height
of their popularity and had
very
good circulation in the areas.
They
included- The Indian Nation,
Aryavarta,
The Searchlight, Pradeep,
Patliputra
Times, Janshakti and
Navbharat
Times. The last to be closed
down
was Navbharat Times which
ceased
its publication in 1995. This
was
shortly after the state assembly
polls
in which RJD chief Lalu Prasad
returned
to power with absolute
majority.
This had happened after
most
of the media houses had written
him
off and predicted a spectacular
victory
of Nitish Kumar’s Samata
Party.
He had floated this party after
revolting
against his mentor.
In
later years, the newspapers made
it
a habit to criticize the governments
led
by Lalu Prasad and then his wife
Rabri
Devi. More so Prasad was
named
as an accused in the fodder
scam.
He then had to virtually face a
“
trial by the media”. The cases have
not
yet come to a logical conclusion.
However,
in one of the cases, he was
even
acquitted by the designated
CBI
court. The same media has now
ironically
gone silent on reporting
the
“failures” of the ruling National
Democratic
Alliance government
headed
by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
None
of them, it is alleged, has the
guts
to “annoy” the chief minister
and
lose government advertisements
worth
crores being issued every month
by
the same government. It is the
same
state government that keeps on
demanding
a special financial package
form
the Centre on the ground of being
economically
backwards.
“I’m
closing the Dainik Jagran from
tomorrow
since it has become more
of
a mouthpiece of Nitish Kumar
government.
What’s the purpose of
reading
a newspaper when it looks like
blindly
supporting every policy of the
government?”said
RB Sharan, a retired
engineer
from the Bihar State Electricity
Board.
“It’s very painful to disown
a
paper which has been your pal in
loneliness
but I don’t have any option
now”.
Same is the situation with the
another
Hindi newspaper which claims
itself
to be the largest-selling newspaper
in
Bihar. Its editors have been only too
eager
to cover the very small story of a
CM’s
yatras in villages.
Another
Hindi newspaper which
has
its headquarters in Ranchi,
Prabhat
Khabar has even changed its
decades-old
slogan that was printed
over
the masthead from “Akhbar
nahin
aandolan” (this is not just
a
newspaper but a movement) to
“Bihar
jage…desh aage ( If Bihar goes
ahead,
the nation goes ahead) to suit
the
tastes of the ruling party. This has
been
done apparently in a bid to be a
very
strong claimant for government
advertisements.
Sounds
nauseating but the fact is
that
there is virtual rat-race among
the
local newspapers published
from
Bihar about how to please the
party
in power. The newspapers’
credibility
and journalistic ethics,
thus,
obviously are the victims here as
every
journalist is being viewed with
suspicion
by the common readers.
In
this situation, there appears to
be
a problem of survival for those
media
houses which refuse to take
the
government’s side or toe its line.
Sadly,
most of the media houses have
“adapted” themselves to the changed
situation
in Patna and are expanding
their
business fast.
The
situation was not so alarming
until
few years year ago. It took
a
turn for worse especially in the
aftermath
of 2008 global recession
when
the corporate houses slashed
advertisements
to newspapers citing
the
meltdown. Till then corporate ads
were
the main attractions for the media
houses
but once they saw a huge cut
in
them, they subsequently turned to
the
government to keep them floating.
It
is alleged the local NDA government
turned
this adversity into opportunity
and
reportedly agreed to increase the
ads
frequency provided the newspapers
highlighted
only positive aspects of the
government.
Thus followed a bizarre
competition
in the local media to
throw
out their so-called journalistic
ethics
and please the masters to get
the
government ads. Not only Hindi
newspapers,
even the Urdu newspapers
too
changed their “style” considerably
to
make hay while the sun shines
in
Patna. Such was the change in
the
attitude of newspapers that the
Nitish
Kumar government doled out
government
ads very liberally to most
of
the newspapers. Even newspapers
and
periodicals whose circulation
was
just a few thousands walked
with
ads worth lakhs. Strangely,
many
of the newspapers in alleged
league
with the officials of the Public
Relation
Department reportedly faked
their
circulation figures to get more
government
advertisements. This
saw
several regional newspapers and
periodicals
even far ahead of English
dailies
published from Patna such as
the
Hindustan Times and The Times
of
India.
Apart
from government advertisements,
these
newspapers have also been luring
away
the common readers in various
ways,
such as by promising assured
gifts
to them if they subscribe to them
and
also give ads in the newspapers.
Till
recently, the advertisement officials
had
been primarily approaching the
local
businessmen, industrialists or
the
people in the business of running
schools
to get ads but now the common
men
are being briefed about the
importance
of their birthday, marriage
anniversaries
or Valentine days. If that
is
not enough, the local newspapers
have
also come up with schemes, such
as
promising to offer them papers at
the
rate of only Re One if they buy a
one
year subscription.
Among
the prominent newspapers
being
published from Patna, Prabhat
Khabar
has emerged as the fast-growing
newspapers.
Such has been
the
support from the ruling regime that
the
newspaper whose circulation was
primarily
limited to the state capital
until
few years back is now being
published
from various cities of Bihar
today.
Its circulation too has increased
considerably
in the last few years as
compared
to rival Hindi newspapers
and
now it is said to be offering good
package
to the journalists.
(The
writer is the State Bureau Chief of The
Statesman based in Patna)
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