Yellow Journalism

Yellow Journalism is a mutated division of Journalism that goes against the key principles of reporting as an unbiased and objective tool for conveying the news. Yellow Journalism is “journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers.” Yellow journalism ‘believes’ in a gross misreporting and underreporting of facts, in playing up news that is likely to create a frenzy, stringing an emotional chord with the masses, feeding the appetite for sensationalism, scandal mongering and exciting public opinion

The Battle on Park Row, New York, between William Randolph Hearst’s Journal and Joseph Pulitzers World in the late nineteenth century, marked the advent of Yellow Journalism. The role of Pulitzer as primary nurturer comes as surprise to all those who have connected the name only with America’s most celebrated Journalistic Award.

In the midst of the War of Words, Hearst lured the Richard Outcault popular artist of the Sunday Worlds comic strip, ‘The Yellow Kid’, (the then in Vogue cartoon that was prominent and conspicuous and stood out because of use of yellow ink that shone through all the black and white) to the Journal. Pulitzer not to take defeat lying down and had the World continues a rendition of the ‘Yellow Kid’, even though the artist no longer worked for the paper. And thus the phrase came in to being, with a focal point not the colour but the content that was increasingly tainted in nature.

India has increasingly fallen prey to this contagion and stands today under its heavy and gaudy canvas. Written and televised media, in an attempt to boost circulation and enhance viewership, have resorted to these devil-may-care tactics and it appears that there is no looking back. Distinguished and renowned media people, writers, correspondents and editors have routed to garish and often lewd news items with each channel in a rush to ‘break’ news or catch an exclusive which flash far too often to be taken seriously. Controversy is not allowed to take its usual course and die a natural death; it is instead dredged up and twisted to keep animate and breathing.

The average Indian will identify the symptoms of this jaundiced journalism with ease. On one level the foul play is visual. Large fonts, dramatic colours, irrelevant and theatrical photography are used in an attempt to embellish the most trivial news. At the same time the language used for the bold headlines or newsflashes is inflaming and exaggerated, forcing the reader or viewer to halt abruptly and take notice. The media often plays along with the rumour mill not bothering to verify fact, faking quotes and printing bogus interviews. Once reputed newspapers and media channels are turning into trashy tabloids

Instances of the above in India’s recent history are far too many. On the July 26, 2005, the media had a field day as it reported the administrative failure of the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation in its role in providing relief to those who had suffered because of the unnaturally heavy rain in Mumbai. Images of the average Mumbaikars struggle with the flood water flashed again and again on the TV screen for days, much after the water had long receded in most places. The Mumbai attacks once again saw the media doing nothing to pacify the heightened anxiety of the country, but instead thriving on the panic it fuelled as Operation Cyclone was shot at from different angles with an obnoxious disregard for the safety of the people trapped. Distinguished journalists spotted at the scenes of crime have been heard time and time again asking questions structured to enrage and outrage the people

Newspapers, not to be left behind, have played just as strong a role. What was the need to blow the Shahrukh – Salman – Katrina fiasco, or the Mallika and Minissha Lamba or for that matter, the Sourav Ganguly – Greg Chappell controversy to humongous proportion, when matters of far more relevance to the average Indian were grappling for attention?

Let me illustrate with some of the headlines carried by newspapers about Chappell fiasco: I wasn’t comfortable with Chappell: Sehwag (Press Trust of India Players were scared during Chappell’s tenure: Bhajji (Zeecric Beaureau).The headlines are so often relevant only to page 3, if even that. I mean, we all want to know that Ranbir and Deepika broke up, but wouldn’t we be just as well off not knowing about Saif’s tattoo or for that matter, why was Amitabh Bachchan’s views of Slumdog Millionaire making the headlines? Granted that he is the God of Indian cinema, but the man is entitled to express his opinion without being flogged for it.

The media in India, in a number of ways, exists as a degraded inferior version of itself, compromised in its ethics, stirring panic and grappling for attention in ways that should have been outgrown long ago. India as a newly born country needs pure unbiased news of relevance. As all infants, Young India can’t always be expected to tell the difference between what it needs to know and what it wants to know. One would expect the experienced media moguls to be in a better place to decide upon what news deserves notice and what can be thwarted. But perhaps this discretion is blurrier than anticipated. India needs facts, not biased opinions. Our media needs not to stand big and looming, but instead, to mature and grow.

The Rape Of Mother India

India has been ranked as amongst the top 10 most gender biased countries in the world. Further debate on Indian hypocrisy becomes unnecessary. Every Republic Day and Independence Day, we pledge our loyalty to our beloved mother land and declare how proud we are to be Indians.

Now the term “Mother” becomes important in our discussion. When was the last time you read a paper devoid of news about crimes against women? When was the last time a woman was doled out justice without there being first a public furore? When was the last time you came across a woman on the road who could be completely safe in her surroundings?

Men in a certain village in Gujarat cannot find wives, men in Haryana have to “purchase” wives and share them too! But we still love our motherland and are willing to sacrfice our lives for it without any inclination to save lives within it. This, indeed, is hypocrisy.

Women are raped in broad daylight yet people will turn their face away lest they should get embroiled in any inconvenience causing them to be late for office the next day.

Female infants are killed at birth since the family cannot bear the shame and expense of another girl in the household. It may come as a surprise to many that the problem of female infanticide is greater in urban cities than in rural India. So then, can we claim to be a progressive society or economy? Economy is it? 9 per cent growth per annum does not reflect a forward looking nation.

Besides, dowry deaths and domestic abuse are rampant even in the most affluent families. A lot of cases of crimes against women are hushed. A woman has the responsibility of the keeping up family’s pride and honour and it is a stigma to talk about matters of abuse, be it physical or sexual. They are dissuaded from taking a legal route.

At the end of the day, where do they end up? They continue to be slaves to their parents, husband, children and family.

While we talk of our Motherland in proud tones, let us not forget these women who show real character, facing the world with stoicism, toiling, without a murmur of protest.

Women and Media

The last few decades have seen tremendous changes in the lifestyles of men and women across all over the globe and particularly so in our own country. Globalization, market economics and above all, fast strides in technology have affected virtually all facets of life be it religion or education, politics or employment, fashion or health care. With the advent of computers and telecommunications, media has also undergone a sea of change. Media in India, which until a few years back used to comprise of the morning newspaper, the radio broadcasts and the sole television network screen images of “doordarshan”, comprises today of a dazzling and at times mind boggling array of communication devices. The media, which was earlier merely a reporting device, is today a vibrant means of shaping, molding and influencing public opinion.

However, in spite of all these changes, the media has not managed to overcome the typical stereotypes that are associated with women in India. While there are certain departures from this, the fact remains that by and large, there is a huge potential for better and a more realistic projection of women. It does not require any detailed analysis to conclude that the media is in a state of confusion and are perhaps unsure of the way they want to see women. On the one hand they still have this eternal image of a woman who is confined to the boundaries, duties and responsibilities of her home and her family.

Even a contemporary TV advertisement, like that of “MOOV” is based on the same philosophy. The lady in this advertisement is shown as the single person doing all the housework, and attending to the whims and fancies of all her family members, from her husband to kids, to mother and father-in-law, and simply everybody. She is allowed a break from her work only when she cries out in pain from a backache. And then the family decides to recognize her presence by passing a tube on ointment around, and the husband offering to apply the ointment for her. But those moments of respite are few, as she is back on her feet the moment the pain recedes, and the bombardment of orders and requests begin again. The docile, subservient nature of the woman is apparent, although not meant to be so perhaps!!

Another image of women in India that has grown in the recent years is the one that we have aped from the west and which gradually is gaining momentum. This is the portrayal of the woman as a showpiece or an icon of glamour. We hardly come across an advertisement these days where we don’t see a pretty model beaming at us, be it the advertisement of a new model car or that of a cold drink. We see the advertisement of the new “Maruti Zen” where the tiger stalks a young woman in a dark alley. The advertisement had to be withdrawn due to public pressure.

In other words, the portrayal of women in the Indian media oscillates between these two extremes: the “mother India” and the “glamour girl” image.

What the media does not see and project is the image of a woman as a serious partner in decision-making, a serious contender as a professional: doctor, engineer, teacher or a computer specialist, a serious politician or leader. This is so in spite of the fact that we have today a large number of working women, and there is hardly any field that does not have women representatives. We have women administrators, entrepreneurs, doctors, police women, computer specialists, politicians and most surprising the entire media business is full of women practically performing all types of activities.

It is indeed a very sad phenomenon. For example, companies like Wipro, Infosys, IBM, Microsoft etc employ almost equal number of men and women. But when it comes to a TV advertisement regarding computers, we always find that it is the projection of a man behind the monitor!! The woman has to use ‘fair & lovely’ and wear a pink dress to become a cricket commentator.

There is no end to such examples and though “India is shining” and we have progressed by leaps and bounds, the fact remains that the usage of women as perceived in our country oscillates between these two extreme stereo types.

Media and Regulations

The Mumbai terror strikes on 26th November, 2008, left the nation stunned, scarred, numb and with lots of painful memories. Now as the overwhelming reality finally sinks in, it becomes imperative to look back and reflect at the horrendous incident. Taking from Osborne I would say, ‘look back in anger and remember and mourn not only those who suffered but also evaluate the role of the media, one of the most vital components of our Indian society.’

Let us first look into the much touted coverage by television. With new channels proliferating every now and then, the war for higher TRPs is now the top most priority. In this mad rush to woo audiences, content and quality more often than not get left behind. This has been the trend for sometime past and it was manifested once again in the kind of treatment the attacks received. The breaking news syndrome has been in vogue for a long time now and these attacks were just perfect fodder. Channels across the board telecasted the 3 day siege at the Taj, Oberoi, Trident and Nariman House continuously. A live broadcast of an emergency like this was not the issue but the approach. There was a sense of thoughtlessness in these broadcasts as we later realised. Explaining in graphic detail the plan of action of the NSG commandos and telecasting their positions on television resulted in many casualties. The terrorists were equipped with GPS phones or Blackberrys which gave them access to the counter attack by our forces, courtesy the news channels. A lot of lives were lost as a result. This reeks of not only thoughtlessness but also a high degree of irresponsibility. The only concern for the channels seems to have been to break some new story before the others. If that is the aim then one can well imagine the result of such a rat race. Two well known channels were ticked off by the Government for telecasting information unverified. One thing which should always be desisted in times of calamities is fuelling rumours and if the media starts doing that then we definitely have a problem on our hands. The role of Media in a society is dual; reflective as well as corrective (which does not in the least mean moral policing). When the media does not even reflect the truth, the corrective will not even figure in the scheme of things.

Another unhealthy trend was the over the top nationalism or rather jingoism being propagated. Most on the spot reporters were clearly flummoxed about their role as they committed many faux pas. Some lay on the ground to make it seem a war like situation, which it clearly was not. Some collected huge crowds shouting slogans around them and then shouted into their microphones about some vague conceptions of nationalistic fervour. However there were some good, thought provoking panel discussions and debates on various aspects of the attacks. It was a refreshing change to hear the voices of the people instead of only politicians. Never before has perhaps the media reached out for the opinions and views of the people as now. This change I hope shall be here to stay. The other feature which saw a great response was the call for citizen journalism by a few channels. People could send videos (through MMS) and pictures on the terror attacks. Most channels received a huge number of such clippings and many were telecasted. A participating audience is perhaps an advantage for the Media.

Of all the forms of journalism, the best quality work in India lies in print. In this case too print journalists did a much better coverage than their other counterparts. Not only was the coverage much more comprehensive but also of better quality. The attacks took place late into the night of 26th November, at around 9:40 pm. Most newspapers would have been ready for the next day by this time yet most of them worked overnight and managed to get on the scene of action to give a detailed account of the incident. Though there were many discrepancies in the stories by different newspapers, especially regarding the death and injured toll. The highlight of newspaper reports were definitely the photo coverage. Most photo journalists captured some great shots capturing the essence of all that these attacks stood for. The most abiding image was perhaps taken by the Times of India photographer of the terrorist which later on was taken alive by the Police. Apart from the photographs, most newspapers had some provocative columns, though a lot of them were simply powerful rhetoric too. It was heartening to see that the Media not just talked of the blame game, terrorism, Pakistan etc but gave equal space to the humane aspect of the colossal tragedy. It was definitely a more mature approach. A sense of being together was the need of the hour and newspapers and magazines, in their own way facilitated this.

The scale and nature of the attacks got the international media’s attention too. Leading papers like the Guardian carried front page stories on them. They refrained from making any political comments and reported just the tragedy. The columns denounced the loss of lives and strongly condemned them.

The Media is one of the most potent tools of the Indian society and directly bears on it. This unfortunate event has made us sit up and hold it accountable too. Emergencies like this one need to be handled with extreme care and acute precision, not to forget immense sensitivity. Though the freedom of the Media should not be curtailed but maybe guidelines issued and a general framework can be established in case of similar situations. The Government is currently mulling over such a proposal and hope that it will bring about the necessary changes. Let us hope that lessons (positive and negative) from this tragedy stay with us as a reminder.