Indian Media in the New Century

Till yesterday, I was under the impression that I was simply to inaugurate the Varghese Memorial Lecture series, My somewhat illogical mind therefore propelled me to the belief that inauguration would constitute a formality devoid of any strenuous mental and physical exercise of articulating ones own perceptions!

The folly of my ways, mercifully, was detected in time!! All is well that ends well and I therefore have no hesitation in saying that it gives me great pleasure to inaugurate the Memorial Lecture series instituted by the Mangalam Group in the memory of its founder Late Shri M.C. Varghese.

The life of Shri M.C. Verghese, his rise from a newspaper boy to the head of the Mangalam Group, remains an inspiration to every journalist, entrepreneur and social activist. Shri Varghese used journalism as an instrument in his crusade against social evils, especially the dowry system. His efforts to promote art, literature and education have left a lasting impression.

Friends

The topic for this year’s Memorial Lecture is timely. The Indian media today is indeed a new phenomenon. The statistics themselves are staggering. It is estimated that we have:

• over 400 million TV viewers
• over 400 million mobile phone users
• over 300 million newspaper readers
• over 150 million listening to the radio and
• around 50 million using the internet.

Media content has thus rapidly permeated our lives through various formats that are constantly being upgraded through new technologies.

However, the most important change in this century is neither these mindboggling numbers nor the dazzling new technologies. The purpose of journalism and the objectives of media enterprises have undergone a fundamental change. The evolution of the process bears recalling.

The pre-Independence period witnessed the use of newspapers for reform and emancipation and for advocacy in social and public discourse. The media also became a principal instrument in the fight against colonial rule and in consolidating our national consciousness. Political journalism was the staple and provided the sense of purpose.

In the post-Independence era, the media was caught between asserting the fundamental right of freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution and the pursuit of the commercial motive.

By the 1990s, our tradition of a free press had been firmly established. However, the winds of economic liberalization brought with them the elements of the market economy that have changed the DNA of our media organisations. Four of its principal features need to be noted:

First, there has been a rampant growth of broadcasting media, principally television, along with new delivery modes such as Satellite TV, Cable TV, Mobile TV, IPTV, etc. The print media too has grown and India is today estimated to be the world’s second largest print market. The phenomenon of convergence between news media, entertainment and telecom has meant that the demarcation between journalism, public relations, advertising and entertainment is rapidly eroding.

Second, it is now clear that amongst the pillars of democracy, it is only the Fourth Estate that has an identifiable business and commercial persona. Today’s media organizations are large business entities with thousands of employees and huge financial and other assets. Thus their primary professional duty to their readership has been diluted by the commercial logic of catering to the interests of the shareholders of the holding companies.

Third, commercial success of media organisations has become a function of advertising revenues rather than subscription and circulation figures. The advertisers have thus replaced the recipients of media products. By the same logic, circulation figures, meant to attract advertising, became more important than content.

Fourth, the pursuit of profit has altered the profile of the media entrepreneur. Today, a media enterprise is seen as a necessary subsidiary for a growing business enterprise, a political party and even individuals seeking to leverage public influence for private gain. On the other hand deception, opaque flow of political information, or slanted economic data prevents political and economic actors from exercising rational and well considered choices. They impede the democratic process and could lead to public disenchantment.

In this context, the recent practices of leveraging political and economic content in our media for overt and covert revenue generation have the malevolent potential to tarnish our polity and even destabilise the economy. This has led the Editors Guild and the Press Council to investigate the phenomenon of electoral malpractices of paid news and coverage packages.

Ladies and gentlemen

The public purpose of journalism that guided us in an earlier era thus stands changed. How many of us remember that Gandhi ji was probably the first editor in the history of Indian journalism to have started a newspaper for the express purpose of breaking the law governing the publication of newspapers; or that he was also one of the first editors to be prosecuted for sedition.

In a changed and changing world, it would be useful to remember that vibrant journalism in a democracy is watchdog journalism. It monitors the exercise of power in the State and stands for the rights and freedoms of citizens. It informs and empowers citizens rather than entertains and titillates them. Vibrant journalism is based on professional ethics and should be the rule rather than the exception it has come to be.

Before I conclude, allow me to draw attention to three questions on which introspection is necessary:

• Is there a public debate on issues of concern to the common citizen?
• Is sufficient media space given for the concerns of the marginalized, the dispossessed and the vulnerable?
• To what extent has our media contributed to upholding the social and political objectives of the Constitution?

I once again thank Shri Sabu Verghese for inviting me today and wish the Mangalam group all success in its endeavours