With the advent and mushrooming of 24x7 News Channels and
the Print media, commercially to keep pace with the electronic media, creating
round-the-clock and sustaining sensation by the hook or the crook has become
the unwritten rule of journalism. More than enlightening and educating the
people and thus serving as makers of strong public opinion, in order to
increase TRP ratings and readership, competitive sensational journalism keep on
confusing the people and brood cynical public opinion leading to
destabilization of the nation and society.
The speech delivered by DMK President Kalaignar
M.Karunanidhi on May 30 in the demonstration in Chennai, as a part of statewide
agitation pressing for rollback of hike in petrol price and condemning the hike
in bus fares, milk prices and power tariff by the ADMK regime, was very clear.
It cannot be said that the newspersons who came to cover the news could not
understand it. But if they file their reports factually (cried down as ‘bland
reports’), their bosses would not accept them. After all they are paid hefty
salaries to convert news into ‘sensational stories.’ Hence according to their
‘professional ethics’, all news channels, news agencies and websites of dailies
and magazines (all together over 200) all over the country ‘flashed’ the report
‘Karunanidhi threatens DMK pull out from UPA government.’ (But at the same time
only the website ‘The Hindu’ published the speech correctly.)
Soon after reaching Party headquarters ‘Anna Arivalayam’, on
learning ‘the mischief’ played by the media, Kalaignar again clarified what he
spoke earlier. He said he had only stated that the DMK, in the past, whether it
was V.P.Singh-led National Front government of the BJP-led NDA, had walked out
of the coalition to uphold its principles. Describing media reports as
‘mischievous’ he told the reporters that he had only talked about what had
happened in the past and did not make any comment on leaving the UPA. “You
cannot place the present government on a par with the government of the past.
It always takes into consideration our views and respects protest. It is the
government of Tamil Nadu that does not respect others.” Kalaignar said he could
not put any condition ‘as desired by the media’ as the exit of the DMK from the
UPA might pave way for a retrograde and communal rule.
When the reporters informed Kalaignar’s clarification to
their TV channels, a daily reported that their bosses shouted at them for
having attended his interview. However, invariably all the dailies (except ‘The
Hindu’) and news channels in the country published and telecast the news as
‘DMK Chief does a neat u-turn’, ‘DMK does a flip flop’, ‘u-turn after threat’
etc., and continued to prickle their itch for sensational politics.
At the macro-level, the media reported the CAG report on 2G
spectrum allocation of a ‘presumptive loss of revenue’ had they been auctioned
instead of the prescribed policy of ‘First Come First Served’, as a huge scam
of Rs.1.76 lakh, as an ultimate result of which not only the ‘Telecom
revolution’ ushered in is being under threat of coming to naught but also the
industry itself is paralysed, which is being bemoaned by the very same media
now. Over 80 crore mobile users in the country would feel betrayed by sensational
hype made by the media of a non-issue.
Presumably enthused by the media hype and even judicial overreach
to his ‘presumptions’, setting aside actual results worked out by his field
(department) audit officials, the CAG started speculating astronomical figures
as presumptive loss in everything: over Rs.10 lakh crore in ISRO- Devas
deal (in which the satellite has not yet been launched), Rs.13 lakh crore in
the allocation of coal blocks between 2005 and 2008 without action etc., As it
happened in the 2G spectrum issue, the preliminary reports of the CAG found
their way to the media, immediately resulting in a hullabaloo over ‘mega scam’
after ‘multi mega scam’. The ‘media tiger’ Team Anna and the opposition parties
whimsically mudsling each and everybody in the government. A BJP MP went too
far and claimed a loss of Rs.51 lakh crore in coal block allotment, even as his
party took objection to the Team Anna comparing the PM to Sikhandi of
Mahabharath. Reckless allegations are made by all and sundry and those in
office of governance, including the Prime Minister are challenged to disprove.
Most unusually the suave and reserved Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh himself
lost temper and said, “I think the public in India should make up its mind
whether this sort of politics should rule the roost in the country. It is
unfortunate that irresponsible allegations are made relating to irregularities
in the allotment of coal blocs. Even if there is an iota is proved, I will quit
public life.”
In the style of Watergate, the media now is engrossed in “coalgate”,
willfully misleading the people of the country covering up the truth.
By calling the Prime Minister names and asking for
investigations into an alleged coal scam, based on a draft report of the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that was leaked, Team Anna and the media
have discredited themselves.
The shrillness and harshness of their tone serve only to
replace reasoned, sustained pressure for institutional reform to strengthen
integrity, with hysteria. The CAG allegedly says (what it actually says will be
known when its report is out) that private companies made undue gains worth Rs
1.8 lakh crore, because of the way in which the government allotted them coal
blocks, without auctioning them. Since the PM held the coal portfolio during
the allotment of these blocks, he must own moral responsibility, says Team
Anna.
In India, coal blocks have not been auctioned. Since coal
was made a state monopoly through the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act of 1973,
the Act was amended thrice, in 1976, 1993 and 1996, to permit allocation of
coal mines for private companies to produce iron and steel, power and cement
but only for captive purposes.
Talk of auction began only with the UPA government's move in
2005 to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The Left
opposes removal of state monopoly in coal. Many state governments resisted the
move to allocate coal through auctions.
Negotiating a consensus with these stakeholders to
liberalise coal mining and institutionalise allocation of mineral rights will
take time. But the nation desperately needs coal to produce power, steel and
cement, to grow. So coal had to be allocated before auctions could be
instituted. The government advertised the offer of coal blocks, invited
applications and an inter-ministerial committee examined the applicants, with
chief secretaries of the concerned states sitting in, to decide the allocation.
This was as transparent as it could be. To convert this into a scam is grossly
irresponsible.
What do the media achieve by this hysterical sensationalism,
which will put off the people after a limit? In the meanwhile irresponsible
damage is sought to be inflicted on the political system and order in the
country, which has ensured their ‘freedom’ unlike for their counterparts in the
neighbouring countries. The UPA government at the Centre is sought to be
portrayed as ‘scam-ridden’ than any other regimes so far. But the truth is the
media in the past was limited in numbers and more responsible and
self-disciplined. But now there is mushroom growth of media competing in the
market in an unhealthy manner threatening the very fibre of political system
and social order. It is nothing but a cancerous growth.
P.S. If the prescription of the CAG, the ‘Adharsh Purush’ of
the media, of auctioning is adopted for ‘ethics’ ‘morality’ and ‘honesty’,
there may not be any bidder from the media!
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