Akangjungla
A substantial portion of the public hold on to a number of misperceptions about media and the role it plays as a public service. Recently, with the mushrooming of aspiring citizen journalism and outburst of social media platform users, the odds have increased deepening the crisis faced by media. Any message just gets through social media and there is no way to hold anyone responsible or to keep a check on the situation. It is no more just about establishing contacts and communications. Forward, copy-paste and share options are limitless. The influence to read and follow verified information has eventually waned down, leaving the workers in the media industry with questions of security.
The media have too many built-in impediments - from extreme dependency on ready-made press releases, event coverage, reporting for people in position, imbalance of space allocations for advertisements, allowing rejoinders-counter-rejoinders to rule the pages, and even seeking monetary bargain, to being unable to write exclusive report or telling stories of truth, unable to listen to ethics until it’s too late. Despite the apparent success of some newspapers in Nagaland, reflecting every hue of the journalistic spectrum, media as whole in Nagaland needs to bring back more power to itself. Readers come and go, and it is a fact that there is no miracle of multiplication in the circulation since the pandemic. Newspapers are failing to bring back the readerships who were once introduced to taste of journalism. It is collectively failing to meet the needs of the readers – except for those few who are already predisposed toward a particular kind of reading experience.
The place of media in any era or society cannot be undermined. Media is action-oriented and stamped by its valuable impact. The audio-visual/digital media, to their advantage can avail endless attempt to excite the senses of the viewers; likewise the print-media has the mark of trust and allegiance from its readers. Today, the biggest criticism leveled by people is that media is not contributing as much as it should to shape public opinion, influence policy-makers, check corruptions and serve public-interest. Looking at it positively, these criticisms acknowledge that media has the element competent of creating its own dynamic. Every society deserves a strong and meaningful media, free from propaganda and censorship. In the Naga society context, media suppression is not much visible, not that it is totally absent. There are times when only selective channels are allowed to attend government related vital press conferences, indicating something is terribly wrong in both ways; news sources are discriminatory too, not every civil societies are interested to issue their important statements to all the media houses in an act of obvious biasness.
Newspapers all over the world are going out of business for multiple factors and perhaps, time is reckoning for the rebirth of journalism from a place where each news person challenges themselves with the reminder that news means factual information, truth and objectivity. To regain legitimacy, media in Nagaland must return to the early days of journalism – whole story or none. Once again, news that inspires actions, engages with people, and creates public discourse has to reclaim its place in the heart of the journalists and the media organisations.
Comments can be sent to akangjungla@gmail.com
