Dr Asangba Tzudir
Within the never ending ‘production’ of issues, problems and its associated sensitivities, complexities and differences, the press is pitted against the challenge of ‘truth and the need for responsible reporting.’ That, either overtones or undertones or even silence on certain issues means that the press has taken a stand and gets caught in the web of the complexities and sensitivities. As much as the press tries to understand the pulse of the people, more often it becomes a difficult proposition to follow the trail and hit the pulse of the people. Question is whether the pulse is just another emotionally loaded narrative or the pulse that carries the truth narrative.
A disconnect is created between the press and the masses vis-a-vis the pulse, and in order for the press to bridge this disconnect the press gives open ended news relating to certain issues so as to enable the masses to respond and analyse which also helps the press to understand the pulse of the people.
It is an unwritten ‘moral law’ that in the press reporting in relation to truth, it should not be dissociated from responsibility. Truth reporting becomes very difficult in the face of sensitivities wherein the language, editing is ‘forced’ to go through the various filters in the pursuit of responsible reporting, while at the same time maintaining the truth and news-worthiness of the issue.
There is another dimension and challenge of truth reporting wherein the masses needs to know the pulse of the press. Some years back when a national media ran a story exposing ‘doubtful’ photos of objectionable private life of some politicians in Nagaland, instantaneously, the local press houses were ‘backlashed’ and virtually condemned saying - “National media did what our local media should have done.” Above many other considerations related to responsible reporting, the press is pitted within the danger of defamation that has far reaching effects which renders difficulty for the local media to respond to such people’s pulse.
In Nagaland, currently there is a tension going on between social media and the print media where the former seems to have taken primacy over the latter, somehow randomly redefining what news ‘ought’ to be and how it should be presented. Based on the degree, intensity and immediacy of the issues generated through social media networks, certain ‘parameters’ are defined about the nature of news and information. Besides, popular perceptions are generated by putting electronic media like the prime time National Television News channels and print media together. These are two totally different news templates. Newspapers cannot be or act like the high decibel National prime time news.
In the evolution of ‘news’, knowledge and information, and within the diversities, complexities and sensitivities, the press is still grappling with the question of ‘how news ought to be presented.’ Handling of news items in coherence with the demands of the situations, so also responsible reporting besides many other pressing concerns come into play in the making of news, knowledge and information. As such it becomes difficult to always follow the trail of the masses or go against the ‘popular pulse of the people.’
In bridging the gap, for the public especially, news, knowledge and information first need to be put in its proper perspective within context so also the underlying constraints within which the press comes into play, and help support the press by reacting critically to news items in bringing out the truth and thereby give shape to a democratically viable environment. To a large extent, it helps the press to freely respond towards even changing the general perception of the news in bringing out the ‘truth’ to the public.
So, even as the press tries to understand and engage with the pulse of the people, a reciprocity is also imperative to carry forth the mantle of disseminating news ‘objectively, truthfully and responsibly’ and therefore begs the question - Does the mass also feel the constrained pulse of the press?
(Dr Asangba Tzudir writes a weekly guest editorial for The Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
