Aheli Moitra
There are several ways in which local news is exchanged in the Naga areas. Predominant among them is the word of mouth, facilitated today by the technology of internet and social media networks. The press (aka the newspaper industry) and local cable television networks form the next, and more reliable, source of information.
The daily routine of the press is as follows (with minor aberrations): every morning, journalists wake up either assigned to report on an ongoing event, or follow up a string of information that may have been shared by a source or intimated by the Editor. The first to come into a newspaper office are the cleaning staff followed by the administrative staffs that take care of the logistical needs of the day to come. By afternoon, sub-editors, who will edit news reports, convert press releases to news items and select what goes into each of the pages of the newspaper, stream into the newspaper office. By evening, graphic designers or those who will work with the desktop publishing (aka page makers) are in place. A bit later, journalists walk in with the information needed to file a story/write a piece. All day and night, drivers run office errands, within towns and between districts.
Most of the evening is spent in filing (writing) stories, alongside monitoring the flow of press releases, selecting the ones worthy of news, discarding the unnecessary ones, managing calls that come in with information, following up loose ends wherever needed, confirming news from multiple sources, looking up national and international news via news agencies, editing news stories that come in from other districts, designing the pages based on the final selection of news and finalising them. The Editor oversees the whole process.
At the end of the night, the finalised pages are sent to the printing press where the work of the printing press staff begins—they meticulously prepare the plates that go into the machine that then prints the newspaper. The newspapers are wrapped into bundles and sent by vehicles to their designated districts/towns/villages from where local hawkers deliver it to each of your homes early in the morning.
It is the only industry in the Naga areas that works the 24 hours cycle every day of the week employing a myriad form of workers who produce a rich medium of knowledge every day.
Apart from reporting on regular events, journalists investigate stories through interviews with persons concerned, analysis of data available, archives, photographs, visits to the required place, etc. “Investigative journalism” is not just unearthing mega million money-worth scams that bring politicians down but also telling the story of the people at that point of time. This is not to state that an evolution of journalism in other ways will not happen.
Also, sub-editors do not “copy paste” news from the internet as readers regularly allege but look up valid agencies that provide the most reliable national and international news. This cannot be expected to be gathered from the location of event (say, Syria).
Newspapers here are unable to reach far flung areas on time due to the lack of good infrastructure (particularly roads), affordable transportation and requisite partnerships to deliver a crisp copy of the paper every morning. It should be kept in mind that the newspaper industry has taken root here thanks to local entrepreneurs and funds are independently generated through newspaper sale and advertisements.
The Naga press has employed a fair number of people in the industry and continues to be, more or less, non partisan to political parties or the State government. Some of them have remained true to their context by using the medium of the press to create a space for a just society that is open to contradictory renditions and multiple narratives of both history and current affairs. It has transcended boundaries and made the voice of the people from one end of the Naga areas heard at the other end of it.
It has faced politicians in court, hostile news-pushers in their offices, discouraging comments on the field. In the face of it, the Naga press has designed its news in a way that may not (and does not have to) conform to mainstream news elements—they have created a niche of their own. This has been encouraged and supported by many people/readers who have become, also, the backbone of the press.
While much more is possible with time and continued effort, the press here deserves a big applause for the wealth it produces day after day, every day, so that people remain continualy informed and empowered.
Comments may be sent to moitramail@yahoo.com
