The Hindu : National : There is disconnect between people, media: Yechury

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Tuesday, Jul 20, 2004

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National

There is disconnect between people, media: Yechury

By Our Special Correspondent

MAKING A POINT: The CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Sitaram Yechury, addressing the students of the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai on Monday. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI, JULY 19. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Sitaram Yechury, said today that globalisation and a sectarian agenda had converged to push the people and their real problems into the background. The task of the journalist was to bring the people's issues back to the centre of the agenda in the globalised context.

In the era of globalisation, the media gave more importance to the manner in which stock markets functioned, the trends in global trade and the fortunes of global corporations. "All these are peripheral to the lives of a vast majority of people," Mr. Yechury told a new batch of students of the Asian College of Journalism.

There was a disconnect between the media and the people. The biggest example was the recent Lok Sabha elections where all the media groups got their predictions wrong. "The disconnect between the reporting and what the people were thinking was sharply revealed during this election campaign," Mr. Yechury said. Many factors at work were missed by the media. This was because, "in the urge to beat the deadline," or "to be the first", some in the media had "actually doctored the truth."

"Today with the 24-hour news channels, reportage has actually been converted into repeatage. So you keep repeating and saying that you are updating. In doing so, what you end up creating is a shallow reality," he said. This happened because the reality was not assimilated and analysed ahead of preparing a report. In effect, the shallow reality was sought to be passed off as the actual truth.

`Larger agenda at work'

Some sections of the media were now saying that each time leaders of the Left parties opened their mouth, the sensex fell by 100 points. This, he charged, was aimed at ensuring that the Left was not relevant in deciding the economic policy. "It is absolute naivety and lack of common sense to even think that markets respond to such an extent... there is a larger agenda operating today apart from that of the media corporations," he said.

The CPI (M) leader said that the trend of newspapers themselves selling editorial space had become widespread. "Today, you have major papers in the country publicly declaring that you can buy column space. Which is actually an admission of reality... There are vernacular papers which during the election campaign said saab aap likh ke dijiye (sir, you write and give). You just write your own report. They will print it as if it is from their correspondent. But depending on the column space you pay them. And only those who pay get coverage in the newspapers," he said.

`Responsibility without power'

Answering questions from the students, Mr. Yechury said the CPI (M) was exercising "responsibility without power." The party was bowing to the people's will because 54 of the 61 Left candidates were elected MPs defeating Congress candidates. Hence, it would not be correct for the CPI (M) to be part of a Congress-led Government. At the same time, it was the duty of the Left "to keep the Government going." To another question, he said the biggest myth in recent times was that globalisation aided development.

Later when media persons asked him if the CPI (M) had put the Union Government on notice for the next few weeks, he said he had only said that the next few weeks would be the time when the issues would have to be decided. "That is only connected with the proposals in the Budget. But the FDI cap on which we have differences is not connected with the Budget at all. They are executive decisions which the Government will have to take." On the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's invitation for talks, he said: "We can discuss. Let us see what they have to propose." Asked if the CPI (M) was willing for a "climbdown" in its position, he said the CPI (M) was clear in its stand. "We are not willing... let us see what the Government suggests."

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