Opinion - News Analysis   

For mature, strong bonds

K. Narayanan

Overwhelmed!

That much used word is an understatement when describing the readers' response evoked by the appointment of the Readers' Editor for The Hindu; the first in any Indian newspaper. There was an avalanche of letters — a representative selection from which was published — a spate of phone calls and persistent personal questioning at meetings.

A vast majority of the responses was welcoming and laudatory. A few questioned the need for The Hindu to create such an institution when it was known for its fairness. And there were some who felt it was a gimmick and would amount to nothing. There were many who doubted whether an `insider', was the apt choice. Even though it was announced that the Readers' Editor would function from March 1, 2006, the flow of communications began almost immediately. The range of issues raised by readers showed how knowledgeable, alert, and demanding they are. This feedback is welcome and very useful.

But why a Readers' Editor?

The answer to the question lies in understanding the challenges facing the newspaper industry. News gathering operations are becoming more and more complex; technological advances make new demands on resources; the old traditional readership for whom the newspaper was the only source of information is being replaced by a younger, computer-savvy generation with easy access to the Internet.

While we may not have reached a stage where public faith in the print media is eroding, there is a feeling among readers that newspapers are insensitive and inaccessible and their concerns receive no hearing. This alienation is what the new channel of communication seeks to prevent by handling readers' grievances, complaints and suggestions promptly.

These may relate to accuracy, fairness, standards, and good taste in news coverage. The Readers' Editor will seek mutually satisfactory solutions to these complaints by enquiring into them and providing rectifications in the form of corrections or clarifications or replies to the points raised. Longer issues may be analysed in periodical columns.

As the Editor-in-Chief has made it clear, "The key objectives of this appointment are to institutionalise the practice of self-regulation, accountability and transparency; to create a new visible framework to improve the accuracy, verification, and standards in the newspaper; and to strengthen bonds between the newspaper and its millions of print and online readers."

How the Readers' Editor will go about this task is set out in the Terms of Reference that are part of the contractual agreement under which he functions. These Terms empower him to (1) investigate and respond to readers' concerns and complaints in a prompt manner, acting independently; (2) ensure accuracy, standards, and fairness in reporting and writing; (3) create new channels of communication with greater responsiveness to readers and (4) look for ways to improve the paper's performance by analysing readers' ideas and suggestions. (The text of the Terms of Reference is available permanently at our website, www.hindu.com)

This is a comprehensive agenda. As Ian Mayes, Readers' Editor of The Guardian (the model we have adopted) and President of the Organisation of News Ombudsmen, says, "Working out editorial codes and systems of self-regulation are ways in which news organisations can help themselves and forge a mature relationship with the public."

For journalists of The Guardian, there is a formal Editorial Code known as "Guidelines" (accessible at its website www.guardian.co.uk) besides the contractually binding Code of Practice of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). The Press Council of India is a statutory body but it does not have the powers of the PCC. Nor does The Hindu yet have a formal editorial code. But we are guided by what is called the Panchsheel for the paper: truth telling; freedom and independence; justice; humaneness; and contributing to the social good.

These principles will be the guideposts as I set out on my task of conveying the concerns and feelings of readers to the journalists and trying to make readers understand why the paper does certain things it does — which only an insider can do, as international experience demonstrates.

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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