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Questions of ethics and safeguards

Readers' responses fall into three categories. For the large part, they are appreciative and supportive. Next comes those who are appreciative, but critical, often in a constructive way. And then there is a small number who believe in using strong, harsh words; some of them find everything is wrong! My recent three-part analysis of the importance of, and issues in, advertisements in The Hindu had reactions of all these types, though in number they were not as many as other columns evoked.

Mr. K. Giridhar of Hyderabad was concerned that the paper depended on advertisements for 80 per cent of its revenue. This, he felt, was risky when one had to hold on to ethics, as exploiters would use the helplessness of dependents. While the advertisements were generally good and decent in taste, the best way out for the paper was self-reliance. This comment came after the first part of the column appeared, and as I told the reader, the later parts explained how the paper's policies and its ethics and values were not compromised in any way because of the dependence on advertisements. And self-reliance, eschewing advertisements, would mean that the daily's selling price would have to be more than ten times what it is now!

Genuine concern for The Hindu's high principles and ethical practices also came from Mr. P. Hari Haran, who objected to my observation that families watching TV/billboards came across more "provocative" stuff. The Hindu, which was the market leader, should not stoop to the level of accepting advertisements for women's undergarments; if it rejected such displays of skimpily-clad women, advertisers would do some rethinking, especially because there was always a rush and a queue to get a spot in The Hindu, he argued.

Wrong assumptions, and some fallacies. My reference to TV and billboards was not a defence of vulgar advertisements; it pointed to a fact of life in response to one reader's comment about whole families reading the paper. I also said advertisements were carefully scrutinised, and the perception of vulgarity also depended on the eyes of the beholder. And the paper could not be too sanctimonious and buck the trends in a market where the buyer of space called the shots. There may be a queue and rush for particular spots in the paper, but otherwise the advertisers need to be pursued and persuaded.

My highlighting another fact of life, that a newspaper was a commercial undertaking, "saddened" Mr. A. Krishnamurthy of Chennai who said he "thought The Hindu is motivated by higher values as often proclaimed by your editorial department ... [it] can show greater commitment in upholding the principles of journalism by cutting out splashy displays."

This misses the point that what differentiates The Hindu from normal businesses is its commitment to public service and public trust as its core values. The importance of advertising revenue in no way interferes with the way issues of public interest are handled.

Mr. S. Chandrasekaran of Secunderabad, a retired scientist, is always trenchant in his views, which flow in a regular stream: I get quite a few postcards from him at frequent intervals, every available space on them filled with his huge scrawl. (Reading them calls for an effort, but read them I do for the pungent comments on a variety of issues.) He asks me to be non-apologetic, non-partisan, non-contradictory, and not to be "compromised by commercial considerations." He wants a "neutral reader" to work with me!

My writings are not an apology, but an attempt to convey to the readers the challenges and constraints in the working of the paper so that they understand its functioning better. At the same time, I attempt to convey the readers' concerns to the management. While not being an apologist for the paper, I am not an adversary either. That I think is as neutral as neutral can be.

Not directly arising from what I wrote, but related to the issue of advertisers' influence, was a communication from Ravin T. Kurian. "This paper is the finest our country has and the appointment of an ombudsman is just further confirmation of this." His concern was about "the occasional product/company boosting one saw reported as news in this paper" and he wanted to know if The Hindu had "adequate safeguards from becoming a(n) unwitting pawn in this media manipulation."

At the cost of sounding monotonous and repetitive, I must refer to another fact of life. Corporates — and for that matter, politicians or anyone in public life — look for "good coverage". When a corporate sponsors a trip by a journalist, it expects some space given for its activities.

The reference the reader made was to an article by Mumbai correspondent Oommen Ninan on a seminar organised by Michelin, the French tyremaker, in Paris. In all such cases, the trip is cleared at the highest level in the paper. And what is published is generally about the work and activities of the firm and not a plug or puff for its product/s. Nobody tells The Hindu's journalists what kind of coverage or assessment they must provide. If the sponsors do not like the coverage that results from the trip, they are under no obligation to invite anyone from the newspaper again.

Product launches, and workshops and seminars on corporate issues are routinely covered as they have news angles. Similar considerations govern reports that are the result of a company-sponsored trip. The correspondents are expected to stick to the paper's policies when they write. There is a further check at the editing stage. Those are the safeguards against "manipulation."

And, after all that, if something slips through the gate, there are hawk-like readers to pounce upon the newspaper!

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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