Opinion - News Analysis   

The squeamish too serve a purpose

K. Narayanan

Six months is too short a period to assess the working of any system, but when a totally new attempt is being made, it may not be wrong to look back well past "the first hundred days" that journalists love to use as a benchmark for governments. It is also an opportunity for me to deal with some points raised by readers who, while generally welcoming the initiative, still have some doubts about the functions of the Readers' Editor.

In the six months ending August 31, 2006, the Readers' Editors' office received 5,815 messages. The number of corrections published in this period, as "Corrections and Clarifications" on the Op-Ed page, was 575. The modest number of corrections carried in relation to the communications received reflects various factors.

One correction often relates to an error pointed out by a number of people. Many others deal with printing errors and minor editing/grammatical mistakes, which are not significant enough to get into the daily column. And the count of 575 does not include corrections that appeared in local or regional pages. On the other hand, the large number of corrections on some days has led to comments such as that the Readers' Editor has no effect and that it speaks volumes for the efficiency of the editorial department.

At the same time, there are contrary responses. G.E.M. Manoharan of Coimbatore writes: "[To] error is human ... so whether it is The Hindu or any other newspaper in the world, there is every possibility for mistakes creeping into news reports. There need not be a column for corrections and clarifications. When corrections are too much, readers form an opinion that might not be erased too easily."

Reader C.P. Srinivasan of Chennai has a rather different perspective: "Readers have become so squeamish as to bring to your notice even minor errors in spelling because you are there to listen. In our 60 years of addiction to The Hindu, [we] noted several small errors here and there but were not so affected as to immediately draw the paper's attention. Perhaps we were more understanding of the pressures and strains under which the staff were working. With the installing of your office, readers have become more impatient."

But Vinod Bose, also in Chennai, provided a new twist. He felt the editorial staff were playing a cat and mouse game with the Readers' Editor "perceived by them as a fault finder." The number of mistakes had increased probably because the staff "are under instructions from the management to do this, to keep the Readers' Editor on his toes." Lt. Cdr. (retd) P.S. Nath of Hyderabad feels if sincere and more efforts are put in by the editorial staff, The Hindu can achieve perfection.

What appealed to me was the comment on a postcard from K. Rama Rao of Hyderabad — the two columns ("Online and Off Line" and "Corrections and Clarifications") by the Readers' Editor "appear to be a mere wastage of newsprint and no useful societal benefit is derived therefrom ... . Newspapers are not being read to learn grammar but to know the societal reaction on various events ... not for the benefit of readers who are presently providing food to the Readers' Editor's work and column." I incline towards this view, but unfortunately Mr. Rama Rao and I seem to be in a minority.

While Mr. Manoharan has rightly pointed out that no newspaper is without mistakes, he should recognise that the post of Readers' Editor has been created in all sincerity by a newspaper with a great tradition to act as an internal news ombudsman and reduce the mistakes as much as possible by continuous monitoring, and sensitising the editorial staff. Corrections also serve the purpose of setting the record straight, for often the published material serves as a source of reference.

I welcome "squeamishness" of a rising number of readers, for that is what keeps me on my toes. It is they who point out the errors; they are aware that there is someone to attend to their complaints. Not that they are impatient; their expectations are high and my effort is to satisfy them as much as possible. "Fault finding" is their job, and mine to rectify the faults. What could possibly be wrong with such a system? In fact, the unflagging contribution made to accuracy and precision by a core group of readers who are experts in what they write or telephone about is so much appreciated within the newspaper that they are referred to as "our most valuable voluntary, unpaid resource."

On another issue. A reader asks: Why not gracefully say, "the error is regretted," with the corrections, as you do when publishing an apology? An interesting question and my answer is: there is a basic difference between an apology and a correction. An apology is made when what is published affects a person or institution. A correction sets right a fact or the language. And every time we get a correction ready, it is with a sense of regret that such mistakes occur!

"Squeamish" was a word used earlier in this column. I found this word most appropriate to describe a report that appeared some time ago. The suicide of popular footballer V.P. Sathyan in Chennai on July 18 appeared with a headline "Fatally knocked down by train." This was also the lead paragraph of the story — which said he was fatally knocked down. That it was suicide was tucked into the third paragraph. Personal tragedies need to be handled with circumspection and understanding but that does not mean being prudish. A number of readers pointed out this underplaying; one called it "concealing."

If that was being prudish, an attempt at being proactive was seen in a Chennai report, "DVAC closing in on former Ministers," which appeared on July 28. The story was delightfully vague. "Preliminary enquiries" revealed disproportionate assets, assets bought "in [the] name of benamis", assets acquired with the "help of multinational companies," "200 acres [purchased] in Kodaikanal hills in some other name" (how is that different from benami? And what is the "other name"?) When "DVAC officials are keen to ensure a prima facie case" as the report claimed, was this not a case of lapping up officially leaked information and letting the officials have their say without being named?

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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