Opinion - News Analysis   

Again on values, and the need for a code

"The issue is not whether other newspapers in India are taking the high road, but whether The Hindu comes up to its own standards."

That comment from Narasimhan Ramaswamy (Austin, Texas, U.S.) followed my explanation ("Online and Off Line", September 18, 2006) of the safeguards in The Hindu when accepting corporate invitations for sponsored tours. My conclusion was that care and caution were needed in accepting these invitations and the resulting coverage should indicate the sponsorship.

Readers' comments reveal the scrutiny such reports undergo. Two days after my comments appeared, there was a four-column report, "Keeping pace with industry dynamics" (September 20, 2006) with an impressive picture (it had a credit, "handout." It was funny and unnecessary). A reader pointed out that there was no indication that the write-up on the S.P. Jain Center of Management in Singapore was the result of a sponsored trip.

Mr. Narasimhan raised some crucial questions. Are the safeguards codified, explained to employees? Cannot the paper send people on its own, or even on a sponsored trip, pay its own expenses, as many U.S. papers do? Does this mean small companies and not-media-savvy ones get left out? If The Hindu cannot afford overseas visits, why not get freelance writers?

It is undeniable that all seekers of newspaper coverage offer inducements to journalists, even on local visits or press meets; the range and value vary. These will be there, may be more, even if the paper pays for a trip. In fact, a considerable part of the news that appears on the business page is based on handouts from the companies. What really matters are the general policies and practices followed by the paper and how well these are understood and followed by the staff. Overall, The Hindu has had a clean record, but with the increase in number of staff, their spread, and more pressures from the growing business sector, it is time to formulate a written code on coverage of industry and business. That will set the parameters for the writers and the editorial desk. A matter for concern, as readers point out, is that even now many advertisements get in in the garb of news items in different editions.

The sponsored trips come when companies desire to project their new products or innovations, or their working, or counter some adverse publicity they have had. So it is unlikely that there will be unfavourable comments (which one reader said were never seen) in the resulting reports but there may be critical ones. When it comes to spending on these trips, the cost benefit ratio will always be a consideration. As for freelancers, how does one ensure that they will have no vested interest? In the case of small companies, a newspaper has little chance to know about them unless they project themselves. Being media-savvy is not a fault; it is essential if you want to get noticed.

Similar to the comment on top is this one: "I never expected this in
The Hindu."

Mr. V. Jegannathan of Chennai was incensed by the report, "How drinking can add to `social capital'" ("Newscape" page, September 15, 2006). It said people who drink earn significantly more at jobs than teetotallers; are more social and have a wide range of social contacts; they also get opportunities to learn about people, and acquire business and social skills.

This, according to the reader, was nothing but promoting alcohol when liquor advertisements were banned. It would encourage youngsters to consume alcohol, saying The Hindu has recommended it. The editorial desk pointed out that it was a "scientific paper based on an empirical study by a group of academics." There was no endorsement, and "a hint of disingenuousness" was added by placing social capital within quotes. Don't blame the messenger of news if you don't like the content, seemed to be the implication.

This is a difficult issue. Readers will be increasingly concerned about the implications and impact of the publication of certain kinds of news. Some of them will perceive publication, without disapproving comment or disclaimers, to be a kind of endorsement of the content of the news items. They will contend that special interests and lobbies sponsor much "scientific" studies; and responses depend on how questions are worded, and samples chosen for polling. The findings of the study get published. When it is reproduced in The Hindu, it is cited, commented upon and accepted as true. That should be a guiding factor in the choice of stories.

On the other hand, the news desk will contend that the presentation of news needs, as a rule, to avoid editorialising in the guise of news; and that it is the function of editorial writers and commentators to comment on such matters as the concerns Mr. Jegannathan has raised. My considered view is that journalism cannot escape the social concerns highlighted by Mr. Jegannathan's complaint. It needs to address, as never before, practical issues that have to do with its social responsibility. Readers will increasingly need to be reassured about this vital role of serious newspapers.

The "migration" of the format of The Hindu to the "National Industry Standard Size" with effect from October 3, 2006, drew immediate responses, as was only to be expected. The general tone was one of welcome, with, as is the usual pattern, a dissenting minority. The wording of the announcement itself had a critic who questioned the term "differentiated" migration. Wouldn't "phased" shift sound better, he asked. It was not phased, as of the 12 printing centres only Chennai had to wait for a reduction of paper size; and migration was appropriate as most other English papers in India had changed to the new size, was the editorial response I got.

All the welcome notes asked — why not pass on the savings in newsprint (around 8 per cent) to readers in the form of a cut in cover price? The real gain for the reader will be a more handy size, and the savings will also offset the increase in production costs to an extent. The beneficiaries are the advertisers who need not create a different size of material for The Hindu, and newsprint procurers who had to look for the odd size of paper.

Do you need a consultant (master designer), a reader asked, for this gradedown of The Hindu to "look like ordinary other newspapers of India?" The size reduction I was told, was for professional and business reasons, and Dr. Mario Garcia's role was only to respond to the suggestions for design adjustments (which in my view makes the paper look better) that offset the reduction in print area.

This statement was indeed amusing. "I am going to stop buying

The Hindu. You have succumbed to the tabloid format. How long will take to follow it up with the contents, too?" The Hindu remains determinedly a broadsheet and the shrinking of the print area as well as page size does not make it a tabloid. This word has in common parlance come to denote, more than the physical size, sensational and sizzling contents — so where does The Times of London stand? Or the Asian edition of The Wall Street Journal for that matter?

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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