The Hindu : Front Page : For successful journalism, with a soul

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Friday, Oct 27, 2006
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For successful journalism, with a soul

Special Correspondent

Pressures on the core values of journalism a cause for concern: N. Ram

Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu , B. Muthuraman, Tata Steel Managing Director, and K. Venugopal, Joint Editor, The Hindu Business Line, at the launch of the Kolkata edition of Business Line.

Kolkata: Warning against a "a new kind of demand being made for manipulating news, analysis and opinion to suit the owners' financial and political interests," N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu group of publications, said here on Thursday that the challenge "before us remains what it was when Business Line was launched on January 28, 1994, in Chennai: how to make serious journalism more viable, influential, and successful — and how to enable successful journalism to keep its soul."

"Newspapers with a soul know where to draw the Lakshman rekha and how to give primacy to the editorial functions. The challenge is to internalise this knowledge in the profession of journalism," Mr. Ram said at the launch of the Kolkata edition of Business Line.

"Creeping corruption"

What was cause for concern "is the new combination of pressures on the core values of journalism, pressures generated by intensifying competition, by business success, by communal attitudes and prejudices, and by direct political ambition and manipulation as well. ... Price wars and other aggressive practices tremendously strengthen these pressures. There is also, if the truth be told, creeping corruption in Indian journalism," Mr. Ram noted.

"Business Line calls itself `the white paper on business'," he said. What defined the newspaper were values that "can be formulated in terms of a panchsheel: truth-telling, freedom and independence, justice, humaneness, and working for the social good."

Inviting West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to launch the edition and pointing out that the "Left Front Government he heads represents a remarkable political phenomenon not just for India and South Asia but for the whole world," Mr. Ram recalled some variants on jests that build on his name and popularity such as "We are all Buddhists now" and "He has converted West Bengal to Buddhism."

Among other things Mr. Bhattacharjee had "stuck resolutely to the task of making the State investment-friendly and succeeded so well that in polls of business leaders and professionals he usually ranks as India's best, or one of the two or three best Chief Ministers."

Quota issue

Sharing Mr. Ram's concerns on the pressures being brought about on journalism by communal attitudes and prejudices, the Chief Minister dwelt on the question of reservation for the Other Backward Classes in institutions of higher learning and the opposition to the move, including from "unfortunately the majority of the Press [that] supported the upper-caste agitation."

"The media must be above any communal and casteist prejudice and must try to tell the truth," Mr. Bhattacharjee said. Referring to a section of the Western media and Noam Chomsky's exposure of the American press for "manufacturing consent in favour of the ruling clique in the United States," he said if the "media served only the interests of the ruling circle and war-mongers, it will not be able to ever reach the bottom of truth."

Correct journalism

B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, praised The Hindu , which "is an institution that has stood for correctness, sincerity, correct journalism without sensationalism, [which did not engage] in cheap tricks and [carried] no headlines without substance."

He also spoke highly of a "beloved Chief Minister" of a State, which has "had a remarkable turn-around" ever since Mr. Bhattacharjee, "a genuine leader and absolute visionary," took over its leadership.

K. Venugopal, Joint Editor, The Hindu and Business Line, said that "one shortcoming long nursed" was the newspaper not having an edition in Kolkata. "Given the resurgent commercial face of the city, it is time we corrected the failing," he added.

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