Opinion - News Analysis   

When readers find an incomplete picture

I try not to be repetitive in these columns, but there are some topics that impose themselves and demand attention. My second column on crosswords (November 29, 2007) was an instance. I am sure there will be more, work in a newspaper being what it is.

These thoughts came up as I started writing this, harking back to a view I expressed some time ago (“Preferences and prejudices”, October 1, 2007) — “Readers now have multi-layered, multi-sourced access to news and omissions do get noticed and commented upon, especially when it related to one party.” Reactions to recent events in Nandigram, West Bengal, reinforced this opinion. The coverage of the earlier happenings in that area drew muted critical comments that I referred to in that column. This time around, the critics were more vociferous. One feature was that many of them were from outside India. I quote from some of them, not all.

Dr. Arvind Narayan, Curepipe, Mauritius: I am a 27-year-old maxillofacial surgeon presently working in Mauritius. My earliest memories of childhood are waking up to see my father behind the pages of The Hindu. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I say that the way I live, the principles I uphold and my ideals have been shaped by your paper … I have not missed a single day’s edition … I thought the paper was above reproach. How naïve I was. The problem began when you inexplicably changed stance in the nuclear deal and my worst fears came true while reading the reports on Nandigram. We are living in an age when all newspapers of the country including Bengal can be accessed with the click of a mouse … I am not a communist hater nor a right wing fanatic … But your unapologetic support of the communist parties when the whole world knows they have erred, has bewildered me … I do harbour a sincere hope that things may change and the paper which I revere … will come back to me.

Rajesh Tripathi, student, Paris: Normally I find wide coverage of human rights in your newspaper. Why is Nandigram missing? Mr. Narayanan always defends your left-leaning stand. Government formation in Karnataka has also been reported in a very biased manner. You haven’t bothered to send any reporter (to Nandigram). You are behaving in exactly the same way as the Indian Express did in the nuclear deal.

Prof. Suresh Ramanathan, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Chicago: I do not object to the fact that the newspaper has become increasingly left-oriented. That is the prerogative of the editor. What I object to is the claim that this newspaper is “fair and balanced.” The Hindu was a paper that one could turn to for truly unbiased reporting and opinion.

R. Ramamurthy, Singapore: … articles by the Readers’ Editor do not make this newspaper an example of balance toward reporting when it comes to issues relating to the left.

Amaruvi Devanathan, Tokyo: … a serious ailment called “double standard” … has crept into the editorial team.

Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, Jhusi, Allahabad: … [have] long been an admirer of The Hindu … Therefore it is all the more dismaying to find the editorial coverage of recent events at Nandigram … I sincerely hope The Hindu is not adopting an “our people” and “their people” approach to this issue like the West Bengal Government.

A group of 21 academics from seven institutions, including Prof. Gopakumar, later sent a communication expressing similar views.

Prolay Kundu, Chennai: Hailing from that part of the country … blatantly biased portrayal … The reporting of the attack on Medha Patkar was totally different from what The Hindu and Frontline had written about earlier attacks involving Medha Patkar — may be in the eyes of The Hindu group, Medha Patkar’s actions vary whether it is happening in Maharashtra, Gujarat or Bengal.

P. Tandava Krishnan, Hyderabad: Let me congratulate The Hindu for taking a brave stand and coming out in support of the communist party when the entire world seems to think that they are in the wrong. Only time can tell us who the perpetrators of these unlawful incidents are, and who are at the receiving end of it.

* * * 

According to the Editor-in-Chief, “We have done a perfectly balanced news and pictorial coverage of Nandigram and taken a clear editorial position, avoiding the traps of anti-left campaign journalism that various other newspapers and television channels have got into. I am satisfied that the news coverage has been accurate and balanced. Working out the editorial stand is our journalistic privilege. A serious content analysis of our coverage of Nandigram will vindicate my claim of factual and sober coverage. Of course journalism works with constraints when it comes to access to what happens in embattled or complex circumstances. But you always have a chance to catch up or fill in what happened.

“It is absolutely inaccurate to say we have not sent any reporter to Nandigram. Antara Das’ recent report, for example, speaks for itself.”

* * * 

There was balance in the coverage to the extent that protesting voices against what was “happening” in Nandigram got adequate representation. But what was really happening? The reader was left to guess. The Home Secretary said it was a “war zone”; Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya described what had happened in Nandigram as legal and justified and added, “we have paid back in their own coin.” These widely reported (but not in The Hindu) remarks indicated something serious had happened and it needed to be justified. Obviously it was not Maoists and Trinamool alone, who were responsible for the situation and the published reports did not make things clear.

The reporting in The Hindu was selective. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s comment on the situation (while on his way to Kuala Lumpur) did not find a place and this had to be inferred from the Chief Minister’s reaction to it. Similarly, the Chief Minister’s “paid back” remark found mention only when there were reactions to it.

The unprecedented public protest in Kolkata was well covered, but one was left wondering what was the “situation” in Nandigram against which the intellectuals and artists were protesting. As a newsman, my first priority would have been spot coverage. That media persons were denied access to the “war zone” was unknown to The Hindu readers. The first Nandigram-datelined report, from Antara Das, appeared much after things had quietened down in the area. Nandigram did not get the detailed analysis that an explosion in tiny faraway Maldives got at the same time.

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Will communalism work again?
A promising engagement
Russia heading for power reconfiguration
Has the good become the enemy of the best?
When readers find an incomplete picture
‘Mogadishu sliding back into anarchy’
Dangerous politics
On public health
Rural service

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu