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Formalised guidelines can be a bulwark

Time was when The Hindu’s different editions were produced from one centre and had unified direction. The work is now done from 12 centres, enabling the particular edition to give the necessary focus to the region it serves. The editorial control of all common pages is still in Chennai and this ensures a certain consistency and continuity. That is not the case with the regional pages where the standards vary. Some sort of adherence to The Hindu’s core values exists, but the absence of formalised guidelines can be seen in the finished product. This was the point highlighted in the last column (January 5, 2009).

Readers have pointed that there are no uniform yardsticks in reporting crime and illegal activities, in naming the suspects/accused, dalit issues, and so on. The emphasis given to similar stories varies from edition to edition. The widely prevalent promotion or publicity for products and companies gets different treatment in different centres.

Readers have cited many instances of inconsistency in coverage. When two Indians were killed in Afghanistan in April 2008, the details of one of the victims from Tamil Nadu and a picture of his wife with the District Collector appeared only in the Tamil Nadu pages. The other person was from Varanasi and the details, with a picture of the grieving family found a place in the national pages. What were the criteria used?

A reader lists five reports of crimes/accidents/searches in which there was no uniformity. Some had names, some did not. What are the guidelines?

These result from the lack of a uniform frame of reference for journalists. The rapid growth in their numbers over the last few years, while certainly providing variety, has also created the need for infusion of common perspectives and values in line with The Hindu tradition. The solution lies in evolving a handbook of guidelines and policies. That will eliminate the resort to trial and error methods to discover the standards to be applied in professional practice and personal behaviour.

The New York Times has a comprehensive “Ethical Journalism: a handbook of Values and Practices for the News and Editorial Departments,” which sets out broad principles for journalists’ behaviour on the job and off it to the extent it affects the paper. In addition there is a Newspaper Integrity Statement dealing with professional practices such as the importance of checking facts, the exactness of quotations, the integrity of photographs, and avoidance of anonymous sourcing. The code includes a provision for disciplinary action for violations.

The Guardian’s Editorial Code is a more concise document. It sets out guidelines to ensure that “outside interests do not come into conflict with the life of the paper in a way that either compromises The Guardian’s editorial integrity or falls short of the transparency that our readers would expect.” It seeks to “protect and foster the bond of trust between the paper and the editorial content it carries.” It covers professional practice and personal conduct. Appended to the Code are the Press Complaints Commission’s Code and C.P. Scott’s essay published on the centenary of the Manchester Guardian (May 5, 1921). The legendary editor sets out what he feels a newspaper should do to be worthy of its power and duty.

Besides these guidebooks, both The New York Times and The Guardian have detailed stylebooks that offer clear, definite answers to the doubts that arise in writing or editing. And if a doubt persists, there are senior professionals who decide the style or standard. (I have earlier in these columns repeatedly urged putting into use the stylebook three of us prepared some time ago.)

Clear guidelines can eliminate many of the unintended deviations that creep into the paper and also many of the messages that I now get. But finally it all depends on the journalist’s personal ethical standards.

It is good to see that the Advertisement Department has become aware of the need for some uniform standards in the contents of sponsored/space marketing features. Normally these supplements consist of articles on shopping, consumer goods, commercial events, and so on and are generally harmless puffs and claims. Write-ups in these special issues are outsourced and the editorial department has no role. But for the average reader it carries The Hindu imprimatur and therefore its approval. There was an exception to this, and a stridently campaigning piece appeared in one regional supplement, leading to objections being lodged with the Readers’ Editor. The Advertisement Department immediately made amends and has also introduced a centralised screening of the contents in all such supplements.

My defence of the subeditor (“Noble but thankless, with no glory or praise,” October 13, 2008) has led a former colleague, T. Rajagopalan to present the case of reporters. He quotes from a report, “Sickness behind headlines,” he read some time ago. He is unable to trace the original source of the clipping he has. It says:

“The reporters’ job is never far from easy. He is in business to produce words. No more, just words. The reporter is always on the outside looking in … The reporter lives in a word of superficialities writing about the visual crust and seldom the substance. Ultimately the deadline dictates both research and creativity and seldom gives either sufficient time.

“The copy editor takes on where the reporter lays off … he too is a creative person or at least he was, once… what he does not do is to consult the reporter, the author … ruthless cuts and misleading headlines … each tends to underestimate the value of the other; each is intolerant of the other’s errors.”

That really must be an angry, frustrated reporter letting off steam!

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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Formalised guidelines can be a bulwark

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