Experts call for balance in Anna protest coverage
Sunday August 21, 2011 12:01:47 PM,
IANS
|
New
Delhi:
Amid increasing debate on the role of the media in covering Anna
Hazare's anti-corruption protest, experts have stressed the need
for more balance and objectivity and the need to eschew biased and
sensational reporting, particularly by television.
"There is a need for more balance and objectivity in the media
coverage of Anna Hazare's protest. The media has been uncritical
of Team Anna and the unreasonable statements of his associates,"
Siddhartha Varadarajan, Editor, The Hindu, told IANS.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni had questioned
Hazare's remarks that media and his supporters were like a family
and wondered if the agitation was being fostered by the media.
Varadarajan described Anna's demand that the government pass the
Lokpal Bill by Aug 31 as unreasonable and said that it undermined
parliamentary procedure. "A standing committee is examining the
Bill," he said. "The legislative process can go along with Anna's
agitation."
He further said, "I am disturbed by the cult of Anna being
promoted by electronic medium. But the print medium too needs to
introspect on the issue."
Echoing similar views, senior journalist Prem Shankar Jha said
there was need for more balance between news and analysis. "What
is passing off as analysis on TV is a fight between the
representatives of political parties," Jha told IANS.
According to Jha, the print medium has been more balanced in
comparison to the electronic medium in the coverage. "There is
repetition and exaggeration on TV," he said.
Media experts have called for greater objecivity and balance in
the coverage of social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption
stir.
Commentator Sanjoy Hazarika, drawing special attention to the role
of television, said that the media's alleged nexus with
politicians and corporates should be probed.
"Public anger is usually directed against the politicians," said
Hazarika, who has worked with the New York Times. "The focus
should now be on the alleged nexus between the corporates, media
and the politicians."
He argued that similar agitations in the past have had little
effect. "Neither is the media looking at the process nor does is
it have an open mind," Hazarika said.
"If the media levels allegations, the other side should also be
given a chance to defend its position," senior journalist Bhaskar
Roy said. "Media should act responsibly while reflecting reality
on the ground."
The comments follow the impact of the media attention on
three-year-old Charvi Chawla, who reportedly broke her fast only
when Anna offered her water.
However, a section of opinion maintained that media coverage of
the Hazare protest is not deliberate and is guided purely by
popular demand.
"The coverage of Hazare's protest is neither intentional nor
planned," group editor Shravan Garg of Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar
said. Garg expressed hope that the Anna frenzy will come down as
the media has already started analysing its role.
"Tomorrow if another big event unfolds, the media will switch over
to it," Garg told IANS. "The media is just catering to popular
demand. Public sentiment is against corruption, which is getting
reflected in the media."
Noting a difference in the nature of the print and the electronic
media, senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta said, by and large, the
TV channels tended to respond somewhat hastily to populist mood.
"They want to provide ammunition to support their coverage and
take a little liberty with objectivity," Dasgupta said.
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