Is a newspaper allowed a political orientation?

A good newspaper is one which does not follow an agenda. Unfortunately, that is exactly what every paper in our country is doing at the moment. There is not one paper in this country which is totally unbiased. The best selling paper in south India is a perfect example. Most of those in its higher echelons are avid supporters of the UPA. So much so that it is evident reporters are only employed based on their political orientation. Come Sunday and you are greeted in the magazine section with an article written by a high profile reporter lashing out at the “extremist” parties. It’s become as routine as brushing my teeth.

This apart, a certain afternoon daily in Delhi has a rule in its office that not a word should be said or written against Sonia Gandhi. Those offering unadultered praise of her are most welcome. Another in Gujarat has the same rule applying to the BJP. Now what kind of a paper can run itself with such a rule? Does not a newspaper have a social responsibility? And this is not a question of one paper or two. The entire multitude suffers from the same disease.

But wait, this is not the only problem plaguing the print media. I won’t hesitate to mention one particular name here. I’ve hated The Times of India from the bottom of my heart ever since I first set my eyes on a particular headline of theirs a few years back; “Brad Pitt voted world’s sexiest man”.

Such a paper should have stayed in business shorter than an anti- booze campaign in Ireland right? Wrong, it thrives better than prostitution in Amsterdam. This says a lot about what we want to read. A newspaper has to sensationalize in order to sell itself, but at the same time it requires substance, which is severely lacking today.

I can say what I want about TOI, but the fact remains that they are easily the largest selling paper in South Asia, and I do have great respect for its CEO(I refuse to call him editor as he is no journalist, he’s only an entrepreneur), Jaideep Bose, for his business philosophy “A paper runs to earn money for it’s share holders”, and his ability to implement it successfully, for their share prices are still right up there.

Now you might say that this is not a problem in India alone, but all over the world, and that people have resigned themselves to it. But I disagree. Abroad, you might find an article or two in a particular paper which is politically or religiously biased, but if it happens over a period of time, people over there are smart enough to recognize it and circulation will definitely decline.

Again, I’m not saying you do not have a market for such papers in the west, or that everyone over there looks for unbiased news. Just that you have a myriad of choices. If you find one sub-standard or bent paper, you can always move to another if you wish to. But that is not the case in India, as our choices are limited.

The god of Indian media (in my eyes), is Ramnath Goenka. Most of us have seen a portrayal of him in “Guru”. Please note that this is not any form of advertisement, as I am not employed to any organization, but one paper which I have been reading over the years, and does not seemingly show any political inclination, is the paper started by Goenka, i.e, “The Indian Express”.

Whether they did this honestly or dishonestly, or if I have just not been observant enough, is anyone’s say, and comments are welcome proving me wrong. Nevertheless, I enjoy reading IE as they provide news and gossip in the right proportions (again, in my opinion).

The media has been infected; there is no doubt about that, and it is largely a fault of the public, for actually letting the trash in the market survive. If I were to start a newspaper based on these ideals and went into circulation, sure as the fact that I will one day die, I shall soon be out of business, because nobody wants news anymore.

So if there are any wannabe journalists out there looking for advice from a stupid student of engineering with absolutely no experience in your line apart from being a daily reader, I would say: Don’t be inspired to try to change the system. If you’re going to start your own paper by sinking your life savings, don’t follow honest journalism. You have to be bent to get a reader base in this country. There are many like you who have tried and failed. You don’t have to be in that line, for trust me, you will fail.