Let us not make gender an issue

BY bachi k| IN Media Practice | 28/04/2003

Reprinted with  permission from the website of the International Women’s Media Foundation http://www.iwmf.org/chat/view/7449

International Women’s Media Foundation

Welcome to IWMF Live. Today`s host is Bachi Karkaria, associate editor of The  Times of India.

April 23, 2003

Sangeeta: What is necessary for a woman journalist in India to become successful - Having a godfather or being a part of cocktail circle. My experience tells me that there is no appreciation of hard work and efficiency. Why is a woman in the newsroom considered a fool who need not be appreciated and considered for more responsibilities.

Bachi Karkaria: No, Sangeeta, you can make it entirely on the strength of your merit and commitment. Godfathers or cocktail savvy aren`t much use when you actually have to deliver, because there`s a bunch of discerning readers out there who you can`t fool. Why  should a woman not be taken seriously in the newsroom if she is good at her work. Let`s not make gender an issue at our end. All the  best.

Claudia Singer: With the changing media industry over the past 10 years - online media, 24 hour news - have you had to change or  adapt your leadership style? If so, how?

Bachi Karkaria: I`ve had multiple media experience in the last three years. Indeed, I changed from the national Times of India to the  smaller, Mumbai-centred Mid Day just to get this exposure. I think its important for journalists to be multimedia. You need specialist                 technical understanding of different media, but, no, I don`t think leadership style needs to change.

Carole Simpson: Hi my dear friend - I was so happy to hear about your new assignment. I always thought that if women achieved  executive positions they would make an effort to improve the status of women in their companies. You are quoted as saying that you                want to bring to your publication "quality and a robust energy." I wonder if that means hiring and promoting more women on the staff. My  best wishes for your great accomplishment. Love, Carole

Bachi Karkaria: Great to hear from your Carole. Wish I could hear your booming laugh. I knew you`d throw me what in cricket is called a  googly. But I`ll try to answer. A secure woman will always try to improve the status of women. She can do this directly by bring a mentor               and a facilitator. She also does this indirectly : one individual being good at her job changes gender attitudes more significantly than we  give it credit for. As for hiring women, there`s no problem here. Women are so clearly ahead of the pack at interviews, that at times we               wonder whether we should step back and hire the token man. We`re currently engaged in identifying the next generation of leadership, and that`s where I should start taking affirmative action. Lots of love

Whitney Rutter: As an Indian woman, how does it feel to become a powerful editor? Do many men in India respond negatively to your newly assigned position? How have you overcome some of the challenges of socially determined gender roles?

Bachi Karkaria: Whitney, women have been asserting themselves in Indian media at different levels, so I guess the guys are conditioned, and prepared to accept a woman at the top. After all, it`s likely that they had a woman Chief sub-editor or Chief Reporter at some stage. If an organisation and the individual is professional, and it is manifestly clear that she`s the right person for the job when she`s appointed, and she carries this through while conducting herself in this slot, opposition or resentment simply slinks away. A lot depends on the woman though. She shouldn`t bend over backwards too much to be `one of the guys`, but she shouldn`t strut too much either. Frankly, she should just be herself, because that`s what`s got her this far. I haven`t felt any negative vibes in any of the leadership positions I have held, and some places have been very `male club`. If you are referring to family, I guess the ground rules  should be laid down from the start, again in a spirit of mutual respect. Then, the woman should show how serious she is about this herself. As success begins to come, everyone realises that any adjustment is worth it. Men do have an ego about high-profile wives, and

media, per se, is high profile. But again handling relationships sensitively makes all the difference.

Delia Lessing: Dear Bachi, Your career accomplishments are so impressive. I`d like to know - what quality do you have that you think has helped you most in your career?

Bachi Karkaria: Difficult question, Delia. I`ll let my Dad answer this. He had two `mantras` which he passed on. 1. Make your own sunshine, and 2. Be flexible. If you bend, you won`t break.

Susan Dales, San Antonio, Texas: What has been the reaction of the Indian -- indeed the Southeast Asian -- media to the U.S.-led war  in Iraq? How do you feel about the job that the U.S. media has been doing in covering the war? Is CNN widely watched in India, or do

Indians generally receive their news from Indian-owned and operated media? Do you think there is such a thing as global media?

Bachi Karkaria: Indians reacted extrtemely negatively to `Cowboy` Bush. Earlier, Bill Clinton`s forays had earned him the title `Clinton Eastwood`, but George II`s lack of personal charisma really made his public relations worse. Everyone hated his finger-pointing and his  almost childish attitude of getting his own way regardless of anyone else`s viewpoint. Forget Iraqis, just look at the way he answered  questions at Media interfaces. Talk of WMDs and liberation sounded ironic when you saw US firepower perpetrating its mass destruction of  Basra, Najaf and Baghdad. Beleaguered civilians didn`t appear `liberated` in that shocking if awesome footage. The aftermath of the victory has changed this only slightly.

Yes, Indians were `embedded` in CNN, and BBC, telecasts. Peter Arnett`s firing made front-page news. The US print media, I think, has been more objective in its coverage than TV. Media in India is robust and independent, arguably as free as any in the western world.

India`s battle for independence and the battle for press freedom ran side by side, and we`ve safeguarded this with zeal. Television and  radio stopped being a State monopoly over a decade ago. There`s a lot of healthy competition among channels, and that`s always good

for the public.  Global media? Only in professional and technical expertise. But, a global uniformity of opinion is something we should fight against to  our last breath.

Lauren Harris: Who was the most important influence on your career and what was the best lesson that person taught you?

Bachi Karkaria: This was my first boss, Khushwant Singh. He really made me the kind of journalist I am. He had his finger on real  people, he wrote straight from the shoulder, he took his work with extreme seriousness, but he had none of the pomposity of the  swaggering editors of his generation. He encouraged trainees like me. His mentoring role is evident from the number of people at the  top who`ve been through his hands.

Lillian: As you embark on the endeavor of expanding the coverage base of The Times of India do you foresee any obstacles that may  hinder your progress? For instance a resistance to modernize the publication?

Bachi Karkaria: No, this is a progressive management, and hey, we journalists are quite 21st century. The challenge is to get the right  mix of local issues, which exercise people a great deal more now, and yet keep the Times of India`s unique national presence, and global attitude.

Kalpna Chopra: What is the biggest challenge to women in the Indian media? To what do you owe your success? Are you lonesome at the  top, or do you see other women making their way to your position?

Bachi Karkaria: Biggest challenge: their own attitude. They should stop thinking gender and start thinking professional.I answered your  second question in my reply to Lauren. Lonesome tonight? No, and let me give a puff to IWMF here. It really helps to be part of such a                network. The interactions I`ve had with fellow members is reassuring and supportive in the extreme. It`s also humbling to see what real   dangers some women journalists are up against. They have overcome not mere glass ceilings but ruthless despots.

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