Finding A Place For Themselves
Finding A Place For Themselves
By Sushmita Malviya
Women in the metro cities may have
touched the heights of mainstream journalism, but the situation of women
journalists in the Hindi belt would have one believe that there is no such
thing as a ¿professional woman journalist¿.
Across most of the Hindi speaking States, many women
who have been working in the field still speak in hushed voices of how they
have struggled to just about make it to the middle ranks. Their main fear of
course still stems from the fact that many would lose their jobs, lest the
management of their papers heard about them airing their view about their
working conditions.
Without proper designations, working tireless hours, working under pressure
without the slightest encouragement from senior male colleagues or the
management, many women are known to have left the profession to join the IAS,
Public Relations agencies, or other avenues while some have just decided to sit
at home.
In Madhya Pradesh, the status of women journalists is
more or less similar to the plight of women journalists in Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Uttaranchal, Punjab, and Jharkhand. One scribe in Bhopal, who
works on the news desk, says that while she has taken the initiative to travel
on her own to file stories on women and children in difficult circumstances
apart from regular news reports on development related issues, most of her
efforts are largely dismissed as ¿planted¿ stories.
A National Foundation for India fellow working on marginalised people under
panchayati raj in Madhya Pradesh says she has found it an extremely difficult
task to keep development-related issues alive. "During the course of my
work especially over the last seven years, the importance of developmental
journalism especially with reference to a backward state like Madhya Pradesh
cannot be stresssed enough. However, it is tough call. From being called a
¿dukandar¿ (shopkeeper) to being endlessly ridiculed while filing stories, it
is almost a battle to get a story through," she explains.
Other scribes, mind you even those working with the
English dailies, both regional and national chip in with more stories. A bone
of contention for many of them - filing stories is a story in itself and the
softer the better. Yes, most women scribes say they find themselves pigeonholed
or officially `slotted¿ to opt for `soft¿ topics as in fashion, lifestyle,
entertainment, art and culture etc etc.
For those who are so inclined, well and good, else there are other `meaningful¿
areas which many women scribes are gently pushed into -women, health, workshops
on population, reproduction…the list goes on. But only because the men who are
busy chasing hard copy do not have time to sit through such events. While admitting
that just like any other mediaperson dealing with these issues on a day to day
basis, there is an urgent need for sustained understanding of issues, those
working in this area say only sensational development news is NEWS in its
purest form - hard news- scams, corruption etc.
The notion of ¿researched information¿ as a necessary weapon
for any journalist to disseminate information is still a thing that most
journalists--- even many women scribes--- are yet to work towards.
For those working in the vernacular press in Madhya Pradesh, it is a mixed bag
of fortunes. Needless to emphasise, most women will speak to you only as a
friend and refuse to be quoted for fear of losing their ¿positions¿. The story
is simple. Most of the vernacular press insists on hiring people not on the
basis of their experience, but on the basis of how cheaply they can be