Should politicians grace media events?

BY Jyoti Punwani| IN Opinion | 21/10/2013

HERE’S LOOKING AT US
Jyoti  Punwani

Can this happen anywhere else? The Union Home Minister inaugurates a statue of freedom of press, put up by a media baron!

The Times of India’s report on the incident, dated October 15, needs no comment:

“Union Home Minister Sushil Kuamr Shinde said the print, electronic and social media in India has more freedom as compared to the West. Shinde said until now America boasted of the Statue of Liberty but today the "world's biggest democracy has given the world the first Statue of Freedom of Press".

The black marble statue shows a man and a woman reading a newspaper installed atop a jet black granite pedestal. Shinde said it is a true representation of freedom of the entire media as the curtain that veiled the statue, carried mastheads of all major regional, national and international dailies.

Thirteen of the state's senior journalists were felicitated by Shinde for their contribution to journalism.

Lokmat Group chairman and MP Vijay Darda, Maharashtra minister for social justice Shivajirao Moghe, EGS minister Nitin Raut, local MP Vilas Muttemwar and Wardha MP Datta Meghe were among those present.’’

In this case, it could be that journalists had little to do with the decision to call the Home Minister to unveil the statue. But overall, our journalists pursue a close relationship with politicians, which goes beyond professional requirements. Why do we call them to award ceremonies for the media? What’s the logic in media houses hosting leadership summits and Thinkfests where politicians comprise an important section of the invitees as well as panelists in discussions? The Goa government was a sponsor of the 2011 Tehelka Thinkfest.

Every big media group does this. Even the Statesman had then I&B Minister Ambika Soni giving out its prestigious award for rural reporting in 2010. Politicians are invited even for the UNPFA-Laadli awards on gender sensitive reporting, an award instituted by an NGO. 

This year, the chief guest at the Ramnath Goenka awards for excellence in journalism was the Chief Justice of India. Getting the award from the Chief Justice can be considered an honour.  But from Manish Tewari – the man who is currently doing his best to prevent Doordarshan news from doing a professional job? He was on stage holding the award in the form of an outsized cheque (sic!) when one of the awards was handed out. VIP guests in the audience this year ranged from P Chidambaram to L K Advani to Bhupinder Singh Hooda. They occupied the front rows of the auditorium. What do they have to do with excellence in journalism?

The traditional job of the media is supposed to be to expose those in power.  One cannot deny that our newspapers do so. It can be asked, if that function is not compromised, what’s the problem in inviting them for media events?

The question is: Why give them that honour?

Journalists, more than anyone else, know the way politicians operate. In India, most of those who came to rule the country post-Lal Bahadur Shastri, could hardly be called men and women of integrity. As far as this columnist can remember, i.e., since the 70s, politicians have chosen politics as a profession for a variety of reasons, but definitely not to serve the people. Surveys have shown – as if they were needed - that Indians rank politicians as the worst category. The latest survey, conducted just three months back by global organisation Transparency International, showed that 86 % Indians believed political parties were corrupt, and 68 % felt the government was not doing enough to check corruption.

Then why do we in the media invite them to our functions?

What would happen if we didn’t? Wouldn’t it be enough to have only media persons and other intellectuals present when we recognise the work of our fellow professionals? Would the event be shorn of glamour, without cars with beacons drawing up and commandos springing out? Does a Ravish Kumar or a Josy Joseph (winners of the Ramnath Goenka excellence in Journalism awards this year) require the presence of a Chidambaram to validate their recognition as top-class journalists? Josy Joseph of the Times of India got the award for his Adarsh scam expose, in which all the big politicians of Maharashtra were involved! Ravish Kumar exposes politicians every night on NDTV India’s prime time. As a journalist, I should think they would feel diminished by the presence of people who they have exposed, and who are the faces of a corrupt establishment.

The award function included a debate on social media. Does it make sense to debate the relevance of social media with the likes of Manish Tewari, Arun Jaitley (who says Modi can’t repeat a Gujarat as PM only because of the compulsions of coalition politics); and Kapil Sibal (who directed Google and Facebook to submit their content for screening)? Are there no knowledgeable and newsworthy intellectuals – Ramchandra Guha, Arundhati Roy, Kancha Ilaiah, to name just three - who could be called for the debate? Or is the prospect of socialising with them after the function too boring?

Perhaps this is a malaise only of big media houses. Mumbai’s Press Club awards, the Chameli Devi Awards, to name just two, are not given out by politicians. Former Police Commissioner and now Mohalla Committee Chairman Julio Ribeiro and former cricket captain Ajit Wadekar handed out the press club awards last year. I can almost hear the media giants snickering.

But give me a Ribeiro or a Wadekar any day – their contribution to society is far more than that of politicians. Do politicians use their immense influence to ensure better lives for their electorate? Today dal and onions, which comprise the poor’s staple meal, are out of reach. How many politicians have tried to sell these items cheaply to their electorate? How many have marched on the streets to protest against the impossible prices? When the Agriculture Minister openly predicts that prices will remain high, when official agencies like the Agriculture Produce Market Committee assert that onion prices will not come down, does any politician dare to take them on?

Be it khap panchayat rulings which result in the death of young couples;  the arbitrary arrest and torture of suspected Naxalites and Muslim terrorists; the harassment of Facebook users who criticise powerful leaders;  the propagation of fake theories such as Love Jehad; the hounding of Dalit-non-Dalit couples; the holding of fraudulent public hearings wherein village lands are handed over to the corporates; the refusal to distribute food grain that rots even while people die of malnourishment; the usurpation of scarce urban land by builders in violation of urban land laws --- all these violations of human rights have either had the backing of politicians across party lines, or been committed by them. When we invite these politicians to functions which reward excellence in journalism, we belittle those whom we are honouring. We also belittle our profession, which is meant to have an adversarial relationship with those in power.

No wonder a home minister unveils a statue to press freedom! No wonder the image of journalists is so low in India.