We, the solution
Shouldn’t reporting done well, be enough `solution’ in the media? Should we ask readers and viewers to ``be the solution’’? Unless of course, you are admitting that the reporting wasn’t meant to solve anything in the first place.
NDTV is not the only Indian media outfit hit by this solution syndrome, says SHYAM G MENON
On Tuesday, a foot overbridge leading to Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium collapsed.
The days of scam surrounding the Commonwealth Games had just subsided when this happened. NDTV’s afternoon news bulletin had details of a letter by Michael Fennel, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, complaining of unliveable rooms at the Games village; there was Mike Hooper, CEO of the Federation, claiming it would be the best Games village ever and finally, the ``Be the Solution’’ campaign around the Games showing a few citizens engaged in voluntary work amid rain. By evening, same day, that foot over-bridge collapsed injuring workers. The headline on top of the screen asked – Games: Falling Apart?
Towards night, it got worse. Canada said it didn’t wish to bring athletes into such an environment. New Zealand had no faith that things would change. Among complaints – there was a dog soiling a bed and an organizing committee official peeing in a public area. It was now around eight hours since those citizens had been shown planting saplings as voluntary work. What would now happen to ``Be the Solution’’? I wondered.
Several weeks ago, NDTV had gone into a flurry of exposes on the Games with reminders alongside of how close we were to the Games and yet how unprepared. It wasn’t pleasant news but it was news. The Games became a topic of discussion in Parliament. Having done its scam reporting and moved on to Kashmir, the channel betrayed familiar tendency – it started a campaign asking people to ``Be the Solution.’’ Years ago, when being MBA and MBA-like was blind fashion, managers loved to have on their desk something to the effect of – are you part of the problem or part of the solution? It conveyed the impression of an action oriented executive.
As per the channel’s own reportage the Games are scam tainted. Now by its own making, the situation is not a complete mess but one half, mess. The other half you and I can fix by being part of the solution. Or is it editorial indecisiveness that campaigns like NDTV’s suggest?
NDTV is not the only Indian media outfit hit by this syndrome, which appears an amalgam of professional duty, guilt and damage control. As the Games draw near a leading daily, famous for whacking people on the head in its advertisements, has sought undivided attention on sport. Seriously, where does such affection for athletics and like disappear when there are no big events? For those who once worked in the organized media or currently work there, the reasons for change of face in the run up to the Games must be obvious. I will not therefore even hazard guessing the reasons.
The real story in the manager’s poser, I suspect, is different from what everyone interprets it to be. It was the practical acknowledgement of one’s life crushed to generating income and the consequent desire for a fig leaf to hide behind, that saw managers asking visitors if they were problem or solution. They knew well that money lay in thinking within the box. It made no sense to question the box; prospective nuisance was best avoided. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? That question printed on a card and placed on the desk – was actually a reminder to anyone entering the room, of everyone’s need to survive. Best of all, it sounded avant-garde, although what it did was mask insecurity. It warned you - don’t disturb the business of survival; don’t upset the applecart.
The mistake news organizations make in keeping their marketability separate from the regular work of reporting is that unlike the manager who defined his box and protected it by unapologetically asking if you were part of the solution or not; they come across as apologetic about the core journalistic practice. The Games accentuate it. Under different circumstances this would not have happened. But thanks to corruption, poor execution and weather – even peeing in public - any news on these Games is dismal. And like pretty faces then forced to powder up, channels reach for `solution’ and dailies whack actors on the head for sounding sceptic.
A bridge collapses not for lack of public image but because somebody didn’t do their job well or stress level exceeded design capacity. Shouldn’t reporting done well, be enough `solution’ in the media? Should we ask readers and viewers to ``be the solution’’? Unless of course, you are admitting that the reporting wasn’t meant to solve anything in the first place.
(The author is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)