By Ranjona Banerji
Four senior judges of the Supreme Court call a press conference to tell the people of India that something is very wrong with the judiciary. And the first thing that happens media-wise is that you realise something is very wrong with the media. For one thing, the need for an instant sensational response leads one into the same old waters, where you search immediately for the usual suspects.
The first response therefore is that Nehru, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal or “The Left†are responsible for what has happened. Something they did or did not do in 1911, or three years ago or yesterday. The second response is to try and protect the government and the BJP at all cost. The third response is to get really angry that people are trying to “politicise†the issue. At no point should one try and understand the issue itself.
Once again, it is television which comes up short because that is the nature of the medium. But why it has to make us all ridiculous is harder to fathom. There was outrage on patriotic news channels that senior journalist Shekhar Gupta was at the press conference called by the judges. Who else is supposed to attend a press conference, if not journalists? Our venerated news anchors may be glued to their bombastic chairs but that is by no means any sort of law of journalism.
The other topic of outrage, and echoed by TV anchors is that the judges “rushed to the mediaâ€. In fact, they used the media in its most basic sense, as a method to reach the people of India. That is one of the purposes of the media, is it not? That we are a conduit of information and views to the people? And if the matter is of such importance, indeed the judges discussed “danger to democracyâ€, then how else are they supposed to reach out?
To be fair, the issue is difficult. And as newsrooms cut back on their senior staff and on specialists, they have to rely on generalists, interns and outside experts. There is a breed of editor who keeps a firm eye on the be-nice-to-owners-for-promotions route and who argues vehemently that all a news organisation needs is a few trainees and subscriptions to agencies. Obviously, this species has done very well for itself.
Luckily, although we have destroyed institutional memory, media houses do have recourse to experts. Many of India’s best lawyers have been out full force, interpreting events for the people, in newspapers and on TV when they were given a chance to speak. Nidhi Razdan on NDTV did an excellent show immediately after the judges’ press conference.
But these are small mercies. On the whole, the media’s inadequacies were revealed when India faced – still faces – a Constitutional crisis.
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Media solidarity is a fine thing. We need it, to try and help each other through bad times. However, there is an interesting little twist happening right now. Newly elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani had a squabble with journalists from Republic TV. As this column has highlighted several times, Republic TV does not always practice journalism. But here’s the conundrum: When Republic TV is sought out by politicians and removed from press conferences, what does the media fraternity do?
Currently, the trend is to support Republic T​V
because if you support X you must also support Y. However, this is just a merry little game being played by Republic TV to play victim. Support the channel’s right to attend press conferences, by all means. But attending press conferences is not in fact an inalienable right. Republic TV might also consider, having been given this little “gift’ of support, whether it has any duty to practise journalism or not.
​Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views here are her own​