99% of Indian Journalism Is Stenorgaphy

The journalism in action and in question

 

The question of media and control is very serious and complex to maintain sanctity and honesty is toughest of all jobs as media person in situation where ground reporting is not encouraged, corporate interest overpowers everything. And also the communal presence in the media has been effectively influencing the nature of the public discourse not only in particular state but across the country.

In time of overwhelming expression, information overload and in extreme production of image breaking, silence is not the question but giving meaning to silence is challenging. The ‘Google Journalism’ has produced information based on inputs of establishment and pain to meet, interact, listen and report is becoming a lost art of journalism. While information technology is medium to express and cybersphere is a vast space of abstractness where spontaneity works sometime and whose logic is still unknown but very often its absorbing performance beat the gravity of a black hole.

Still a physical presence or his empathic relationship with the victims breaks many barrier and silence. In my own brief experience of reporting I found that listening and giving them space to speak their trauma not only gives confidence to the victim but to the community which is at the heart of any ‘attack’.

People must be empowered to express, to report, to register their fear and trauma but to give them a meaning, the journalism of courage and fearlessness is required else it will not sustain.

Network | cloud model

Particularly in the age of  Information Technology one needs a proper network or cloud model where we can connect the commoners with media group or with space where they can represent themselves and rights group must be the part of network to take further action on the report recorded or presented.

CGNet Swara is a very good example which can be further elaborated, experimented, and can play a very powerful role in any network model. One can record his problem over phone which will be published in web and other media group can investigate more on it and present detail report on it and in similar way Rights group can take up the issue ranging from Human Rights violation to PDS functioning

This is primarily voice-based portal, freely accessible via mobile phone, which allows anyone to report and listen to stories of local interest. Reported stories are moderated by journalists and become available for playback online as well as over the phone.

In its own words: Many of the estimated 80 million members of India’s tribal communities lack access to any mainstream media outlets. This often poses serious barriers to their socio-economic development, as their grievances about government neglect and economic exploitation remain unvoiced. In addition, certain factions (such as the Maoist insurgency) can exploit their frustration and isolation to violent ends. To address this important problem, we have built and deployed CGNet Swara: a voice portal that enables ordinary citizens to report and discuss issues of local interest. (http://cgnetswara.org/about.html)

The three dimensional would be to get benefitted by such platforms and many other independent groups. Secondly, we network with the civil society and activists which give us privilege to engage in issues which bothers very few media houses and lastly we do our own stories and investigation be spending time on ground.

Facebook and other social network sites must be used as space to engage, interact, network and access but it must not become a barrier, a limitation and a journalistic end.

This is my sincere opinion that more technology will be brought, more powerful such virtual spaces will become, more sincere ground report and investigation we will need because tampering, fabricating, overpowering of narratives, ignoring the important and forgering any news and report will become more easy. This is a routine practice at social networking sites where we see that different images are forged to make a news and get it circulated.

The ‘google journalism’ opens a serious challenge for scholarship and journalism both. To encourage even journalists to report from ‘war zone’ is not easy as veteran Journalist Robert Fisk questions that how many editors have first- hand experience of war? The question is at the time when Reliance is buying most of the big media houses with an amazing speed, the editor necessarily need to act as manager rather than en editor, so the question of one visiting any kind of ‘war zone’ is simply insane .

Strictly in facebook terminology any ‘like’ doesn’t change much nor does it channelize public opinion in a serious way rather semiotics of such spaces leaves one in anxiety and middle of nowhere where confusion is perpetual and sponatenity is bombarded.  The average Facebook user clicks ‘like’ 3.5 times every day on wide range of issues hence giving a ‘formidable reason’ to marketing companies for their success and reach.

The revolution in Egypt was not certainly harnessed by just social media but it has its own long history of movements and action culminating years after at Tahrir. Certainly mobile phones and social networking sites helped in connecting people, networking and bringing a spontaneous movement out of it – this is the potentiality and the limitation of it. A ground movement, ground reporting and actions on ground networked in such spaces bring a positive change but not just floating audience of revolution in virtual space.

The individual, community, action groups and journalist must use these technologies to connect, to network, to support and create an avenue where voice can be heard and such spaces must be a true reflection of what is present and what is not!

The different shades of spaces available within the Internet must be used powerfully to advance in strengthening the process of democratization.  Hence, there should be an efficient and sincere place for deliberation and free and open discourse, which must not be gulped by madness of spontaneity

Musab Iqbal

Note:  Musab Iqbal is Editor in Chief of News Portal Newzfirst. The above article was first published in his blog http://dcritique.wordpress.com.