C-Change 2013: 'Media needs to shake off its obsession and be accountable

BANGALORE, INDIA: Asian College of Journalism chairman Shashi Kumar's session, on 'How Media has become an Agent of Change', was a retrospection on what is the actual role of media and why is it unable to impart it.

Media's role is catalystic, descriptive and representative. However, today it has become more of prescriptive in nature. While, it is supposed to take an impartial role in reporting or representing what it sees, it does not and it all boils down to the fact that news is a commodity and not a responsibility today.

"We are living in an age where news, irrespective of which media is reporting it, is more or less the same. This happens not because of the urge of reporting a news, but the fear of 'missing the story', noted Shashi Kumar during his session on the last day of C-Change 2013.

Media is the fourth pillar of democracy, after Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. While the others are accountable to society and each other, media is the only one that is institutionally and constitutionally not bound by anyone.

"However, it is high time that media becomes accountable to itself. The transformative role of media is missing today. Information without transformation is sheer gossip," he noted.

Media is an important element of a democratic society. We should not forget that if not for media, we would not have come to know about zillions of scams, such as that of the 2G and Italian aircraft's. However, the paradox is that a corrupt media is exposing a corrupt government.

"Media today is not able to reflect glaring social realities. Today reporting is all about keyhole journalism and voyeurism. The media has made us to believe that India is a city state, whereas, 80 per cent of the country do not belong to that category," he added.

It has today acquired a hegemonic role today and sets the agenda for what is news. It is the media houses who determine what is news and what is not, so much so that society has lost track of reality.

"In today's modern representative media our capacity to see Prathyaksha (obvious) has been reduced by Anumana (infer) to such an extent that if we do not see a news in the media, we tend to believe that it has not happened at all," he added.

Media needs to step out of its current obsession of what it thinks as news and be more accountable of what it report, he concluded.