|
THE BIRTH OF A 'CITIZEN JOURNALIST'
By M H AHSAN
The year 2005 witnessed a new phenomenon—the birth of the Citizen Journalist. It was this journalist who captured the awesome power of tsunami just days before 2005 began; it was this journalist who flashed the first images of the Underground rail blasts in London; it was this journalist who showed flames leaping from Platform Three of ONGC's oil well in the Arabian Sea; it was this journalist who gave first-hand information of Hurricane Katrina; it was this journalist who caught Kareena Kapoor kissing her friend in a Mumbai night club; it was also this journalist who showed us the blast ripping through the crowded Paharganj market in New Delhi on the eve of Diwali.
The mainstream media arrived later, borrowed or bought these images and showed the world its 'exclusives'. Was this an accident? Or is this a sign of changing times? The mainstream media has competition in the form of the holidaying tourist, a passenger on a hijacked plane, a citizen caught in a natural disaster, a commuter present at the scene of a terrorist act, a youth on a celebrity dance floor. These journalists are not trained professionals; they are only concerned citizens who happens to be present at the wrong place at the wrong time.
But they have in their hands powerful instruments of change. Some have camera phones, some have digital cameras, others have handycams. Several of them have access to the Internet; many are bloggers who know how to communicate information to the world. They are their own publishers.
Predictably, the mainstream media is not pleased about these developments. There was a huge debate in the British media about the ethics of shooting pictures from camera phones instead of helping fellow passengers who were writhing in pain. The American media too savaged the pictures of Hurricane Katrina, saying that they were amateurish.
The images may be amateurish, but they reflect the arrival of a common man's media, a media that is not
weighed down by corporate considerations, political interests, parachute journalism or biases of individual editors who for long have filtered information in the name of professionalism. The information flow for hundreds of years has been from one to many, with the one deciding what the many should read. The new technology has the potential to change this flow of information, and make it ''many'' to ''many''.
The Citizen Journalist was not the only noteworthy feature of the year. Television journalists continued to numb the country with trivia, crime and ceaseless chatter on celebrities. They also left much to be desired when it came to taste, ethics and professional behaviour. One telecast that was particularly nauseating was the coverage of an accident in which film star Govinda's family was involved. Govinda's wife, who was clearly in pain, had to shield her eyes because of the harsh light of television cameras. Still the cameras would not leave her or her son in peace. They had to be pushed out by doctors. Clearly Indian TV crews have no respect for a patient's needs or privacy. This is one journalism that Indian television must learn to eschew.
Fortunately, the same channel rose to greater heights in December. Operation Duryodhan, which was followed by Operation Chakravyuh by another channel, redeemed the image of TV journalists in the eyes of the viewers. Both channels caught members of Parliament accepting money in a bold sting operation. But it is the staple TV journalism being practiced by Hindi channels that needs to change. It is too frivolous and predictable. It needs to mature if it wants to be looked upon with respect and admiration.
The print media was also caught in a frenzy, though of a different kind. Most of the action took place in Mumbai, the city where The Times of India has held undisputed sway for over a century. Three newspapers were launched in rapid succession; the first was Mumbai Mirror, the second was the Mumbai edition of The Hindustan Times and the third was DNA. The main beneficiaries of this war were print journalists, who suddenly found themselves courted by media barons as never before. Hopefully, 2006 will be as good a year for them.
|
|
EXCLUSIVE STORY
