'Journalists should remember that they're not the story'

Journalism in India is thriving but not without its challenges. One of the key areas of discussion has been the issue of biased and unbiased journalism across mediums. At the e4m English Journalism 40 Under 40 Summit, a panel discussion was held on the topic ‘Navigating Unbiased Reporting in a Polarized News Culture’. It dealt with topics like safety and ethics in reporting, media bias and revenue models.

The panel was moderated by Ruhail Amin, Sr Editor, exchang4media Group and included Aditya Raj Kaul- Executive Editor National Security and Strategic Affairs, TV9 Network, Dr. Surbhi Dahiya Professor and Course Director, IIMC New Delhi, Dipankar Ghose, Deputy National Editor, Hindustan Times and Sneha Mary Koshy, Sr Editor, NDTV.

Dahiya, being in the academic space, spoke about how the news has become polarized and echo chambers have been created. “In the very first class, we tell students to be very objective, very balanced in their reporting. But what happens in this polarized news culture, in this media environment in which news and information are very heavily influenced or characterized by extreme differences, maybe in perspectives or maybe ideologies or political leanings, it often results in a very sharp division of the society into distinct ideologies or partisan organizations or groups. Each one of them consumes news from sources that align with their existing beliefs or preconceived notions or values or political preferences.

So, then echo chambers are created. Echo chambers happen when basically consumers consume news from sources, which make them re-believe or reinforce their pre-existing notions. So, we especially at IIMC, train our students so that whenever they write something, they have to have diverse sources of information. So, we teach them that you will have various sources of information, but you have to decide whether you're taking this information solely from one angle or one perspective or one source.”

Speaking about personal bias of journalists and how to keep that at bay, Dipankar Ghose says, “I think in terms of bias, it's incredibly important for a journalist or a reporter to understand he is not the story. One of the things is that we see this happen more and more, I think it's emblematic of a phase where everybody's getting on social media, everybody has a voice, that you seem to want to be active protagonists in a story, and that's a problem. You can be a protagonist in the story in the sense that you're one of the people telling it honestly. But you are not the story itself. You are not adding to the story. You should be adding to a diplomatic push. You shouldn't be taking away from a diplomatic push, you're reporting the diplomatic push.”

Aditya Raj Kaul explains how revenue models and TRP ratings affect the system. “The most essential part in TV journalism at least, is the kind of revenue model you have. This revenue model directly impacts your journalism, whatever you do. Of course, you had the TRP controversy around it. And this revenue model is completely flawed because these are completely based on advertisements that you get. For advertisements, the channels have to reach out to the people out there, the companies out there and tell them that they are number one and you are most watched, and how do you do that? So, there is BARC that comes into the picture or other agencies.

So now the ball is in the government’s court to have a kind of neutral TRP system either under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry or have an independent player out there who does not see any kind of profits coming in from either any channels media houses, or any of the corporate houses out there.”

Sneha Mary Koshy shared with the audience what exactly reporters can do in a polarized news situation. “As a reporter, you have to put your foot down. If your office says you have to do something you have to say this is what it is. Fight for it because it is your story. If you are a reporter, if you're a journalist, stand for your stories. It's more important than ever before. So, you debate it out, you discuss it out with your editors. That’s where I come from, that’s what I believe in.”