The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Media has alienated itself from people'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Media has alienated itself from people'

By Our Special Correspondent

DHARWAD, JULY 14. Ajit Bhattacharjea, well-known journalist, has regretted that the media is getting alienated from the people.

Inaugurating a two-day workshop on "Media and human development" organised by some non-governmental organisations here today, Mr. Bhattacharjea said the way the election projections were published in the media spoke of the growing chasm between it (media) and the people.

He said the media was adopting a market-driven approach in the coverage of news and it was elitist in outlook. The problems of the poor, the exploited, and those in rural areas hardly found a place in the media, Mr. Bhattacharjea said.

What was astonishing, he said, was that in some newspapers the post of Editor had been abolished and there were "Editors for particular markets." The newspapers wrote what the market wanted, and they were hardly bothered about issues such as empowerment of the people, poverty, agriculture, and allied issues, he said.

Mr. Bhattacharjea said readers had allowed the situation to reach such a pass by not asserting what they wanted from the newspapers. Readers and viewers (of electronic media) should assert and influence its working, he said. Until that happened, there would not be improvement in the situation. He called for better interaction between the media and NGOs for proper portrayal of the problems of the people.

M.K. Prasad, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Calicut University, said mass media no longer served the masses but catered to the interests of the classes. It was more interested in entertainment and providing sensational news.

The language used by the media was more urban oriented which could not be understood by the rural masses, he said.

The regionalisation of editions had restricted news to one part of the area, and special supplements brought out by newspapers catered mainly to urban readers, he said. Saroja of the College of Home Science spoke on gender discrimination, which was coming in the way of women members of panchayat raj institutions from playing a useful role.

She called for support of the media and other organisations to help women elected representatives to exhibit their talent.

A.S. Balasubramanya, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Karnatak University, V.S. Nadagoudar Director of Extension of the University of Agricultural Sciences, spoke. A.S. Salunke, president of the Jan Vikas Andolan, an NGO, proposed a vote of thanks.

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