PIB officials turn proactive

Till about a year ago, words like counter-narrative were not part of the language deployed by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) officials in their internal communications.

Their role was to act as an interface between the media and the Government. But if recent Action Taken Reports in tracking the media are anything to go by, the terms of engagement have changed.

A senior official in PIB said with developments in the media, particularly social media, the responses under the Narendra Modi government too have changed.

Under the BJP government, the PIB’s brief has moved beyond sending mailers about official engagements and press conferences to journalists and reporting the same back to the government.

Press being monitored

Now, every response, to actions taken by the government, on social media, is carefully scrutinised by a team drawn from the Information Services. There is another team that keeps a watch on the press and then, there is the electronic media monitoring centre which keeps a close watch on television.

A senior official, who did not wish to be quoted, described the work as routine. He, however, added that the PIB was responding only to the changes that have taken place in the media.

On the other hand, the ATRs read like sharp PowerPoint presentations with the following sub-heads: Objective: To put across the official viewpoint in its right perspective. To clear the misgivings/misinformation in the media. How: Through a counter-narrative or rejoinder or clarification or rebuttal, informal and formal press briefings, exclusive stories, advertisements, radio talks, television interviews, social media impressions etc. Timeline for Response: Immediate or within 24 hours or within a week as per the nature.

The responses, in turn, come from joint secretaries to concerned ministries.