Readers made an interesting observation about the mix of reports from the staff and those from news agencies. They feel that the newspaper online carries more stories from agencies than from staff reporters. “[An] agency copy tends to give the bare-bones of a story, whereas a staff reporter’s copy tends to have greater depth and context,” a reader said. He cited a few examples of The Hindu ’s legal correspondent’s reports from the Supreme Court that captured the nuances of judgments better than most agency reports did. When platforms multiply and sources of information are abundant, many readers firmly believe that in The Hindu, staff reporting should largely replace agency reports in national and regional stories. They feel that agency reports are fine for international events, be it politics or sports. It is a matter of trust — a copy produced and processed exclusively by The Hindu staff has greater resonance with them.
The other elements in the readers’ wish list are varied in their emphasis, but are linked by a common thread, which is that The Hindu should continue to play a role in enforcing accountability of all institutions. For instance, a reader wanted a series of stories on the status of implementation of various welfare measures. He wanted to know why many schemes exist only on paper, not on the ground. The newspaper, in readers’ opinions, should be able to name the persons accountable for lapses that adversely affect the livelihood of millions.
The task of scrutiny
Readers want to see more investigative reporting on corruption. For many, it seems as though the media has left the task of financial probity, integrity, and meeting targets to institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Supreme Court, and various statutory bodies. One of the readers said that the independent media should retain the responsibility of scrutinising the Union and State governments, primarily because some individuals, despite honourable exceptions, who wield power in statutory bodies tend to convert their official findings to post-retirement job applications. A detailed story on the number of officials from statutory bodies who got a post-retirement job would reveal the inherent limitation of giving the task of scrutiny to only these bodies, said some readers. In fact, a qualitative analysis of their investigations, findings and recommendations could be a basis for evolving a code for the appointments to crucial watchdog bodies.
One of the first suggestions that came this year was for a weekly news feature that not only provides the context but also looks at precedents, best practices and worst examples. For instance, in the wake of a petition by political parties to the Election Commission (EC) seeking a directive to postpone the Union budget from being tabled on February 1, some readers wanted to know the exact sequence of events that led to the postponement of the budget in 2012. Which parties demanded the postponement? What were the reasons cited by them? Was there an EC directive that led to the postponement or was it the decision of the government itself to defer the budget till the elections for the five States were completed? Under the Model Code of Conduct, what elements in the budget would be considered a violation of the Code and what concessions or programmes permissible? Is there a legal binding? Can the apex court intervene in the election process if the Model Code violation raises questions about free and fair elections? What are the similarities and differences between the 2012 and the 2017 elections to these five States? Are there compelling reasons that make the date for the budget non-negotiable for the government? Readers would like an extended explainer of one complex issue every week to make sense of our polity and economy.
While many readers came up with suggestions for content, only one wrote at length about the design of the newspaper. Vijay S. Raghavan from Mumbai wrote extensively about the need for a redesign and for improvement in the printing quality across editions. He said there is unevenness in the quality of printing — while it is excellent in some centres, it is not so in others. “Any newspaper design will be liked by readers only for a few years,” he said. “They would like a change in the product’s presentation after every few years. When [Mario] Garcia’s design was introduced in 2005, it was stimulating for the readers. But after so many mutilations of that original design, The Hindu has lost its charm. Font sizes at present are not good as they are small and not pleasing to the eyes. [The] layout is very congested.”
This was one of the most exciting exercises for me as the Readers’ Editor. Readers’ comments and their level of engagement reaffirm our faith in an informed public sphere. Most of their proposals and ideas were not personal preferences or whims but manifestations of their deep understanding of what they want in a newspaper. I would like to assure the readers that the Editor and his team are amidst a consultative process to arrive at a new look as well as a new mix of content for this legacy newspaper that was launched in 1878. Your voices are central to this consultative process.
readerseditor@thehindu.co.in
