Couple of days back, a friend of mine asked 'How can we verify if a particular news article is true?', and it struck me Why should we have to verify in the first place? Isn't that the job of the journalist?. This led to a long conversation about the concept of news, the tv series The Newsroom, discussions about recent political and other issues that were in the limelight. Post which I thought to myself I have got the subject for my next blog 😜. So here it goes.
Media is touted to be the fourth pillar of democracy that offers a medium for the three essentials (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary) to connect with the masses and balance out each other. Also it played a commendable role when any one of the branches of government tried to overplay its hand like in the case of The Emergency in India in the mid 1970s. Journalists reached far and wide to find the the truth often risking their life, not for the monetary compensation but these were the people who believed in what they did. They were not confined to their studios bullying others in shout matches and did not use the opportunities that mass media offers to enforce their opinion on others. They were involved in a much bigger and nobler cause - finding the facts and reporting them just the way they were/are(some journalists are still doing amazing work). There was a place for established and experienced journalists to foist their opinions and it was labelled rightly as Opinion, Op-ed, or Editorials. The crazy thing is, of late these centre page (if you are a fan of reading The Hindu like me) articles have found their way on to the front page headlines or more importantly prime-time news.
Increasingly now, journalists are replaced by correspondents and content writers. And even worse, fanatics who have access to internet and know to type. While social networking and community platforms were good for what they were meant to do- stay connected and socialise, nowadays it has turned into a medium through which more and more people consume information (public and political). Indeed its good to know about a cyclone coming your way via social media but its not so much fun when a 16 year girl is trolled for taking a meeting with a Chief Minister (lets face it, how many of these trolls would have gotten such an invite and if they did, how many would've turned it down?). The worst part is that as and when such bizarre incidents gain traction on social media, the mainstream media feels obligated to debate about it in prime time for an HOUR (seriously??).
But still, I admire the profession of a journalist, thanks to The Newsroom. The show is based on research around several real-world cable news programs and I recommend it to everyone who is political, opinionated and moved by public issues. A couple of incidents wherein incorrect information was telecasted by ratings driven radio jockeys and twitter users were picked up by the news centres have been captured in these episodes in an amazing manner. The first episode talks about the essence of NEWS and also shows how an actual information is vetted and verified before bringing it to the public. That is what we need in this day and time- vetting and verifying. As the world is retracting to closed borders and ultra nationalism after a few decades of globalisation, I believe retracting to old ways of news consumption - buying newspapers and supporting the institutions that do credible journalism - wouldn't be so bad after all.
Even Facebook is spending resources on a third party fact checker in Germany after accusations of fake news influencing US elections found supporters in the German political landscape where elections are due this year. But is it imaginable to regulate posts by over a billion accounts (not people essentially) by a few hundred fact checkers? So next time you read a status update or a blog, treat it as what it is - a single person's expression of his/her opinion, and not as facts. Most importantly, before sharing a post next time, take a moment to ponder whether you actually believe that and think of the impact that information would have on those who consume it or those who are under the scrutiny in that post.
The fourth pillar is indeed required to hold the roof (country) but its essential to identify when it starts faltering and reinforce it as and when required.
Read more: The curious case of responsive journalism.
Read more: The curious case of responsive journalism.
