Each Time Media Mentions Caste In An Incident It Triggers Violence

Japan Pathak, Founder/Editor of Desh Gujarat and Political Commentator on print, TV and digital media. Took the dais at Talkfest Journalism to speak on Covering the Caste Bias.

 

By Jyoti Mamnani and Dhanraj Chauhan

Jaipur, 10 August, 2018 – Caste is a volatile topic in India. We keep reading about inter caste incidents that lead to violence, rioting, and death. Given this, what should be the role of news media in reporting caste. This is the topic on which the Founder/Editor of Desh Gujarat Japan K Pathak, spoke at the Talk Journalism event in Jaipur.

Mentioning caste when an incident takes place ensures that it becomes a high profile incident, attracting politicians, religious institutions, activists, NGOs and others. This raises temperatures all around, and, it shouldn’t be done in a sensitive society like India; said Japan Pathak in his session on covering caste bias. He gave several examples of Dalit atrocities and the communal pressure that it creates among the people. People from the lower caste have lost jobs and opportunities due to the image of them in the media

The media is credible in the matters of caste and the consumers trust them blindly. He gave examples of 2002, 2004, 2008 and the recent 2018 Maratha uprisings, as examples of the caste based bias in India due to the coverage of caste and community in the Media. According to Mr. Pathak Journalists have become activists, and only cover a story from one particular angle; he also said that journalists and media at large have to cover a story from a 360 degree angle-understanding all the peculiarities of the incident.

Desk: Vaidehi Gangan (copy edit), Jyoti Mamnani (editorial coordination)

This report was filed during Live Newsroom workshop conducted by Institute of Integrated Digital Journalism and Mass Communication (IIDJM) at Talk Journalism 2018.

Media Crosses Their Lines To Create Headlines

Ayodhya Prasad Gaur speaks about his book Chautha Dhandha: Kisse Journalism Ke and the business of headlines.

 

by Shivam Singh

Jaipur, 10 August, 2018 – Journalist Ayodhya Prasad Gaur spoke about how headlines are driving increased news consumption in modern India. While reciting stories from his book ‘Chautha Dhandha – Kisse Journalism Ke’ today, at the Talk Journalism event in Jaipur, Ayodhya Prasad Gaur said that,“Jakham Tab tak Khuredo jabtak uss se khoon nahi nikalta” – journalists pick at a scab till it bleeds, while referring to a famine story he covered as a reporter. The compilation of stories, are based on real life incidents, but semi fictionalised.

He gave another example of the on ground reportage of Actor Salman Khan during the blackbuck shooting incident in Jodhpur. The cameraman at that point refused to cover the incident, because there were just a handful of people at the location. The locals reacted by tearing posters of Salman Khan, and blocking the main road. This created a huge crowd leading to inconvenience for the local people. Gaur, said, this is what he did as a reporter to create a headline. He recounted the time when a commercial sex worker, Alisha, told him that “You are a bigger dhandebaaz than us”.

These stories are a part of his book Chautha Dhandha which speaks about journalism considered the fourth pillar of democracy, is now being run as a business.  He agreed that the news does not sell without a catchy headline and hence it’s become a mandatory practice. Mr. Gaur also mentioned that the worse a story is, better it sells.

Desk: Vaidehi Gangan (copy edit), Jyoti Mamnani (editorial coordination)

This report was filed during Live Newsroom workshop conducted by Institute of Integrated Digital Journalism and Mass Communication (IIDJM) at Talk Journalism 2018.