MEDIA'S CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

Media considers itself to be the watchdog of public interest. No issues. The role is legitimate. But, the issue is does it exclude itself? Does it mean that the watchdog cannot look within and has capacity and tenacity only to look around at the cost of ignoring the thief inside? The transparency that the media talks about is only for the government, corporate world and bureaucracy and not for itself, it seems.

“Conspiracy of silence” is the word that we often hear in the television talk shows and read in newspaper articles pointing to the inaction and indifference of the establishment in pursuing the corruption to its logical end in the recently unearthed scams like CWG swindling or the 2G spectrum scam with its historical notoriety. What about media’s “conspiracy of silence” on the Neera Radia’s tapes involving celebrity journalists, lobbyists, corporate honchos, and bureaucrats.

For the uninitiated, because there is a deliberate black-out in the mainstream media, Neera Radia is a celebrity lobbyist working for the top two industrial firms in the country and the comfort zone she has with a number of media stars, politicians and bureaucrats, as revealed in her telephonic conversation with them, is mind boggling.

The role Radia played in collusion with top mediamen and celebrity anchors in getting the Telecom portfolio for the DMK’s Andimuthu Raja in May 2009, has exposed the underbelly of these “watchdogs” of public interest and bringing out their real image as “lap dogs”. The conversations between Radia and the media stars were recorded by the Income Tax department when it was keeping a tab on the foreign exchange violations. So far, the authenticity of the tapes has not been questioned and they are also part of the material placed before the apex court.

Frankly speaking, you may ask what is new in this. Journos have been doing this for decades. Have we not heard about mediamen (mis)using their access to policy makers in the establishment for getting transfers/promotions for a price. I am sure, some of them must be lobbying for the politicians right now for a berth in the Kiran Kumar Reddy’s cabinet.
I also know of a senior journalist who is no more, who was a double agent. He was passing on info to the late Nizam and also to the Custodian K M Munshi at the time of Police Action. In a way he was impartial!! If I may use the Hyderabadi expression, some of the journos are “Pairavikars” and the appointment letter for them from the establishment or the I-card is only a password for accessing the right source for “Pairavi”. In many cases, they would only ask for letter/I card without any insistence on monetary benefits because they are made up elsewhere.

To be fair to them, they are at the very junior level and they don’t preach journalistic morality or ethics to others. They can always be pulled up or removed if the management is serious about morality.

When I talk about the managements, how can I ignore the role they played in the “Paid News” scam. Some of these managements themselves were guilty of selling their news space for a price. The entire issue was put under wraps by the very same people who were giving sermons on journalistic ethics and were donning the role of king-makers. What is more shocking and horrendous is that the Press Council of India, which is to ensure a healthy media, colluded with these media houses to whitewash the entire issue of “Paid News”. The Election Commission made some feeble attempt and nothing came out of it.

Therefore, what makes the Radia tapes something very disturbing is that the “fixers” were not lesser mortals in the profession, but people who were considered to be “icons” and most respected for their versatility and journalistic excellence on the screen or in the news columns. They are expected to set an example for the juniors in the profession and when they are found without clothes, there is alround shock and distress. What is worse is that they are defending their intimate acquaintance with the lobbyist as something part of their legitimate journalistic activity in gathering news.

The 2-G scam did not break out just yesterday. Details of the scam were known to these worthies even in 2008. When Radia was making frantic efforts to ensure that Raja got the same portfolio in 2009, did they ask a question as to why there was an attempt to push in Raja to the same slot and what was the interest of the lobbyist or her bosses. The answer would have led to a juicy news story and could have pre-empted the induction of Raja. On the contrary, they were only misusing their access to the powers-that-be for a job which had nothing to do with their profession. Is it the job of a journalist to ensure the composition of the cabinet and who gets what portfolio. Is it the legitimate function of the mediamen to act as advisers to politicians/lobbyists which many of them do even today? How ethical it is for the journos to act as “go-between” for political parties and politicians.

What is more shocking and disturbing is the cover-up. Have you noticed any independent television channel or mainstream newspaper exposing this shameful episode? Does the media have a moral leg to stand on to question the “conspiracy of silence” of the government or the Prime Minister in not taking effective and tangible action against the corrupt ministers and bureaucrats when the media itself is guilty of “conspiracy of silence”? Of course, you can’t expect the management of these channels and newspapers to crack the whip against those who violated journalistic ethics. They might use the very same journalists to lobby for their business interests. As far as I know, only an English daily from the South dropped the column of a top ranking journalist who was too willing to write what the lobbyist dictated and was ready to palm it off as his column which is the “must, must read” according to him.

We are talking about the “double standards” of political parties in fighting corruption. What about the double standards of the media? Who will expose them?