A pragmatic democracy and Media
Thoudam Imomacha Singh *
Manipur Journalists take out Rally against threat to Media persons in Jan 2012 :: Pix - Bullu Raj
Almost all the newspapers published across the world rely on major News Agencies which are based at Western Capitals like London, Paris, Washington D.C. and Moscow etc.etc. Over and above, these leading Newspapers have their own correspondents at these World Capitals and they also depute foreign correspondents anywhere, anytime, whenever a newsworthy situation had broken out.
Here, something very important is that News Agencies are also responsible for domestic and international news for Newspapers which are not suitably resourceful. Even, top Newspapers which are spreading their own correspondents across the globe use to supplement the news provided by their own correspondents with their source from the News Agencies. In this respect something not very common is that News Agencies are owned by the state as it happens in China and Russia in some cases and in India, Great Britain and the United States, News Agencies are owned by Newspapers themselves.
In this respect, four most potential International News Agencies are : I Reuter's Agency, II Agence France Presse (AFP), III Associated Press (AP) and IV United Press International (UPI). They are identified with the terminology: "Town Criers", doing the job of collecting and distributing news all over the world. These four top News Agencies are responsible for 80% of the most up-to-date world news being circulated all over the world everyday. The services rendered by these News Agencies are indispensable for contemporary Newspapers, whether it be the biggest or the smallest.
The background of these News Agencies are always inspiring and emulating. Reuter's Agency was established by Paul Julius Reuter. He was a German by birth. He began his work in a small room in Paris and his wife single-handedly assisted him in the professional job. He came to London in 1850 and in a decade he had positioned himself as the chief supplier of foreign news in almost every newspaper or periodical in Great Britain and to continental publications.
Likewise, the AFP was started in the late 19th century and it was subsidized by the Government of France. In the meanwhile, the Associated Press was also started at the same time and its ownership belonged to the Newspapers of the United States. The Associated Press is rivaled by Reuter's Agency in its activities. The United Press International was originally known as the United Press, before International News merged with it and thus, it became UPI.
According to UNESCO reports the four News Agencies use to distribute the highest number of reportage daily on a global scale. The crux of the matter is that the said four News Agencies had proved to be considerably more acceptable than any other International News Agencies that had newly emerged in terms of sources of international news.
According to a commentator: "As worldwide services the agencies naturally concentrate on events of global importance. It is unrealistic to expect the big four to do other than to order their priorities in direct relation to the balance of the world as they and most of their clients see it."
Now, let us draw our attention towards the plight of our Newspaper Editors, Sub-Editors and the correspondents and the reporters who are dedicatedly working for numerous local dailies published in Vernacular and English in Manipur. Those journalists working in the print media sector. Whether at the media headquarters or at the spot of events, they do their job all the time in the style of one man-army.
The reporters or the correspondents face a lot of problems as they come out from their News Headquarters in terms of conveyance and entry to the spot of event, in case VVIPs are involved. Despite such professional hindrances, that they are facing off and on, in carrying out their duty, these daring professionals in the media are always underpaid.
This state of affairs is painful as well as laughable. Because, the state government has yet to do more than what it has already done so far, for the media in general and the print media in particular.
In a democracy, the media/the press is often called the 4th Estate just after the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. It is quite conspicuous that unless the position of the media is strengthened and adequately respected, democracy cannot be fruitful and enlightened.
Now, the basic truth is that in a state like Manipur which is comperatively small in area and also economically backward, in the whole of India, the state government must always see that our Media can breath freely.
It is, therefore to suggest that all the media personnel in the state must be accredited to by the state Government directly at the Secretariat level. They are to be accredited to by an officer at least, of the rank of a Principal Secretary or a Commissioner to the state government so that they find it easier to go into their source of news.
A society with an alert Media is always a paradigm of a sound and pragmatic "Democracy"
* Thoudam Imomacha Singh wrote this article for Hueiyen Lanpao
The writer is a former broadcaster in AIR Imphal. He can now be reached at imomachasingh(aT)gmail(doT)com
This article was posted on May 29, 2015.
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