Role of Indian electronic media during terrorist attack in Mumbai

What mass media did during the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai clearly demonstrates how callous our media is in dealing such sensitive situations. There was a time when any national or international incident of importance was brought to the notice of public by newspapers or radio. Then came T.V. and with it came Doordarshan. There were elaborate reporting of the incidents in mainstream newspapers and also there were heavily loaded follow up of the story written by some eminent journalist. But this was not the case with Doordarshan as it was mainly controlled by the government. So at the end of the day what was presented to the mass was pure refined news.

With change in time news creation transformed into news production. With the proliferation of private news channels Doordarshan went into back foot. And India witnessed a new style in reporting with loads of glamour in it. T.V producers, presenters, reporters trained from BBC, CNN, Reuters, FOX News joined the private News channels of repute like NDTV, TIMES NOW, CNN IBN STAR NEWS etc. Thus started a war to present breaking news and exclusive stories to the audience as fast as it could be. The channel that churns out more such stories is hailed as the best in the race.

This race got fire during the recent terrorist attack in TAJ Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel and Nariman House in Mumbai. India is being repeatedly attacked by terrorists from neighboring nations is nothing new today but getting exclusive images of such encounter was what Indian media eagerly waiting for. T.V. footage of journalists kneeling down and reporting live from the encounter sites in TAJ Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel and Nariman House in Mumbai was clearly indicating how excited those journalists were. To many of them it was like reporting from the army bunker when enemy shell was repeatedly hurled from the other side.

The journalists were seen quizzing every people roaming around the terror sites for some bit of news which they can pass as exclusive. And the presenter seating at the air conditioned studio was busy in breaking such baseless news to public. Everything was in a mess, the reporting was not proper, figures were not correct and the fumbling was terribly annoying.

Most importantly the journalists were a menace for the security personnel who were bravely fighting the intruders. The journo brigade almost gheraoed the senior army officials and interrogated to pass them their strategy. This doesn’t only killed precious time during action but also presented the terrorists with the important information about the NSG commandoes plan of action.

Now when the mini war is over and battle is won successfully by the Indian army the same media is raising questions at the politicians, government and even the army. Why not they introspect at themselves? What have they done to educate the people either then presenting terror footage? What have they done constructively to create a mass upheaval against terror and national politicians?

Kolkata is unfavourable for studying mass communication

For aspiring journalists who dream of working in reputed newspaper houses and T.V channels or for copywriters/media planers/visualisers in big advertising agencies getting admission in a good media school or college is a first step to success. Apart from the newspaper houses and T.V channels there are also public relation agencies and event management companies that are part of the large media industry. With the healthy rise in Indian economy supported by the growing awareness about media among the mass of the society there has been a substantial rise in the media industry particularly in the news sector all across India.

Leaving aside rest of India if just Kolkata is considered as a case study then it will be fascinating to see at the number of regional 24 hours news channel, newspaper (monthly, fortnightly, weekly) that has entered the media market in the past 4 years. This rapid development has simultaneously increased the demand for educated and skilled professionals in the field. The skilled professionals mainly come from the media schools and colleges such as Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, St. Xavier’s College, Bhavan's Asutosh College of Communication and Management, Netaji Subhas University and several others based in Kolkata.

The glitz and glamour of media is so alluring that every year huge number of students try to get admission into the reputed colleges of Kolkata that offer M.A. or P.G. Diploma in Mass Communication and Journalism to add a new dimension to their career. But very few students do a basic reality check of these institutions before taking admission. After the end of higher secondary or ISC exam most of the students are mainly focussed on getting admission into a reputed college to add value in their resume in future.

In such mad rush the students actually overlook that mass communication is not that usual kind of subject that can be acquired just by taking notes inside a class. There is an immense need for practical classes in order to grasp the subject as well the market properly. But very few mass communication institutions in Kolkata leaving aside only St. Xavier’s College have the practice of practical classes that is essential to this subject. A student who has not done field work or internship while studying mass comm. is not practically fit for the industry that what is believed by the experts in the industry.

The P.G. Diploma in mass communication course in Jadavpur University is an instance that attracts nearly 3,000 applications every year out of which only 145 get through after admission test and a viva. Recognitions such as 'University with Potential for Excellence' by University Grants Commission (UGC), 'Five Star' status by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), First Indian University to earn SYLFF (Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund) status from the Nippon Foundation, Japan are the only reasons behind the rush among the studenst to get into J.U. mass comm. department.

Students realise the futility of the course when classes commence after puja vacation (november). There are only two to three full time professors and the rest are media professionals acting as guest lecturer. Most of the guest lecturers during the course remain busy with their respective job so they don’t find enough time and urge to visit the classes in J.U. As a result most of the time the classes are declared free. Rest of the time the classes mainly concentrate on theory and notes. Before the exam the same professors provide the students with pre-drafted notes that the students distribute among themselves and fetch the pass mark. Some students who do a little library work manage to get a first class. Very few media companies come for campus recruitment. Even the officials in the department are reluctant to invite potential recruiters. Compared to all these the department has kept the course fee to 15,000 at par with the course fee of P.G. Diploma in mass communication of Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

So students do some reality check before you want to study mass communication in Kolkata. Best of Luck...