Interactivity is one area in which print media lag behind. Letters to the Editor column was the only space given for the ordinary readers to comment. Language newspapers with just twelve or sixteen pages could not allow much space for letters and generally appreciations and congratulations for the great Editor were the rare letters that got printed. Criticism by readers was not encouraged.Why do readers criticise when the editor is there for it all!
Many newspapers are now realising that media is not a one way traffic lane. Editors and journalists on the podium cannot go on and on lecturing and advising the readers. Many readers are much more educated and informed than many journalists.But print media have serious limitations in this aspect. How much space can a newspaper allot for the reader’s feedback? Not much. How many people will spend five rupees to post a cover to the editor to offer an opinion or to correct a minor mistake in a report? I found that the number of people writing letters to editor have come down drastically in the last one- two decades.
But, Internet media is different. You need not wait to write and post a letter. You do it as you finish reading the news or article.I have been looking after my newspapers’ online edition for about five years and I have seen the difference. You throw a discussion on a controversial subject and you will see hundreds flashing their comments and opinions. Months back when Mr Shasi Tharoor resigned as central minister on the IPL controversy, we published 2500 comments!
Looking back, I have doubts about the usefulness of publishing so many comments. Who can read all the comments, except of course the letter writers. Most letters are rubbish. 2000 people supportingShasi , 500 people opposing him. If you edit and rewrite, as you do in a newspaper it will fit in a quarter page column and will be read by all. In the web, often an editor does not have to edit. We don’t even correct spelling mistakes in reader comments. Thousands of letters, thousands of citizen journalist reports and hundreds of thousands of blogs! And there are online discussion groups, facebook, twitter and what not. Who reads it all? It is about this that President Obama commented-
“ With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations–none of which I know how to work–information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation . . . With so many voices clamoring for attention on blogs, on cable, on talk radio, it can be difficult, at times, to sift through it all; to know what to believe; to figure out who’s telling the truth and who’s not . . . All of this is not only putting new pressures on you. It is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy . .”
He said it. We have to give space for readers but editors should never throw away the gatekeeper role. Editors have to be more answerable to readers. He should answer their queries and address their concerns. Not many do that. Two newspapers I know have regular columns that publish both, reader’s comments on mistakes that appear in the reports and also editor’s reaction to the comment. Reader editor column is the first of its kind in Indian journalism. A column in Mathrubhumi too has a good number of regular writers and readers. But both have the same sort of handicap. They deal with minor mistakes, most of them grammatical, and some factual. There are ever so many higher issues in day to day news coverage. Media fail in a few, flounder in some, misrepresent in lot, and mislead in many. What has the editor got to say in all these? Do you have a consistent policy on the use of language? Do you have an ethical code covering the many serious aspects of reporting? Did you report the truth about something which your institution had ‘other’ interests in?
Innumerable questions routinely come up, but no one answers. Interactivity is not just chatting, it is asking tough questions and getting genuine answers. Many predict that the end of mass media is imminent. I do not believe that.All these new developments are not significant enough to bring an end to the mass media. This is specially so for the print media in India and other developing countries. Circulation and advertisement revenue are rising in all parts of the world except of course in some countries of Europe and USA. There has not been a big shift to the online media also. But there is a definite trend away from the print media. But, print media is not just the black and white letters printed on paper. What is an E Paper? Is it electronic media or is it print media? People will in future be reading news in computers or instruments like Kindle or iPads and that will not in any way diminish the importance of the ‘paper’ as mass media or even as the fourth estate. It will be much more advantageous as it will help to overcome the four major handicaps of the printed paper – lack of enough space, lack of interaction, lack of the facility to update once the paper is printed and huge production costs (New media saves trees!)
Traditional newspaper will give way to the new media and its business model will be different. The traditional printed paper, the web media, constantly updated e paper, television and radio are all going to work together complementing one another and flourishing. Each one will concentrate in areas where it can fare the best. Media as a product must be made relevant to the consumer, useful to him in his daily life. And no media can rely on amateur volunteers.You can use their service, but this is a professional job where truth, objectivity and credibility are the deciding factors. Citizen journalism, user generated content and even the so called crowd sourcing can be helpful as ways to engage the end user.
