the problem of ethics in bhutanese media
The most palpable change in the media industry in Bhutan is that it continues to expand, at an unimaginable speed. From one national newspaper less than a decade ago, today there is a flood of weeklies and biweeklies – many Bhutanese don’t even know them by name or they just don’t care – all competing for information that will sell and advertisement that will rake in the moolah.
A thin line divides business and journalism. And often the line blurs, and the two mixes up, pretty well into each other. At times, media sounds more of business and less of journalism. Look at the dwindling number of news pages, stories, circulation figures, and number of reporters in the newsroom against advertisement pages.
This is a natural outcome – a survival strategy – in the face of adversity. And this lends quite an opportunistic image to the media that is struggling to meet its own ends. In a situation where choices are few and far between, unfortunately, journalism has become the sacrificial lamb. Like it or not, this is the truth of the matter, for now at least.
Perhaps, this should be treated as food for thought by policymakers and the media regulator to get some serious cleaning up done. For one, if media is bringing up the children more than the parents, we can’t afford to have cheap, sensational media doing that.
There are times when some stories are dropped casually just because it makes no business sense to infuriate the advertiser. Already there is so much cutthroat competition going around, no way one could lose a reliable client, right? Or how about writing a colorful promotional piece on so-and-so organization, with a promise that advertisement will come flowing next time. It’s not exactly paid news but we are almost there. Agenda setting!
Ethics, seriously, who is thinking about it?
And there are endless case-in-points of bias reporting, manipulative editing, wrongful projections et al – sensational media catering to the wants of the lowest denomination.
Certain problems of ethics in our ‘fledgling’ media industry have to do genuinely with professional naivete. What can you expect out of a young group of editors – averaging seven years in the job – with a flock of untrained reporters?
The consequences are, as popular criticisms go: bad reporting, poor (awful) language. No analysis. No substance. No depth. Factual errors. No objectivity. No sense of balance. Evidence of political leanings – left, right, and center. You name it.
Another probable reason is that Bhutanese media, mostly privately owned, are caught amid a raging financial storm. It is a swim-or-sink situation. And in such events, compromise can be made easily.
Training for reporters takes a back seat. Sustenance gains priority. Where media houses are financially comfortable, there are more trained journalists – more professional, and ethical. Simple theory.
Some senior journalists and media experts who abandoned their calling for greener pastures now condescendingly berate, complain and mourn how Bhutanese media is suffering from myopia, deficiency of moral and ethical fibre, and lack of journalism?
It has become commercial entities, profit driven. Journalism is not supposed to be a business; it is a calling. The rant echoes, loud and far, into every forum, seminar and workshop.
The ground reality is different. Idealism isn’t much part of the job. Yet there is a silver lining. There are honest souls pursuing a career as journalist because they believe in the fundamental principles and values of journalism.
And one thing is for sure, this generation of journalists, if they are not disillusioned or fatigued, and if they stick on, will surely grow up, in the next decade or so, into mature professionals. It is a matter of time.
There are journalists who go out to do stories that make a difference. Public interest journalism, that is. Media has, in more ways than one, opened up a tight-lipped society that takes undue pleasure at haranguing people as the anonymous other in Internet forums. There are bold stories on corruption and a gamut of political issues, like never before.
Young and inexperienced they may be but it befalls on editors to groom their reporters, give them a sense of direction and inspire them to take up journalism as a cause and not just a source of bread and butter. So long stories are accurate, balanced, impartial, objective, and truthful – there is no reason to worry or whine.
What differentiates good journalism from bad is its ethics.
Business Bhutan Editorial