Thursday 21 August 2008
Terror Reporting
Saturday strike of terror in Ahmedabad and Surat is completing a fortnight this Saturday. There is no clue to the tragedy that left 50 plus persons dead in Ahmedabad and scores injured. Police and media both are full of speculative stories that are doing only one thing. Both are creating terror. Police is picking people on the assumption that such a massive operation must have local support. Like the in the case of investigation of a burglary, police is detaining people suspected of involvement of communal violence in the past and gives the impression of getting some kind of lead. Media reports this event as if persons picked up are the culprit!Yesterday, police released sketch of suspects involved in the blasts. Those who know the basics of crime investigation know very well how reliable or unreliable these sketches can be. Today all newspapers released sketches. Headline of one newspaper can summarise the situation. It says these are the people who destructed your city. It is an established fact that Gujarat police has not caught any terrorist on the basis of sketch.A lot is happening on different fronts. But if we take the simplest thing- the death toll, there is no correct figure about this. Figures range from 50 to 55. Can't we have even this little information correct. If any reporter had tried to find the right figure, he would have got a scoop. Yes. There is a discrepancy in the initial figure of death toll and the number of post mortems. The day government spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas had given the figure of 51, the death toll according to PMs was only 46. No dead body waiting for PM.This shows our contempt for facts. I would say noun. In the absence of right homework, we depend on adjectives and adverbs and all fancy words. The result is obvious. We create terror in the mind space (this hi sounding word simply means mind!) of the reader or viewer. The result is evident. Both, administration and media is suffering from serious credibility crisis. The solution is simple. Be honest to ourselves.
Terror Reporting
Saturday strike of terror in Ahmedabad and Surat is completing a fortnight this Saturday. There is no clue to the tragedy that left 50 plus persons dead in Ahmedabad and scores injured. Police and media both are full of speculative stories that are doing only one thing. Both are creating terror. Police is picking people on the assumption that such a massive operation must have local support. Like the in the case of investigation of a burglary, police is detaining people suspected of involvement of communal violence in the past and gives the impression of getting some kind of lead. Media reports this event as if persons picked up are the culprit!Yesterday, police released sketch of suspects involved in the blasts. Those who know the basics of crime investigation know very well how reliable or unreliable these sketches can be. Today all newspapers released sketches. Headline of one newspaper can summarise the situation. It says these are the people who destructed your city. It is an established fact that Gujarat police has not caught any terrorist on the basis of sketch.A lot is happening on different fronts. But if we take the simplest thing- the death toll, there is no correct figure about this. Figures range from 50 to 55. Can't we have even this little information correct. If any reporter had tried to find the right figure, he would have got a scoop. Yes. There is a discrepancy in the initial figure of death toll and the number of post mortems. The day government spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas had given the figure of 51, the death toll according to PMs was only 46. No dead body waiting for PM.This shows our contempt for facts. I would say noun. In the absence of right homework, we depend on adjectives and adverbs and all fancy words. The result is obvious. We create terror in the mind space (this hi sounding word simply means mind!) of the reader or viewer. The result is evident. Both, administration and media is suffering from serious credibility crisis. The solution is simple. Be honest to ourselves.
Friday 25 April 2008
Off beat track pays off to Gujarat journalist
Dilip Patel is among senior journalists covering secretariat for the last 13 years. But much of his writing is the reflection of his nose for the off beat. And it has paid him off well.
He wrote some articles about Gandhi. It was much before film Munnabhai revived interest of people in Gandhi and his ideology. This attracted the attention of a NGO promoting Gandhi and Dilip won a 22 day tour to South Africa in 2004.
He saw different places associated with Gandhi in South Africa and also participated in a 300 km long walk through Gandhian places. He and one other journalist were selected from media in this international tour.
Certainly, it is a great achievement from personal and professional point of view. For quite sometime Dilip is planning to write a book about his journey. But as usual pressing assignments are delaying his diary of South Africa. At a personal level, he witnessed the glory of an era that was Gandhi.
His writings about forest and environment and archaeological places attract reader's attention at the first sight. Many of his stories are picked up by the national media. He says political beat is his duty and off beat writing is his passion. During quarter century of his career he has worked with number of
Gujarat newspapers.
Dilip is a person who follows his convictions and conscience, something becoming rare in the journalism. At times, he is sticking to his views to give a feel of obstinate rigidity to others. He minces no words while expressing his dissent. His one liner dissents convey him well with the punch of brevity.
But if you know him, he is quite sensitive. One of his favorite pastimes is to produce Ayurvedic preparations to be distributed to friends. He has tested prescriptions for hair oil, tooth powder and chyawanprash. He himself prepares it and gives it to friends on no profit basis. Labour is free as love labour. He says that his preparations were becoming popular but time was a big constraint!!
This aspect of his personality has an interesting story. He was searching for some kind of preparation to be used as a stress buster. Something every journalist wishes. He tried many and found a hair oil preparation as the best. Since then, he is using it and preparing it for friends.
One day one of his relative wanted a video cassette of a swamiji about Pranayaam. He played the CD in his computer to test whether it is working or not. He was attracted by the Pranayaam techniques. This turned him towards Yoga and Pranayaam.
Recently, when Ahmedabad chapter of the Public Relations Society of India decided to introduce Journalist of the Year Award, Dilip attracted the jury for his convictions and off beat track. He was presented the first PRSI Journalist of the Year Award on Monday.
Dilip Patel is basically from Gujarati journalism. He is presently a senior staff of Ahmedabad Mirror of midloid clan of Times Group.
He wrote some articles about Gandhi. It was much before film Munnabhai revived interest of people in Gandhi and his ideology. This attracted the attention of a NGO promoting Gandhi and Dilip won a 22 day tour to South Africa in 2004.
He saw different places associated with Gandhi in South Africa and also participated in a 300 km long walk through Gandhian places. He and one other journalist were selected from media in this international tour.
Certainly, it is a great achievement from personal and professional point of view. For quite sometime Dilip is planning to write a book about his journey. But as usual pressing assignments are delaying his diary of South Africa. At a personal level, he witnessed the glory of an era that was Gandhi.
His writings about forest and environment and archaeological places attract reader's attention at the first sight. Many of his stories are picked up by the national media. He says political beat is his duty and off beat writing is his passion. During quarter century of his career he has worked with number of
Gujarat newspapers.
Dilip is a person who follows his convictions and conscience, something becoming rare in the journalism. At times, he is sticking to his views to give a feel of obstinate rigidity to others. He minces no words while expressing his dissent. His one liner dissents convey him well with the punch of brevity.
But if you know him, he is quite sensitive. One of his favorite pastimes is to produce Ayurvedic preparations to be distributed to friends. He has tested prescriptions for hair oil, tooth powder and chyawanprash. He himself prepares it and gives it to friends on no profit basis. Labour is free as love labour. He says that his preparations were becoming popular but time was a big constraint!!
This aspect of his personality has an interesting story. He was searching for some kind of preparation to be used as a stress buster. Something every journalist wishes. He tried many and found a hair oil preparation as the best. Since then, he is using it and preparing it for friends.
One day one of his relative wanted a video cassette of a swamiji about Pranayaam. He played the CD in his computer to test whether it is working or not. He was attracted by the Pranayaam techniques. This turned him towards Yoga and Pranayaam.
Recently, when Ahmedabad chapter of the Public Relations Society of India decided to introduce Journalist of the Year Award, Dilip attracted the jury for his convictions and off beat track. He was presented the first PRSI Journalist of the Year Award on Monday.
Dilip Patel is basically from Gujarati journalism. He is presently a senior staff of Ahmedabad Mirror of midloid clan of Times Group.
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