That one statement was enough to bring us down to a level several notches below where we thought we belonged. A group of Delhi-based journalists from national dailies, including me, had visited Tejaswi Yadav’s assembly constituency in Bihar in the run up to the elections. While sitting at a local office of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) somewhere near Hajipur town, we came across one of the most embarrassing comments of our lives.
“Inki khatir karo bhai. Waise to ye log usi ke favour mein likhenge jahan se jyada paisa milega (Keep them in good humour, guys. As it is, they will write in favour of those who pay them well),” an RJD worker told his colleagues while facing us.
Mainstream Media's Credibility at All-Time Low
We faced variations of such comments throughout our journey across seven districts in Bihar. That one statement said a lot about the kind of credibility we possess now. No wonder whatever we write or comment on mostly goes unnoticed. And we ourselves are to blame for the kind of depths we have fallen to.
What is worse, there is no introspection, no collective shaking up, and no urgency to change this chalta hai attitude.
What we are witnessing instead is more or less the same – the false pride in our capacity to make or break news, even if that means ignoring earth-shattering developments.
One such earth-shattering development is unfolding before us, all in recent days. A former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh committed suicide and left a 60-page note, alleging wrongdoings by the high and mighty.
Contents of the note were recently placed in the public domain. Such an explosive revelation would have created quite a stir in most democracies. None of that has happened here. Why? Only because of the collective silence of the so-called conscience keepers, the fourth estate monopolised by the mainstream media.
Is it arrogance, perceived fear of ruffling powerful feathers, or a complete disconnect from what is going on? I think it’s a combination of all three that is playing out in this case. And that is a big worry.
Stunning Indifference to the Most Explosive Disclosure
For someone who grew up in a village in north Bihar with an impression that certain institutions – the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister’s Office, to name a few – are sacrosanct, I am shattered beyond words while going through the contents of Kalikho Pul’s suicide note.
The question that comes to my mind is – can something like this be true? Is everything bhagwan bharose in our country? What about the institutions we have built all these years and taken pride in to strengthen our democracy? Are they as rotten as such disclosures reveal? I am sure such questions would have crossed the minds of my fellow journalists. And such a collective silence despite that?
Have doubts about the content, question its authenticity, be sceptical about allegations – all of us are entitled to have our positions. But how can such disclosures be ignored?
Buck up or Get Ready to Be Replaced
This only shows that existing guardians of mainstream media have forgotten the roles and responsibilities of the fourth estate. If that is the case, they need to go through certain pages of Italian social scientist Vilfredo Pareto’s books where he talks about the concept of ‘circulation of elites’.
He had argued that the moment the entrenched elite becomes insular (need I add, disconnected and arrogant), social stability becomes threatened. When does the entrenched elite become insular? The moment it is filled with people who are not capable enough to be there in the first place.
What we are witnessing is the insularity of the elite guarding mainstream media. If they continue to behave the way they have been doing, they run the risk of doing irreparable damage to the institution they are guarding.
And relegation followed by marginalisation is just around the corner. Recent events will only accelerate the process of marginalisation. Make no mistake, an able replacement in the form of vibrant digital media is getting ready to dislodge you from the pedestal you always claimed was yours.
For someone who grew up swearing by every word written by the veterans of so-called mainstream media (‘so-called’, in hindsight), I am filled with a sense of loss. More so because I was one of them (not a veteran by any stretch of the imagination) for close to two decades. I, however, can draw solace from the fact that I have moved on now.
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