A Lookback at the Indian Media’s Response
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly taken a toll on everybody, exposing the fragilities in our stagnant system. It has crippled economies, crashed the markets, and ruined businesses.
With so much going on around the world, people needed a medium to know what was going on in not just their regions, but that across the world. And that’s where the media stepped in, playing a crucial role. Whether it was disseminating information to the general public or keeping the government in check, the media continues playing a critical role, supplementing the efforts to revert to normalcy.
News media is an important institution in a healthy democracy. It is instrumental in conveying information to the people, drawing the government’s attention to issues of concern, and providing a platform for advocacy and criticism of policies of the government in power.
In the context of a pandemic, the media’s role becomes even more significant — it can be a vital source to identify early outbreaks, and inform the public about the current situation and non-pharmaceutical interventions like maintaining physical distance, personal hygiene, wearing a mask, etc. to contain the spread of the disease and limit its impact. This was further emphasized in radios, TV specials, and advertisements, even reaching segments of the society grappling with poor literacy.
The media’s role as a watchdog compounded with voicing concerns of the most vulnerable sections of society has tremendously impacted our collective responsibility towards one of the most arduous battles we have faced together as a nation.
Impact on Media
On 30th January, 2020, India’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus infection was reported in Kerala, which was soon followed by a dramatic spike in interest in covering an imminent pandemic from various angles.
The COVID-19 pandemic was given unprecedented predominance, dominating front pages of newspapers and primetime debates; thus, pushing political debates to the backburner, and rightly so. Interpreting developments in the medical field and covering the pandemic seemed to become every journalist’s priority, often risking their own lives in their journalistic endeavours by reporting directly from hotspots. The crisis was a fierce reminder of the need for credible and spirited public health journalism.
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, newspaper supply considerably declined due to the rumors surrounding the transmission of COVID-19 through newspapers and attributed to the supply chain that came to a grinding halt.
A survey conducted during the pandemic found that readers who spent over an hour reading newspapers before lockdown declined by 22% due to fear of transmission of the virus through newspapers, and most readers shifted from print media to digital media. This shift to digital media has become reflective of India’s growing digital penetration and enabled journalists to report directly from various tiny hamlets and towns, which couldn’t be achieved by print media, constrained by the number of pages.
One of the biggest advantages of this was the increased reach. Almost everybody has access to the internet which means increased connectivity. People, especially in the rural areas, were in desperate need of education and sensitization about the pandemic and the disease itself — they could not be allowed to dismiss this as the regular flu or fever. Since it would not be logistically possible to cover a lot of ground on foot to go there and convey this information, the news media stepped up to the task, ensuring the quick and relevant transmission of news. Thus, the news media became a key element in shaping public perception and ensuring the availability of basic information about the pandemic, news about lockdowns, restrictions, etc., reaching them in vernacular languages.
The media also took on an onerous responsibility, speaking truth to power. Long lines of migrants walking for thousands of miles and deaths due to the lack of oxygen and available hospital beds dominated primetime coverage, with the media repeatedly hauling up the government for its apathy and under-preparedness [1].
The media ought to be appreciated for broadcasting the truth and articulating the gaping lapses in our response to the pandemic.
Adaptation to the Pandemic
India, with a huge population of about 1.3 billion, has a high number of active users on various social media platforms, and at present, it is the most powerful media in the country. This social media presence enabled quick dissemination of information essential to keep the disease at bay, and also minimized vaccine hesitancy; thus, democratizing the media.
It is as much the media’s responsibility as it is that of the individuals’ to neither mislead nor misinform the public with incorrect or unverified information, especially that with the potential to exacerbate a struggling response to the pandemic. However, various news channels were caught doing the same during the pandemic, in stark contradiction to their journalistic ethics. Thus, independent fact-checking outlets came to the fore, quickly debunking and calling out these shoddy works of journalism, thereby watching the watchdogs. Their contribution in ensuring that the public was neither misled nor misinformed remains vastly unappreciated.
As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, the country’s largest-selling newspaper, the Hindi-language Dainik Bhaskar, put out its paper with the front page as a night-time shot of a crematorium in the city of Bhopal, dotted with the ghoulish orange glow of pyres [2]. The banner headline declared, “The government’s data are fake, the pyres tell the truth.” On that day, Bhopal had officially reported four COVID-19 deaths; however, the paper found that three crematoriums in the city had conducted the funerals of 112 COVID-19 victims.
Newspapers, television channels, and online media called out similar under-reporting in other parts of the country. The governments in various parts of the country had underlying motives in not revealing the actual count but were eventually coerced into telling the truth and being held accountable for the same due to the media’s efforts. Thus, this was yet another way the media ensured that the people got what they deserved, the truth.
Unfortunately, a poor understanding of science and medicine among journalists contributed to public confusion during the pandemic. The lack of dedicated health journalists became apparent, with the reporters and anchors often being unable to report comprehensively on these issues. Reporting on public health requires a set of skills that differ from those that journalists profess in other domains. It requires a basic familiarity with research, science, and clinical medicine and the ability to convincingly report on policy decisions in consonance with set medical standards. Yet, there is barely any training that news organizations or journalism programs in the country provide for health reporters [3].
Conclusion
In conclusion, the media is not only a powerful tool to provide information to the general public and thereby help offset frenzy and panic, but it also is a tool in introducing motivated angles and spreading misinformation. Hence, as vital as the transparency and independence of the media is needed, the onus lies squarely on the media houses to fact check their reports, and remain neutral and ethical. We owe much to the media and the journalists in their diligent efforts, risking their own lives to get the complete story and report on the ground from red zones as well.
The pandemic and our response to it would have been different, in a negative way, if the media ceased to operate. And as we now brace for the third wave, the Indian media still stands as a totem for disseminating information from around the globe in the most reliable way possible.
Article by:
Ashutosh Rao
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