The Hindu Business Line : <I>Media as `feral beast' </I>

Politicians normally love to tango, not tangle, with the media. They go all out to court it, and even `manage' or manipulate it by employing every trick of their trade in order to grab as much attention as possible. Getting the much coveted build-up in words and pictures of several column inches and becoming the media's darling means thriving in politics, leaving the rivals far behind.

The great impact made on the general mass of people and fellow-politicians by what is put out in and by the media is such as to make or mar the standing of any person in public life, and politicians, fighting for sheer survival, are particularly sensitive to references in the media.

Whenever I, as a senior official in government, found my proposals had got stuck with my Minister, all that I needed to do to give them a flying start was to have them floated in the media in a favourable light, without attribution of course!

Far be it from politicians, therefore, to subject media to a venomous attack, with no holds barred and pulling all stops and no punches. Certainly, nobody expects a politician hoping to be in the public eye for many years to come to ever fall on the media like a tonne of bricks and get mauled in return.

The only politician in living memory who deliberately dared the media to do its damnedest was V. K. Krishna Menon. In fact, in a perverse way, he seemed to enjoy his barbed bouts with it. The media too showed no compunction in calling him names, the most often preferred being `saturnine', `malevolent', `vicious' and `mean'.

The animosity he thus invited on himself took its traumatic toll when he was swept off the political scene by an avalanche of public condemnation of his supposed dereliction leading to the Chinese invasion in 1962.

Politicians in Western democracies use velvet gloves, even when they get into a foul mood and feel like taking on the media. It is surprising that Mr Tony Blair, of all persons, should foul up his last days as the outgoing Prime Minister of Britain, by hitting out at the media with vitriolic abandon.

Overblown phraseology

He has accused the media of threatening politicians' ``capacity to take the right decisions in the right spirit for the country's future'' and talked of the need to repair its `damaged' relationship with them. "The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief, it undermines its assessment of itself, its institutions..."

In his view, the news media, driven by increasing competition and pressure from fast-changing technology, has largely abandoned impartial reporting in favour of sensation, shock and controversy, which demoralised public servants and badly served the public.

In its desperate bid to make an impact, Mr Blair says, it goes overboard with overblown phraseology "that makes you angry or shocked. ... A problem is `a crisis'. A setback is a policy `in tatters'. A criticism, `a savage attack'."

Roundly declaring that "Trust in journalists is not much above that in politicians," Mr Blair administers the coup de grace: "In these modes it is like a feral (ferocious, fierce) beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits"!

Mr Blair's feral sallies have naturally provoked rejoinders from the journalistic fraternity. Instead of taking the self-defensive route, the media would do well to look within and take steps to pare the ugly outgrowths in its functioning which have driven a seasoned politician like Mr Blair to have a go at it in this fashion.

(Finally, a question of usage: Is (or are) media singular or plural? I have always felt uncomfortable using it as singular, but that is what everybody is doing.)

B. S. RAGHAVAN

More Stories on : Newspapers & Publishing | Politics | Offhand

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
People's alternatives

A new development matrix for Kerala

Developing country paradigm to regulation

Media as `feral beast'

It's hard to put a pattern on entrepreneurs' profiles

The philosophy and mechanics of rural banking

BSNL's cable network