All about perception: Why a section of the Assam media may seem to be losing out on public’s trust

Assam, with a population in excess of 30 million today, supports nearly 30 morning daily newspapers in different languages along with a large number of Assamese periodicals and magazines. Guwahati alone hosts at least eight satellite news channels (most are in ‘free to air’ category) with hundreds of news portals

By Nava Thakuria

GUWAHATI: Reactions from the public (read sensitive readers) against a news item published in a newspaper or broadcast on a news channel are not unusual in our country. However, outrage against the mainstream media outlets on digital platforms for not covering a particular issue is definitely not a usual state of affair.

Assam witnessed such a public fury against some of the editor-journalists in Guwahati for allegedly avoiding press conferences held by opposition parties, where they targeted the State chief minister for his family’s alleged land grab.

The (organised/manufactured) public uproar in the alternative media was so intense the concerned celebrity editor-journalists could not even dare to clarify their positions. They rather preferred avoiding the debates until it all died with the passage of time. Amazingly, no media outfit, reader-viewer or civil society group came forward to defend these glamourous editor-journalists at a time when they faced the most abusive social media posts for many a day.

For record, Assam, with a population in excess of 30 million today, supports nearly 30 morning daily newspapers in different languages along with a large number of Assamese periodicals and magazines. Guwahati alone hosts at least eight satellite news channels (most are in ‘free to air’ category) with hundreds of news portals. Their cumulative quality readership (including viewership) may reach 3.5 million, but the number of social media users in the State should cross 4.5 million.

The controversy started with a breaking (and elaborate) news, presented by The Wire and The Crosscurrent in the first week of December 2021, where both digital media outlets alleged a land (grabbing) scam by the family of the state’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The content indicated that a real estate company, founded by the saffron leader’s wife, allegedly illegally occupied around 18 acres of government land (meant for landless farmers).

Based on the specific media contents, three political parties namely the Congress, Asom Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dol organised three separate press conferences demanding proper investigations into the alleged land scam by Sarma’s family. For reasons best known to the editor-journalists of Guwahati-based newspapers and news channels, nobody covered these press meets and, allegedly, simply tried to kill the news.

When editors were named and shamed

The issue could have died down a natural death after some time but for a sudden outburst of anti-mainstream media posts that surfaced on digital platforms in the morning hours of 9th December 2021. For almost three days since then, most of the editors were named and shamed on social media for their alleged silence over the CM’s family’s land issue. Logos of newspapers and news channel along with photographs of some celebrity-journalists were clubbed together and made viral on social media with abusive words.

By then the State legislative assembly’s winter session commenced (on 20 December 2021) and, as usual, the first day’s proceedings were interrupted by opposition party legislators over the particular issue. They wanted the assembly to discuss it but Speaker Biswajit Daimary did not allow it. Later, the opposition MLAs staged a walkout in protest. Shockingly, the development was not prominently published in most of the Guwahati-based newspapers and was ignored by news channels too.

All the opposition political leaders demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the alleged land grab by the CM’s family. They claimed that Sarma had for his personal interest handed over 18 acres of government land worth crores of rupees to his family members without following any rule. Assam Congress president Bhupen Bora even dared Sarma to clarify his stand on the issue urgently.

In the eye of the storm

The oldest political party also organised a press conference in New Delhi over the issue, where senior Congress leaders namely Gaurav Vallabh, Jitendra Singh, Ripun Bora and Gaurav Gogoi alleged that Sarma set aside all rules to offer government lands to his family. This time, the issue got national coverage by most of the metro-based morning dailies. At least two news agencies covered the event.

Congress leaders (Bora and Gogoi from Assam) demanded that all “unlawful land transfers” to the concerned group be cancelled and alternative land be offered to the deprived landless families. Sarma, who has not clarified his stand over the issue yet, only alleged that the concerned digital media outlets are “Left-aligned” (read anti-Bhartiya Janata Party).

Reluctance to cover such issues by a majority of city-based mainstream media outlets can be understood from their dependence on government advertisement revenues for survival. They have lately been facing serious financial crisis since the Covid-19 hit the state. The pandemic resulted in abrupt loss of circulation for newspapers and also commercial advertisement revenues. Similarly, news channels too lost their quality viewership drastically.

As a matter of fact, most newspaper managements today cannot go against government policy even though it’s their duty to serve public interest. Slowly and steadily, they have been losing their credibility and have silently turned out to be unofficial organs of the ruling party and the government. Unfortunately, they are not even confident of getting adequate support, in need, from their valued readers across Assam.

Personal corruption of some well-known editors added complications to the situation, where public goodwill towards the media fraternity has eroded.

A senior Assamese journalist, who has been in the profession for more than three decades, recently shared a sensational social media post claiming that at least seven editors of Guwahati-based news channels possess more wealth than actually they could earn legally from their jobs.

Speaking to this writer about the post, Dipankar Devsarmah lamented that “because of some greedy editor-media owners, the media industry has lost its credibility, whatever left, in the recent past”. Talking about naming the editors in the post, Devsarmah asserted that while it may be unpleasant for many, it’s true. He even made a declaration in the post that all details about these editors’ properties and luxury vehicles are with him and that he would make those public if needed.

Now the question that arises is, why would the readers believe in these media outlets, when most of them run their media business enterprises solely for selfish interest? These media outlets have made it a habit to create news out of nothing even though they may endorse the practice of character assassinations against many individuals.

[Also read by the same author: Afghanistan, Mexico and Pakistan emerge as ‘dangerous countries for journalists in 2021’ – THE NEWS PORTER]

Shockingly, when the affected individuals try to clarify their position, these editor-owners normally ignore it, as if the media fraternity can never be trusted to be accountable.

Motivated news seems to be synonymous with many a Assam media outlet. The readers-viewers could remember that a dramatic news item was circulated by Guwahati-based newspapers and news channels in March 2020 narrating a fake story about an outgoing secretary of a journalists’ club burning some documents.

Amazingly, the concerned secretary was present on the occasion when the so-called burning took place, but no reporter had asked him for reactions. Understandably, they realised it was a fabricated item. The readers-viewers also seemingly did not believe in the content. Hence, even after it was published by most of the newspapers and news channels, the concerned secretary faced not a single question when he roamed around a crowded city market next morning. His relatives, friends and well-wishers remained indifferent to it.

So, the issue died a natural death. Nonetheless, the media outlets tried their best to defame him. If a seasoned journalist can be targeted by the media in such a way, would they spare an ordinary citizen? This is a question that resonates loud and clear.

• (Main Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay has been used for illustrative purpose only)

Nava Thakuria is a senior journalist based in northeast India. His news-features are published in various media outlets in different parts of the globe. His primary focus areas are socio-political, cultural and environmental developments taking place in eastern India along with Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The views are his own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same.