JOURNALISM AND ETHICS (part three)

As writer Karen Sanders mentions in her book ‘Ethics & journalism’, Reflecting on Ethics and journalism is more about acquiring knowledge of a philosophical nature. It is of a fundamental nature and self-sufficient.18 That is to say, the answers come from within. Journalism and reporting as a career is time-consuming and most of the time professionals are expected to be spontaneous and think on their feet. It is exacting in nature and consequences affect not only the journalist but people as readers, forcing them to think about matters they’d otherwise not consider any of their business. As such, it is all the more important that a person from this industry is clear in his/her ideas of what they consider right and wrong. It saves the person, the organization a lot of time and energy. And aides the reporter, editor report on a situation with accuracy, objectivity, and clarity- considered essential in journalism.
After all, ones job as a reporter is to inform not infer.

JOURNALISM AND ETHICS (part two)

A close look at ones daily paper will give people a rough idea of how the newspapers tend, sometimes, to work around a story. This is not to say that newspapers plan a day’s paper with hidden agendas that the public is blissfully unaware of but that which affects them. One can also not discount the fact that at times, the journalist may have written an article with an honest intention but the article was treated at the desk or changed by the editor to suit the flavor of the broadsheet or tabloid. But it is necessary that people are aware.
One example appeared on the Aug 19, 2011 edition of the Times of India
'Mumbai cops junk stolen cars on Juhu beach'

The very article begins with a tone that should only be reserved for articles written in the editorial. The very beginning set the scene where the police is denoted as the bad guy. So much for letting the public decides. Throughout the article, people have been quoted stating their opinions on the matter while the police is barely given a say towards the end.
The article makes liberal use of labels for the police and the tone of the article points to how the police have been disappointing. A few examples are phrases like ‘custodians of beaches’, ‘law-enforcers’ and ‘custodian of law’ and words like the police ‘encroached’ upon the land has been used. Almost as if the police did so forcibly.

Most times the issue with newspapers is most people trust papers to print news that is the absolute truth of what happened. And sometimes, the reporters or editors betray this very trust by printing news that is either vague in nature, meaning there is a lack of any substantial evidence to back the story or it is made up at times with fictitious experts to give the sense that the fact is backed by people experts in that field. Not many in the public have the time or curiosity to question the authority of such experts. The above is merely an example of what one calls a fallacy, it doesn’t harm anyone but as people usually quote, ‘Every little drop, maketh the ocean.’

JOURNALISM AND ETHICS (part one)

When the Radia tapes first became public knowledge in 2008-2009, the county first took to discussing the idea of ethics in journalism with a serious urgency that lacked earlier. The west has been debating various aspects of journalism; the idea that the media is in cahoots with businesses leading to a host of issues that compromise the accuracy of the news presented in the media- there are recorded instances where headlines have been made up or slanted to forward the interests of the business groups or pieces of news that go against the policy of the parent company is held back etc.
The situation however, still remains dismal- newspapers are closing down regularly due to loss of loyal readership; most others are losing a valuable chunk of their income in terms of advertisements to other forms of media, the television and social media.
In India, the story is fairly different. While there are instances like the Mid Day offices shutting down in Delhi and Banglore Here, the readership for vernacular newspapers are on an increase, despite the onslaught of social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, the rising phenomenon of citizen journalism, the internet and, lest I forget, the television. However, that does not mean Indians are not haunted by dilemma of ethical journalism.

In India though, the issues are slightly different. Most widely discussed being the idea of Paid News, whether sting operations are a good idea when pursuing a story and the idea that journalists maybe accepting ‘gifts’ to write flattering stories about issues ad people. In fact, there are even cases where entire newspapers are said to be pro- political parties thereby undermining the very basic policy of objective reporting.
While the idea of TRP crazy news channels; plainly the consequence of them turning 24X7; is something the public is shamefully aware of the articles based on lack of ethics among the staff from the print media are either vague or generic. What is unclear is if this is because the newspaper is still a trustworthy source for one’s news or if it will be some time before someone uncovers the deception.
In any case, everyone will agree it is high time ethics was a part of the discussion. But what does one understand by ethics. In various professions there are times when you are faced with situations that test your loyalty as a professional and test your calibre as a human being. It is how we deal with the situation, while keeping certain values in mind that matters.

RECYCLING WITH A DIFFERENCE

Recycling is a term most of us are familiar with. Over the past few years, we’ve made attempts to save the environment in every little way possible. Different cans for paper and plastic, decomposition…these are a part of our everyday. But rarely do people realize we’ve unwittingly been a part of the recycle phenomenon for the past few decades, if not more.
Consumerism is the new-age monster, the western world is desperately trying to contain, but Indians came up with a rather fool-proof solution, years ago. Some if not all will be familiar with the cries of ‘Bartanwali’ on the narrow streets every other afternoon or so. Not so much an everyday sight now- most housewives, if no one else, would be aware of the Guajarati sari/ ghagra choli clad ladies or men in traditional garbs roaming around with a basket of brand new vessels that they’d trade with you for old clothes.
Over the years though, they’ve disappeared off the streets, you don’t spot them often enough on the city streets. And for most out of sight is out of mind. In fact, people are rarely home these days, what with their busy schedules and everything and with more women opting to work, there are lesser housewives to do business with. Or so… one would imagine, is the case. But if you were to have a conversation with Meena Gopal (30), you’d know that is not necessarily the case.
The lady, a mother of two, has been in the business the past 11 years, ever since she was married. The bartanwallahs, she insists is not a community but in fact, a family business. Her husband, works out of Surat while her brother-in-law similarly trades in plastic ware in Kolhapur.
Her vessels glisten and shine in her plastic tub. I hesitantly offer Meena a pair of my old jeans and a couple of shorts. One look at them, and she refuses outright, but graciously agrees to continue with the interview. Rather picky about the clothes she accepts, she parts with her vessels carefully. ‘Market mein bikna chahiye.’(The clothes need to sell in the market). The concept might seem like a simple one, but only the most aggressive manage to snag themselves the larger looking stainless steel containers that invitingly sit in the basket. Most others end up with measly spoons and tiny bowls.
She begins her usual business rounds at a leisurely 12 or 1 p.m. and continues on until 5p.m. With no particular target to achieve, her life, she claims is a peaceful one. The clothes she collects round the week are sent off to Surat to be mended and resold on the streets and weekly markets. The vessels are bought from a wholesale dealer.
What about her kids? Would she let them continue in the business? Obviously a question she has given great thought to in the past, pat comes the reply, ‘Bacche iskool mein achha karein toh thik varna, hamare saath kam pein laga denge.’ (If the kids do well in school fine, or else they’ll be made to work with us.)
Ask her about the competition and she scoffs. ‘What competition’ she asks. She does know there is another Bartanwali who does her rounds in the opposite area but claims there is no competition as such. What about mutual marking of areas one can conduct business in…and she claims ignorance. She could conduct her rounds wherever she wishes to and no one could question her.
Inquire about the dwindling nature of this barter system and she downright refuses. ‘We aren’t going out of business anytime soon,’ she tells me in fluent Hindi before placing her basket on a carefully placed cloth holder, shyly refusing to be photographed, and walks off voicing cries of ‘bartanwali…bartanwali.’

DYING INSTINCTS?

Advertisements are meant to sell products and they could be humorous, witty, serious...Hell, it could be a tiny feature in itself. But sometimes they can be downright ridiculous. Now the ideal, mature thing would be to not read too much into them but then again...In my case I am riled up about a very specific ad. The advertisement was meant to introduce a watermelon flavoured gum. So, the scene is set such- there is a nakabandi, and the traffic police is looking for helmetless bike riders. Our protagonist, this smart, young fellow rides up and realizes he cannot afford to get caught. Sooo...he pops the flavoured gum and voila! He spots a young kid eating a melon(melon flavoured gum, kid eating gum...see the connection?), fashions a helmet out of the watermelon skin and drives through the nakabandi with the traffic police gawking at him. Smart, right? I beg to differ. What the advertisement does not show and people won’t tell you is that if that young man were to be in an accident, there is a strong chance his head will be squashed....like a melon.
Then again, I am sure the makers did not mean to, but when you create advertisements like these, I get the distinct message that government campaigns for safety are an absolute waste of time. Hell, the safety industry is a sham. Ride without helmets, drink and drive....everyone is destined to die eventually. Alright, I probably got carried along.
My point though is that our sense of survival is sort of dulling. Not the smartest observation but gives me something to think about. Every other day we hear about people losing their lives while they try to travel on train rooftops. Did they miss the safety posters glaring down at you on stations, or nor hear the irritatingly repetitive announcements pleading with you not to ride on rooftops cause it is dangerous, that is played before every train journey begins and then again between stations, or on platforms? What could possibly be more precious than your life?
But, let us give these disillusioned supermen the benefit of doubt. But how does it make sense travel so when the trains are not splitting at the seams from carrying almost thrice the number of passengers than was intended. I know we all feel like the superstars in our lives but do we really believe we can defy death by simply being our awesome selves?

Or is it that our sense for survival, our instincts is dulling because we have begun leading comparatively comfortable lives. What will it take to shake us out of our apathy?

TOLERANCE (part two): TIME WE GOT OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT....

On the other hand, consider these situations that have triggered protests, riots, violence…recently a movie was banned by a particular state government because it was said to have tackled the topic of reservations for the minority sections of the society. Most however, on being asked claimed not too have even seen the movie.

In another incident, an over-zealous youth wing leader for a political party set books by a particular author on fire and had it taken out of the official university syllabus because it apparently contained paragraphs that hurt the sentiments of the community.
The censor board insists films be altered or refuse to let it release because it contains certain scenes that might harm people’s senses while serials that openly seem to popularize issues like child marriage and female foeticide by glamorizing it. If one paid close attention to the above illustrations one would realize that somewhere down the line our priority, as responsible citizens, is getting skewered. We Indians are said to be extremely emotionally sensitive beings but does it pay to let the heart rule over the head. In fact, even if we look at history dating back to the British rule you’d see the proof.

For over 150 years, the Britishers flogged, publically humiliated us. We even tolerated notices such as ‘dogs and Indians not allowed.’ But when it was discovered that the Britishers were using cow and pig fat to make cartridges, our religious sentiments were hurt and a revolution took birth in the form of the mutiny of 1857. Maybe we need to recalculate what matters to us when human life is considered cheaper to religious and social sentiments.

TOLERANCE (part one): TIME WE GOT OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT....

The monsoon season might seem like respite for those tired of the relentless summer heat. But considering the state of roads as they get from bad to worse, everyone is looking forward to the season coming to an end. In fact, the situation gets ridiculous as the monsoon months draw closer. Especially closer to home, in my area the same drama plays out each year with sickening consistency. About five months before the onslaught of the rains, the corporation begins work on the roads. The pace is satisfying in the beginning but with each passing week the project seems to get slower. Somewhere about three months down the line, another contractor from a different department (Gas, Water, electricity, Sewer…take your pick) comes in and digs up the road, undoing all the work done until then and then some more. By the times the rains have begun, the excuse for leaving the road work undone is that one cannot work in the rains. And thus, eventually bad roads, deep potholes, road accidents and loss of lives become common news in the papers. What do we do about it, though? Complain to our neighbors and friends and then go back to work the next morning, using the same ruined potholed paths. A certain newspaper is known to have begun a campaign though; listing the number of potholes on each street, listing contractors who have not been doing their jobs well, making the mayor of the city accessible to the public. But that was almost a week ago. Other events have taken up the headline space since. The people paying their taxes aren’t getting what they deserve; the corporation is getting less accountable with each passing day. I believe this is injustice.
In another situation, the elderly are expected to show up to the government or post office personally in order to prove deserving of their pensions. As if one hasn’t had enough of ridiculous, unnecessary bureaucratic policy, I know of a particular elderly woman who hasn’t received her pension in the last three months because the system is being upgraded. It is a good thing that the lady has a son whom she can rely on financially but what about those individuals without families to support them in such situations? And yet, nobody has managed to do much about it.
Or what about the victims of the bomb blast attacks. While some perished in the attacks, others lost a limb or were rendered useless due to wounds or trauma. And all the government could do was announcing a compensation of 5 lakhs for the families of the dead and a few thousands for those who were hurt. But do these meager sums last the people any longer than a few months? Does the sum suffice those who’ve lost the only earning member of the family? Doesn’t this sound like injustice? But what do we do about it?

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (part three)- coming to the point

Coming to the actual debate, about whether capital punishment should be abolished, both sides make compelling arguments. I personally am of the opinion that the above should be abolished.
It is not incorrect when people who support the idea, insist that continuing to support criminals already proven guilty, strains the tax payer and resources, especially since releasing criminals from the system, is not an option keeping the gravity of their crimes in mind.
Capital punishment is often justified with the argument that by executing convicted murderers, we will deter would-be murderers from killing people. However, statistical evidence doesn't confirm that deterrence works. In fact, some may have not be capable of being deterred either because of mental illness or because the crimes are committed in an emotional state where the criminal did not give a thought to the consequences of his actions. When one thinks about it no one knows whether the death penalty deters more than life imprisonment.
Another important thing to keep in mind is timeliness. Deterrence is most effective when the punishment happens soon after the crime e.g. a child learns not to put their finger in the fire, because the consequence is instant pain.The more the legal process distances the punishment from the crime - either in time, or certainty - the less effective a deterrent the punishment will probably be.
This argument also states that real justice requires people to suffer for their wrongdoing, and to suffer in a way appropriate for the crime. Each criminal should get what their crime deserves and in the case of a murderer what their crime deserves is death.
It's often supported with the argument "An eye for an eye". But this is a classic case of perceiving the scriptures to suit one’s need. In fact the Old Testament meaning of "an eye for an eye" is that only the guilty should be punished, and they should punished neither too leniently nor too severely.
The main argument that retribution is immoral is that it is just a sanitised form of vengeance. Scenes of howling mobs attacking prison vans containing those accused of murder on their way to and from court, or chanting aggressively outside prisons when an offender is being executed, suggest that vengeance remains a major ingredient in the public popularity of capital punishment.
It's argued that retribution is used in a unique way in the case of the death penalty. Crimes other than murder do not receive a punishment that mimics the crime - for example rapists are not punished by sexual assault and people guilty of assault are not ceremonially beaten up.
Some well-known philosophers and thinkers have argued that the justice in the case of the death penalty was not fair, because the anticipatory suffering of the criminal before execution would probably outweigh the anticipatory suffering of the victim of their crime.
Others argue, on similar grounds, that the retribution argument is flawed because, the death penalty delivers a ‘double punishment’; that of the execution and the preceding wait, and this is a mismatch to the crime. Many offenders are kept 'waiting' on death row for a very long time; in USA the average wait is 10 years.
Civilised societies do not tolerate torture, even if it can be shown that torture may deter, or produce other good effects.In the same way, many people feel that the death penalty is an inappropriate punishment for a modern civilised society to respond to even the most dreadful crimes.
Because most countries - but not all - do not execute people publicly, capital punishment is not a degrading public spectacle. However, it is still a media circus, receiving immense publicity, so that the public are well aware of what is being done on their behalf.Also, this media circus takes over the exhibition of public execution. Thus, the idea of teaching the public lessons about justice, retribution, and personal responsibility for one's own actions seems to take a back seat.
Also, there are rare cases in history where innocent victims were awarded the death penalty because they did not enough evidence to prove their innocence, or because they had a poor defence. Thus, while the benefits of capital punishment are debatable, in these cases, where the person is a victim of consequences, the punishment is unacceptable.
Another reason why prison sentence merits the use of capital punishment is because, while the punishing the criminal does nothing to help the people surviving the victim; it also takes away from the culprit, a chance to repent for his mistakes.
Thus, at the risk of sounding idealistic, I am of the opinion that capital punishment must be abolished.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (part two)- and religion

While the countries have taken their respective firm stands on the issue, it is interesting to note the religious views regarding capital punishment. For example, there is no official Hindu line on capital punishment. However, Hinduism opposes killing, violence and revenge, in line with the principle of ahimsa (non-violence). India still retains the death penalty.Among Buddhists; there is disagreement as to whether or not Buddhism forbids the death penalty. The first of the Five Precepts (Pancha-sheela) is to abstain from destruction of life.
Muslims believe that capital punishment is a most severe sentence but one that may be commanded by a court for crimes of suitable severity. While there may be more profound punishment at the hands of God, there is also room for an earthly punishment.Methods of execution in Islamic countries vary and can include beheading, firing squad, hanging and stoning. In some countries public executions are carried out to heighten the element of deterrence.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (part one)- History in a nutshell

Debates about the relevance and necessity of Capital punishment has been a ‘hot’ topic in the country for a long time what with the August 2004 execution of Dhananjay Chatterjee, on the counts of rape and murder and the recent May 6thdeath penalty announced for Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist from the 26/11 terror strikes. Found guilty of numerous charges he was sentenced to death on 4 counts. This makes him the 52nd person on death row in India. Kasab was handed capital punishment for killing 72 people and waging war against the state.
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by trial as a punishment for an offence. Crimes resulting in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. While capital punishment has in the past, been practiced by most societies, it is, today, a controversial issue in various countries and states, and positions can vary within a single political ideology or cultural region.
The UN General Assembly has adopted, in 2007 and 2008, non-binding resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, with a view to eventually abolish capital punishment. Although many nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's population lives in countries where executions take place. In fact, China, India, United States of America and Indonesia-the four most populous countries in the world, apply the death penalty (although in India and Indonesia it is used only rarely). Each of these four nations voted against the General Assembly resolutions.Currently only 58 nations actively practice it, while 96 countries have abolished the practice
The crimes that merit capital punishment vary with the countries as well. While used by almost all societies to execute criminals and political opponents, to punish crime and suppress political rebellion, in most places it is reserved for grave crimes like murder, treason and espionage or as part of military justice. In some other countries, sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery, incest and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy(the formal renunciation of the state religion) in Islamic nations. Even drug trafficking is considered a capital offense. . In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty.
Similarly, in medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, the death penalty was also used as a generalized form of punishment.By 1820 in Britain, there were 160 crimes that were punishable by death, including crimes such as shoplifting, petty theft, stealing cattle or cutting down trees in public place.
The last several centuries, however, has seen the emergence of modern nation-states. Almost fundamental to the concept of nation state is the idea of citizenship. This caused justice to be increasingly associated with equality and universality, which in Europe saw an emergence of the concept of natural rights. The death penalty was seenas an increasingly unnecessary deterrent in prevention of minor crimes such as theft.In countries like Britain, law enforcement officials became alarmed when juries tended to acquit non-violent felons rather than risk a conviction that could result in execution.
Gradually, since World War II there has been a trend toward abolishing the death penalty. Trends in most of the world have long been to move to less painful, or more humane, executions. France developed the guillotine for this reason in the final years of the 18th century. Hanging by turning the victim off a ladder or by kicking a stool or a bucket, which causes death by suffocation, was replaced by long drop "hanging" where the subject is dropped a longer distance to dislocate the neck and sever the spinal cord. Shah of Persia introduced- throat-cutting and blowing from a gun, as quick and painless alternatives, to more tormentous methods of executions, used at that time. In the U.S., the electric chair and the gas chamber were introduced as more humane alternatives to hanging, but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection, which in turn has been criticized as being too painful. Nevertheless, some countries still employ slow hanging methods, beheading by sword and even stoning, although the latter is rarely employed.
In a nutshell, past methods included Boiling, Burning, Crucifixion, Crushing, Disembowelment,and Execution by elephantwhile the current methods include Decapitation, Electrocution, Gas chamber, Hanging, Lethal injection,shooting (Firing squad), Stoning.