Cheerfully partisan

Cheerfully partisan!

Y.S.R Reddy's family newspaper Sakshi lays bare the nature of investment in the Telugu media.

Posted on The Hoot on Wednesday, Apr 09 13:53:11, 2008

March 23, 2008 saw the launch of Sakshi, a Telugu newspaper in full-colour with 23 simultaneous editions. The initial print run was 12.7 lakhs. The USP of this paper is that it has been launched by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's son, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. Befitting the family of a chief minister, the paper was launched with expected fanfare and hype. What is not understandable is the reaction of the two market leaders, Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi. Soon after the launch of the paper, the leader of the opposition, Chandrababu Naidu tabled a no-confidence motion against the government and in the course of his speech on the floor of the Assembly, laid bare the various sources of finance in Sakshi. He questioned the propriety of some of the investors supporting the project, apparently because they were also beneficiaries of the largesse of the government. This led to a counter attack from the Sakshi group, questioning the investments and methods of financing that their rivals Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi have adopted over the years. Both the rival papers gave extensive coverage to the opposition leader's allegations against the chief minister and his government. The front pages carried first lead stories with the headlines punning on Sakshi (witness) and detailed reports of what was said on the floor of the house against the paper. Both Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi gave equal play to the CM's counter attack, while juxtaposing Chandrababu Naidu's attack against Sakshi and its sources of revenue. The slant/opinion of the papers is prominently displayed through the headlines and the leads of the stories. Eenadu from its inception has made no secret of its anti-Congress/pro-TDP stance. Andhra Jyothi began with a distinguished record of fair journalism and excellent literary standards under KLN Prasad but went under later. It was bought out by a reporter/correspondent and re-launched in 2002, raising a lot of speculation about proxy investments by the then ruling party, Telugu Desam.(The profile of the MD, Radha Krishna, on the website of Andhra Jyothi omits to mention his journalistic background, describing him as an all-rounder and an entrepreneur). Andhra Jyothi in its new incarnation has been louder in its criticism of the government, and has built up a respectable circulation in a short time. In the recent spat between the Congress government and Eenadu, by extensively covering the Congress attack on Eenadu Andhra Jyothi logged up more circulation. Eenadu's invocation of the threat to freedom of the press when it had to contend with several court cases regarding its other financial interests brought the question of 'whose freedom' into focus once again. Before the dust could settle on that, the launch of Sakshi brought up the question of the sources of finance being pumped into media enterprises. If one is a believer in competition in the market place, this is the time to feel vindicated. Just a year ago or so, the Telugu newspaper market was more or less a monoculture farm with a few weak challengers to the market leaders Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi. The man on the street hardly knew who was investing in the newspapers, much less the issues of conflict of interest. With the launch of Sakshi, true, a lot of dirty linen was washed in public but it certainly laid bare the nature of investment that was backing each of the newspapers and the economic interests that dictate their news operations. It is clear that to launch and sustain a newspaper one needs the backing of unlimited resources, often from speculative financial activities or real estate. Newspapers are being launched primarily to acquire and exercise political clout to protect one's financial interests, not necessarily in the public interest. Today there is no such thing as a politically neutral paper in the Telugu market with each of the papers reporting most political news from a partisan point of view. The page one lead story on   April 3, 2008 on the issue of Andhra Jyothi played up Chandrababu's attack on the manner of financing Sakshi. Several inside stories leave the reader in no doubt about which side the paper is taking. In an interesting reversal of journalistic practice, the editorial of the day tries to give a balanced, non-partisan view on the issue! Should one conclude that biased reporting and neutral editorials are perhaps the future of Telugu journalism or is this an exit strategy of the paper to protect itself should it need to switch political affiliation in an election year? Interestingly, this strategy of attacking the newly launched paper may actually benefit Sakshi .It got unprecedented mileage in public perception as both the leading papers spent reams of paper to discredit it. This may have provided welcome free publicity to the paper, much like the banning of a film soon after its release! Designed by Mario Garcia, Sakshi is a good-looking paper if a little too colourful, printed on very good newsprint. The content is yet to stabilise but this may change soon as the paper appears to have poached well-trained professionals with very attractive pay packets. However, by showcasing the state government's achievements and pursuing attacks on the proprietor of Eenadu, the content has so far not shown signs of much neutrality. The factionalism of the Congress may turn out to be a boon for the paper as it can target rival factions and cover itself in the glory of journalistic neutrality for attacking its own party leaders! With competition the Telugu media market has scaled up with attractive pay packages and unprecedented demand for experienced professionals. If only these professionals could prevail on the managements to understand that journalism is about public interest and not about partisan politics. In the long run, it is the balanced newspapers that win the credibility stakes with the public.