With the CA election possibly just around the corner, it may not seem like a very good idea to ask mainstream Nepali media to shift their focus towards social issues. However, it has been long overdue, so much so that it would be fair even if the media suddenly became serious about matters beyond politics.
The allegation on mainstream media that they focus on politics at the cost of social issues is not baseless. The media has not limited its fascination of politics to just political analysis and reporting, but too many times fondly entertained even minor moves and activities of political figures. And this is done even when the events are of no significance to the general public. [break]
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Yet, media has failed to analyze this phenomenon, because there is a strong network of active political journalists who eagerly and promptly respond to the news, views, and updates on politics. On the other hand, the larger audience and readers may not even notice anything wrong in such coverage–due to which they cannot say “I don’t like this.” Lost in the circle of a few politics enthusiasts, the media has failed to effectively communicate to the public, respect their interest, reflect their world, and address their issues with due seriousness.
Political developments alone have gripped the interests and concerns of a certain circle, which includes columnists, writers, and to be precise, editors of all influential media houses, for long. As a result, political issues have quite overshadowed other issues. And this has contributed to the slow and disintegrated social and economic development of Nepali society.
For instance, visionaries who widely appear in the media do not like to talk about a minor’s rape, migrant workers’ issues, development, educational system, health issues, changing social lives and relationships, among other things happening in the society, in their regular columns and tweets or facebook. They hardly waste their precious time in telling people about the root causes of and remedies of social ills. But they compete to loudly announce what leaders like Baburam, Prachanda and others would and should do following the previous events.
It is not hard to understand that the public, on the other hand, is more concerned about the results of the political developments rather than the developments, even though those always make the banner headlines in newspapers. Other issues appear on the main news only when some serious mishaps occur or extraordinary events pop up.
Who comes to power or who holds the key to the government is a matter of lesser importance to the public than what the person will do for the society they live in or the country they belong to. No wonder, common people are happier to know about themselves, various aspects of the society they live in, things they can connect to (or sometimes, cannot connect to), things that surprise them, amuse them. They are glad to know of many different elements that they would have been unaware of without the media. The media can establish a much better bond with the people than it has now, but Nepali media has underestimated this sentiment or expectation for long.
However, the reason behind the concentration of our best minds and visionaries on politics can be understood in light of our recent history. The series of political developments since Maoists’ insurgency in 1996, royal massacre in 2001, the country’s first Constituent Assembly election in 2006, and ouster of the last king Gyanendra in 2008, among others, compelled the media’s utmost attention, of course.
The events had laid down a sort of extreme adventures for the media sector to tread on. Political events, irrespective of what they implied for the benefit of the country, were a matter of immense delight to political analysts and news-breakers. Some even took the opportunity to fulfill their vested interests by advocating for their priorities.
The plot indeed gave writers and speakers a rare chance to prove their excellent communication and control skills, fetching unusual success in the field of media for many. So much so that in absence of such political upheavals or dramatics, many well-known faces in the media today could hardly have carved the niche for themselves that they have. For them, the lack of crisis equals the lack of the opportunity to stay in the limelight.
The media’s extreme attention towards politics could be considered fair enough, had the tumultuous political atmosphere not dragged on for so long. In that case, politics could be forgiven for overshadowing social and other issues for a short time. It would also be fair to some extent if the media’s constant tracking of subtlest political developments and minor ‘activities and expressions’ of politicians had rendered them more accountable, responsible and patriotic. Unfortunately, that has not happened, highlighting the need to change the hegemony of politics in the media.
The politics-centric media of Nepal now needs to seriously extend its focus to larger matters of citizens’ interest and concern to make its approach fair and wholesome. It cannot be a choice for a socially backward country like Nepal where lack of awareness is often the basic cause of various problems.
To counter this situation, the trend of treating other issues as less important than or seeing them in isolation from politics must be stopped. Just reporting of cases of malpractice, exploitations, violence or some exciting positive stories cannot make much difference. The need is to discuss and debate these issues as seriously as political matters
Similarly, experts of other issues, who are hardly recognized by general public today, should make their presence felt in the mass media. Sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, physicians and educationists, among experts of others subjects, should guide people through the opinion pages of widely read papers, TV channels and social networking sites. It is about expanding the circle considered ‘intellectual’ in the country. Overall, the motto of media should be to engage and awaken the mass, both on political and non-political matters. More so since the media has failed to ‘correct’ politicians even after expending most of its energy on the subject!
The writer is with the social bureau at Republica
journo.anjali@gmail.com
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