BENGALURU : Screaming debates, defamation cases, quick burnout... As the grey side begins to cast a shadow on the media profession, its image as a powerful, change-making career option is coming under a cloud, say students and teachers
Akchayaa R has wanted to be a journalist for as long as she remembers – after all, the field is regarded as the Fourth Estate of democracy. But over time, what Akchayaa once thought was a “cool” profession, slowly started to lose its shine. The Masters student of media and communication studies at Christ (deemed to be) University now holds a different opinion of journalism, broadcast in particular.
“Prime time news debate – be it around Rhea Chakraborty or the Tablighi Jamaat convention – is hardly done in a civil manner. Channels just seem to bring people from opposite ends of the views spectrum and egg them on to say controversial things,” says Akchayaa, who believes that TV journalism started losing its “good reputation” in the last 2-3 years. “There’s a rush to break news without actually verifying it,” she rues, going on to mention the recent incident of a reporter swearing while on air.
Akchayaa is not alone in thinking in this manner. A teacher with 19 years of experience, Dr Gopakumar AV, dean, faculty of humanities and head of the department of media studies at Kristu Jayanti College, Autonomous, says at least 50 per cent of a graduating class ventured into journalism 10 years ago. Today, the number stands at 5 or 6 out of a class of 25. Of the many reasons for this lack of interest, including better job stability and lucrative options elsewhere, one happens to be the current state of the field.
“Channels seem to be focusing on tabloid journalism and it’s too chaotic,” says Gopakumar, who adds that even among those who do join the field, some end up leaving after 1-2 years. In the past two years, the postgraduation media course at the college has been modified to “revive quality journalism”, he says. “We now teach modules on development communication, media laws and ethics, qualitative research methods, data journalism and cultural studies too,” he explains.
The case is not too different at Convergence Institute of Media Management and Information Technology Studies (COMMITS). In the last three years, the number of students opting for jobs in journalism post graduation has gone down by 50 per cent. “There’s a feeling of how the job they end up in may not be what they are trained for,” says Dr K Sai Prasad, dean of studies. He continues, “This comes from experiences shared by senior batchmates. Some talk about the burnout they experienced in TV journalism, while others move on to public relations or advertising for better pay.”
The current scenario has left students divided. Joyce Joyson, who is pursuing her Masters in Kristu Jayanti College, says she has decided to opt for academia over her dreams of being a journalist, since there’s a looming sense of fear over the latter. “There are so many defamation cases filed against print journalists and some even get arrested for what they write,” she says. Akchayaa, on the other hand, is investing her faith in the field. “There’s some consensus among my classmates and faculty – that print or digital journalism is more reliable than broadcast.”
Chinmay MP, a BA graduate from St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, echoes a similar thought. The aspiring Masters student hopes to enter journalism post his degree but has certain filters in place for where he would like to work. “I’d like to write and report for places other than established newspapers. There are many online media spaces or independent media houses, and they are good places for new journalists since they house progressive and critical thinking,” he says.
Others like Abhishek Dubey are venturing forth into broadcast, with hopes of making a difference. The multimedia journalism student says, “Being obnoxious or practising ‘out-of-the-box’ journalism just to bring in more TRPs is not part of my plan. While I am willing to do whatever needs to be done to get the work done, I aim to do so ethically and politely.”