Q: Why I am Not Balanced? A: Tell Me Who is Balanced.

By Dinesh Wagle on May 29th, 2005 in Wagle Monologues

Some words on ABC of Nepal’s Journalism

When I was in college, teachers tirelessly repeated in the classes what was written in the books: Journalism is all about ABC. Yes, so simple, teachers said, it is all about ABC: Accuracy, Balance and Credibility. While in IA, I fully believed my teachers and blindly followed the books. While writing ‘trial’ news for practical lessons, I tried to follow as much the ABC formula as possible. After giving final exam of IA, at the very beginning of 1998, I joined Tarun Weekly, a pro-Nepali Congress (and to be more specific pro-Sher Bahadur Deuba within Nepali Congress) weekly as a trainee reporter. My first ever story (about plight of foreign tourists in Kathmandu and Pokhara) made the front page of the tabloid. Then I did some features about lesbians, about other couple of topics. Editors of the weekly were so impressed by my performance that they hired me as a staff reporter at the end of the first month. I bought a pair of Hi-tech shoes from my entire salary of one month: Rs. 2000.

Yes, I started my journalism career with a blast. Good stories, good placement, and a little amount of satisfaction. But from the very beginning, from the very first story, my belief toward the very basic theory of journalism trembled. Accuracy was there, Credibility was there, I can claim but not balance. If a story is accurate, that must be credible, not doubt on that. But the same cannot be claimed about the balance. If balance means, books and teachers say, including both contesting side’s version in the story, then I think there is no balanced journalism.

Tourists complained me in Thamel that they were very much harassed by local band of boys and girls who try to sell them, in the words of a tourist, “almost all things that are available under the Sun.” And this American was telling truth. I saw him being harassed. I talked to the seller and he flatly denied that he was harassing a tourist. “I am doing my job,” he replied. I think my story was not balanced because I clearly claimed that tourists were being harassed by local sellers.

I did very few political stories but anyone can imagine that almost all of them were unbalanced because the weekly paper itself was not balanced especially for its political inclination. In fact, at that time, no paper was balanced. Everyone thought Kantipur or some other dailies were balanced a bit but I do not believe. I have reasons. And now I think there is nothing like balanced journalism as such. Not even New York Times, arguably the world’s best daily newspaper, is balanced. One side in the story always feels neglected, sidelined, or marginalized. Balance in journalism is all about perspective. And perspectives of two persons might not be same.

Do western media give equal space to Chinese garment factory owners in their stories when they do story about job loss in the US? Suppose BBC reports about human rights violations in China. Will Beijing ever think that the story was balanced? Are Al Jazeera coverage balanced? Israel thinks this Quarter-based channel as the mouthpiece of Osama Bin Laden and Arabs take it as a propaganda arms of CIA. So, for me, it is all about perspective: How a reporter sees an event that he/she is covering in his/her media.

The coverage of Iraq war on CCTV9 (China Central Television 9) was different than that of CNN. Whose story is balanced? Both channel reported, in almost all cases, accurately. Both channels were, in a sense, credible. But about balance? Did Iraqi Information Minister get same airtime as Cent COM Generals?

Let me again talk about Nepali journalism. There is no freedom of expression here. Media are censored, indirectly. Most of them are forced to self censor. So, at a time when A and C are under threat, B becomes totally irrelevant. Journalists know that there is no future in this regime. They know they will die if this regime becomes stronger and continues for long period. They know that People’s Daily does not cover HR violations in China in a balanced way. They know that if this regime continues, they will be forced to be come PR if now closed down. So, why utter those phony talks about balanced reporting? What do you mean by balanced coverage at a time of death?

Yes, I still believe that in free societies, professionally (again, no one is 100 percent professional) run organizations give somewhat balanced coverage to their audience. If there is a Congress government, UML might get equal space in Kantipur or the Himalayan Times. Or NC may get equal coverage in papers like that if UML is in the government. That is possible because in such scenario there is no threat of any kind to the smooth functioning of independent media.

But at this time? In this situation? Media are struggling for their existence. How could they make their reporting balanced? Will you give equal respect to your possible killer and your parents? Nepali media is facing these questions. So, I think I am not balanced with I report about democracy and autocracy. I am strongly for democracy and strongly denounce any forms and faces of autocracy. There is simply no questions of balance in the coverage. But A and C will/should still be there.

A few days ago, I was invited for a lecture on Communication and Mass Communication by a private media training institute. I told them what I read in the class room and what I saw in the newsroom. Class rooms of IA and BA in RR and Newsrooms of Tarun, Bimarsha Weekly, the Kathmandu Post daily, Nepal Fortnightly (and later weekly) and now in Kantipur daily, and how could I forget, the cyber newsroom of UWB. Class rooms and Newsrooms are very much different world.

Yes, I can be somewhat balanced (again, that is all about perspective, let me repeat) while covering parliamentary elections because for me, as a professional journalist, there is no different between the victory of NC or UML or any other constitutional and democratic party for that matter. Yes, I can be ‘balanced’ while covering elections. But when it comes choosing between democracy and autocracy, my Kitta is crystal clear: I am for democracy and cannot promote autocracy. If I have to do so, I would rather leave journalism and go to the streets shouting slogans.

And I cannot even imagine promoting autocracy in this site. Here I do not get any payments; I pay for what I write- for that server space. It is about my passion. And of course, A and C will always be there my writings, at least I try my best for these two things. I know very well, without A and C there is no D (inesh). I can ignore B but not A and C. But, I also know, no human being is perfect. That is why I always visit Correction section of New York Times.

8 Responses to “Q: Why I am Not Balanced? A: Tell Me Who is Balanced.”

Upadhyaya Says:
May 30th, 2005 at 5:18 am

Why everybody should do Politics? Here is Mathura P. Shrestha:

Politics is all about and around peoples. It is also a principle domain of peoples. People shape politics and its courses and politics in turn the livings and environment of and around people. Politics is central to all peoples and countries. For the same reason politics becomes vulnerable at the hand of dominating exploiters. Similarly all things related to people particularly those determining human living become vulnerable. Thus land, labor and means of productions, created and accumulated wealth, knowledge, social norms, entitlements, languages and culture are deliberate targets for concentrated ownership and monopoly. It is not surprising that people are taught or encouraged to hate and refrain from politics. A few dominant groups want politics reserved for themselves unchallenged. They want to make politics their Jamindari. Therefore the rulers or dominating cliques, emperors, kings, imperialists, colonialists and even leaders of bourgeois political parties, actively and aggressively discourage others â?? the workers, peasants, teachers, other professionals, students, women and common people â?? to invest their interests and time on politics. Fewer the interests in politics better for the bad guys in a country to monopolize it and use it for their selfish ends. For that reason the exploiting class tends to dissociate people from politics. In addition, they force the people to bear the burden of their speculations, manipulations, misinterpretations and mystification of politics. They dose the politics heavily with their propaganda and hypes. The ruling cliques entice the people to be lost in provided political environments and in rat-race for money and comforts. Thus people are forced to remain addicted to their habitual and fatalistic livings.

If a corrupt person is being booked, he tends to say, â??Some played politics against himâ??, as if politics was bad commodity. Similarly, some hired or covertly motivated high bureaucrats, professionals or models too often don (sometimes even without asking) their adages like, â??I hate politicsâ?? or â??I am not interested in politicsâ?? etc., etc. The saying is well encouraged as is aggressive marketing of junk foods or drinks, tobacco products etc. I take these as anomalies conditioned to standard or desired reflexes or symptoms of drunken stupefaction related to skewed perceptions. Aldoux Huxley sketched such personalities as wearing Malthus-belt that make them produce standardized babies, and themselves to have been programmed to â??prescribed thinking and behavingâ??.

There can’t be a democracy in a country, for sure, if the peoples of that country, one and all, do not participate in politics and social domain of the country actively and consciously. If politics of a country is left only in the hands of ruling and exploiting masters and leaders then the country deviate to dictatorship or autocracy. Even a country claiming to be democratic becomes reduced to namesake. It develops several abnormal traits. Similarly a country without participatory democracy falls pray to many crimes, corruptions, inequity and loss of human rights and values. Even health and educational status will remain lowered. Kerala is one of the poorest states of India. But it has highest health and education status among Indian states because of highest level of political participation by the people. Many infer that the high health status is related to high education status. But high education as well as health status is related to higher political participation by the people.

In Nepal, the government, now unconstitutional, discourages the people from politics. It is misusing state-owned media for the purpose. For the same the government is using draconian censorship to all information, media points in order to gag people and Nepali consciousness. On the top of that it has unconstitutionally drafted reactionary â??press lawâ?? to block all credible information and pollute Nepali consciousness.

The new NHRC is at last constituted but shamelessly and unconstitutionally. The motive is obvious. It wants no one to raise fingers to its dirtiest possible human rights records. I am surprised how and why the nominated members of new NHRC fell pray to tarnish their personalities. They may have own compulsions and temptations. I do not condemn them. I do not have time to waste. But I appeal all people, human rights organizations, civil societies, INGOs, political parties and the people to ignore it totally or boycott it. Disserving bodies should best be unrecognized.

Today too one media centre is ordered to cease without any reason and without any legal basis. The centre is not only of a few owners who have invested millions of Rupees, lifelong savings of some, but also resource for trusts and information of the people all over Nepal. Hundreds of people are employed providing best possible services and as expected by the people. Such nonsense closure by force happens only in a kingdom of despots and tyrants. However I am encouraged and happy to hear that the management decided to ignore the order and will continue to inform the people. I hope they will disregard all censorships and threats. I also appeal all journalists and media organizations to take side of the people, united 7 political parties now waging struggling for democracy and common sense. I thank Nepal Bar Association, Federation of Nepalese Journalists, and other human rights organizations and civil societies to agitate for democracy. Together we certainly can make this unconstitutional government a real paper-tiger. We need to through it into a dirtiest possible dustbin of our history. In political struggle the people and just causes always win and regressive and reactionary forces always loose. We need to only to be bold and free from fear. The voices of people are stronger than bombs or bullets. (�नता�� ब�ल� ��ल� भन�दा ठ�ल� ह�न��).

I hope the political parties will not fall trap of so called â??unity between the king and partiesâ??. They should take our history as mirror. King always betrayed the people and parties. The so called complex of â??conjoined neck of the king and partiesâ?? is a stupid illusion. The act if commissioned the royalty will draw almost all blood of political parties to transmute the former into a dangerous devil or Satan. The devil then will haunt not only party leaders but also civilians within and outside Nepal. The Satan will leave nothing in Nepal for us to be proud of.

kaji Says:
May 30th, 2005 at 12:47 pm

Yes, they lick the shoes of corrupt politicians, who pay them with the very money robbed from thse contmptible grovelling sholickers.
You’re a disgrace to the educated world

ex-journo Says:

May 30th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
i do agree with the comments posted over here…yellow journalism is very very rampant…from the likes of rush limbaugh to “respected” journalist at The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur daily….. we all know that gorkhapatra is state mouth-piece and is blatantly miguiding….however other private newspaper arent better either….take for example kantipur publication and television……the way it facilitated during JP Gupta’s tenure as minister is obvious……mr sirohiya was even implicated..(later on he was exonerated by the courty but we all know the fact).. at that time both the editorial team of TKP and the kantipur daily were “castrated”…

repeatedly…kantipur and TKP avoid news items tht could have serve public intersts… i appreciate ppl like gunaraj luitel but other need to show some “balls”…

Rekha Says:

May 30th, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Mr. Wagle why don’t The Himalayan Times resort to yellow journalism but only your kantiour and Kathmandu Post do that? Isn’t it because of reporters like you who have nothing else but to go to the streets after getting kicked out from Kantipur publications?

b Says:

May 31st, 2005 at 10:19 am
I ask you one more question. I do not think your site posses other basics of Journalism, which includes Accuracy, and Credibility.

As I am not a journalist, I am not and expertise in Journalism, but I think I have basic knowledge and understanding. You might be a very experienced journalist with few awards under your belts, but it might be bit naïve to self proclaim yourself to be accurate and credible.

I do not think the articles you publish are very accurate. Most of the articles in your site are focused on defaming Monarchy. I have not seen any articles in your site that talks about the deeds your so-called democratic leaders, which were not ethically right and which brought their downfall.

How can you claim yourself a credible and accurate journalist when you cannot see the wrong deeds your so-called democratic leaders did in the last fifteen years.

I regularly visit your site and most of the time I rely on your users feedback on the accuracy of the information. At times, I don’t even read the articles and just read what the users have to say. Nothing against you just my opinion

I think you might be doing a great job to send your message across, but I do not think you can claim yourself to be accurate and credible.

“…Let me again talk about Nepali journalism. There is no freedom of expression here. Media are censored, indirectly. Most of them are forced to self censor. So, at a time when A and C are under threat, B becomes totally irrelevant…..”

Well, now you talk about censorship… Why donâ??t you also say that few years back it was not censored but bribed and bought. Yellow journalism, journalist was bribed, your expressed what your leaders asked you to publish. And ex-journo has given few good examples. Now when the government is controlling all this you call it censorship.

Freedom of speech and press is not about writing whatever you want to write. There are certain ethics and rules which needs to be followed. Defaming others doesnâ??t make a journalist accurate, balanced and credible.

anita Says:

May 31st, 2005 at 11:20 am
b, how this blogsite defame monarcy. i also visit this web-site. i know wagle is biased to democracy? but can you give some examples of how this defames monarchy? please give some examples or have little pateince what others say about monarchy in nepal.

jhyapulle Says:

May 31st, 2005 at 1:36 pm
jhyapulle visits this site in search of some ‘censored’ contents of today’s media but is often disappointed. the bloggers are busy ‘self-censoring’ (which to jhyap is more dagnerous than the censor itself) and at times censor the content of the commentators. however even then jyap comes to this site and read the ‘comments’ as it gives him a rare opportunity to laugh, otherwise in these hard times jhyap could hardly laugh.

e.g.
some threaten of not visiting this site if there is no change in content (ie if it doesn’t become staunch royalists like gorkhapatra). who cares? isn’t that a joke? or is it rather a farce.

the other guy charges this site as defaming the monarchy. jhyapulle attahas garikan haschha: to be defamed shouldn’t one have ‘fame’? or how could one defame the already defamed?

and there is another harvard sah who doesn’t want to embarass the readers by posting his very long bio. hahahahihi

there is yet another rjp who writes at least a dozen comments with the same content but different combination of words and in different names (eg the first joke above).

Harke Says:
May 31st, 2005 at 1:57 pm

jhyapulle, kya bat Guru!!