Journalism: looks are deceptive

Media is considered the fourth pillar of a successful democracy. Journalists have a missionary zeal and some great purpose in lives. Their job involves much more than hardwork and sincerity. If you think the above lines are funny and outdated let me tell you one thing, almost every journalist I know started his profession thinking on these lines. They thought that they could change the world but soon gave up and became a part of the nothingness this profession offers.

Saviours?
People in media are seen fighting for the people and country. They expose the prevaling suffering and injustice in our society. They shout at the top of their voice whenever they see anything wrong around them. But the most surprising thing to know is that these people can’t even fight for themselves. Most of them work for low salaries and have no say against the wrongs happening to them in their own organizations. They are sometimes treated like dogs. They have odd working hours, low salaries, negligible hikes and their bosses comfort their ears with the choicest regional abuses they know. Do such helpless people have any right to claim that they are saviours of our society and country.

No say at all
A journalist friend in one of the leading newspapers in the country says, “My organisation is full of internal politics, regional lobbying, favoritism, nepotism and above all the recent fake corporate culture. You can’t ask for leave or have compensatory offs. My boss says such offs are not moral.”

Another friend who works in a top business daily says, “ My boss thinks the newspaper can work on his whims and fancies. He bought some crap software without even consulting the end users in the office. He is confident of the usefulness of the software. He doesn’t even know the basics of technology but boasts about experiencing more than 100 changes in his life. He is also against a canteen or cafeteria in the office premise. We work till late in the night but do not get coffee or tea. The office has recently installed a coffee vending machine in for late night staff but we pay Rs 3 for a coffee in our own office. We have no say at all.”


(This is a vaguely written article. A clear version may appear in future based your responses. Do write us about your experiences if you are a media person, based on which we will come up with a useful version of the above article.)