Prabhaakar Kulkarni
Much fuss is being made in regard to negotiation tapes being viral or disclosed by Cobra Post. An undue sensationalism is attached to the story which is a routine operation of negotiation between adverting agencies and newspaper organizations. That a newspaper or any media organization relies on advertisements for their financial support is an eternal truth. As man-woman relationship is established when Adam and Eve ate the much coveted, alluring fruit for the conjugal bliss, the relationship between a newspaper and advertisements is established since the very first newspaper was published in the world or in India.
Election is a campaign or an event. While in first stages such events have no professional event management teams, of late such event managements organizations have also surfaced in the business world and they are as much active as any other professional organization. Advertising agencies are also very well -equipped with creative men and women who have their own innovative ideas to put forth very effectively their assigned products or services so much so that sale targets are blooming at expected heights while consumers are paying the quoted prices. The prices include all costs including all expenses for advertisements and other relevant expenses. This is a well organized and well understood as an ethical practice without any sense of guilt or any extra-ethical affair.
The recent decision of the Delhi High court regarding the election commissioner’s role about the media campaign in general and paid news in particular is another legal evidence to point out that media organizations are free enough to manage their own affairs, particularly the space to be used by paid material supplied by the concerned agencies. Paid news falls within the citizen’s right to free
speech and the Election Commission has no business trying to stop it, according to the Delhi High Court which says that the EC’s remit is confined to the poll expenditure of a candidate, and not the content of the advertising she/he spends on. So how to use the citizen’s right to free speech which is guaranteed under the Constitution of India is a prerogative of every citizen. He or she may use this freedom in any way convenient or affordable and expression by way of publication of a newspaper or electronic media is also a matter of choice.
The editorial and advertisement departments are working their respective roles under one roof as husband-wife reside in one house or couples living in relations also reside in a flat or a hotel room. Not that there is always smooth working in these relationships. There may be quarrels sometime or some afternoons and patching up later or even a sort of continued confrontation. There are cases of a severe confrontation between the two, the editor and the advertisement manager, so much so that either of the two leaves the organization as the couples prefer to divorce after severe confrontation. But the fact remains that the matter relates to the freedom and nobody, not even government can interfere in their in-house co-operation or confrontation.
Another vital point is that advertisement is part of journalism as in all curricula of the degrees in journalism and mass communication courses, two papers relate to advertisements. The would-be journalists are expected to know that editorial part of newspapers is not allergic to another vital part of advertisement. Most of the media or newspaper organizations these days are encouraging their journalists to try for getting advertisements in order to add to their meager income.
Considerable number of journalists have accepted the assignments to get advertisements for their newspapers and a few are known to have their own agencies or having relations to advertising agencies.
Despite such a sort of relationship with understanding, they are trying to be cautious when campaigning part intrudes in to news feature of a story and carry out the necessary check. In a judgment of an industrial court which decided a dispute between a newspaper management and a working journalist who claimed benefit under the Working Journalists Act and management put forth a plea that he being related to advertising agency is not eligible for the benefits under the Act, it is decided after hearing the journalist’s side that advertisements are a part of journalism.
It is therefore worth notin that media organizations are quite capable enough to deal with their own affairs and negotiations or co-operation formula without disturbing the ethical aspect of citizen’s freedom. This freedom is being used by such organizations or individual editors, hired or owners. Display of such activities may be a matter of curiosity as peeping into a family affair most often is. But such peeping should not be unduly disturbing family or organizational affairs.
( The writer is a senior journalist and columnist in Maharashtra)
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