Rush to RIP

Indians seem to be in a hurry all the time: be it on the roads, rush to take over space, loud honking; then the rush to declare a person ‘dead’ and declare RIP

It is tragic to see how the news of passing of Ustad Zakir Hussain played out in India. Once again the mainstream media played a huge role, as many do not have authentic sources. Worse, the rush to declare him ‘dead’ by the media, celebrities, prominent people and worse, the Ministry of Foreign affairs. This is definitely yet another low for the Indian media. Imagine this scenario to be in the lives of those very editors who in their rush to declare someone dead, were it to be their family, friends or relatives? How livid they’d have been? Even in one’s death the Indian media isn’t kind, it’s driven by “exclusive”, “super exclusive” and “breaking news” that has broken the trust with people. Then media cannot blame anyone else for this loss of faith.

So after 7pm, on Sunday, the news of Zakir being rushed to the hospital in SFO trickled in on various social media groups. Within an hour or so we began receiving information of Ustad Zakir’s death. The speed at which this news spread is sad. Even the GOI ministries failed its citizens. It is THE role of media, The fourth pillar of democracy to question the fallacies and shortcomings of our government. But the media people rushed to break the news of “Zakir Dies”, crediting the Ministry that hurriedly broke news and in lightning speed removed the post. Tch, tch, it is out there even today for us to see. Tragic times we live in, the agency that puts out govt handouts is now busy trying to cover its backside, as usual.

The way celebrities and prominent people in society rushed to pay condolences, some even went a step further to put out wrong photos. At least consult the ‘right’ people before making a mockery of the person who has been declared dead. I really don’t think anyone gives a rat’s ass or the way the person who has put out the erroneous information, even if they are popular or important personalities. Here is one example… posted hours before Zakir Hussain was officially declared deceased.

This episode has once again reminded me of the famous Newsroom episode, which has to do with a similar ethical question, to break erroneous news just because most television channels, especially rivals break the news of a senator. This scene is shot inside the newsroom when the owner charges inside and yells at the anchor, editor and the team, that viewers switch channels every time they don’t see the news of death. That’s when a young producer tells the owner of the channel, a doctor pronounces his/her dead, not the news.

I have worked with news channels, have been among the first few women in Mumbai who worked when private channels first came to India. The late S P Singh was our editor and at that time it was mandatory to speak to five sources, mainly govt agencies- fire brigade, hospital, police, ministry, family members or relatives; and if 3 or more confirm directly then only we could proceed with giving the news or death/accident. Else HOLD on. The pressures of 24 hour news is way too demanding, on top of Delhi versus rest of the bureaus. I was NO specialist in dealing with Delhi, those who could, even they faced such critical situations and often decisions to break are taken by HO, Delhi. Also, with the extreme beat culture, strictly demarcating subjects to be covered, often colleagues and seniors don’t chip in. There external competition but much worse is the internal competition. Often you have colleagues saying, let it be if a particular journalist is handling that report, screw it, leave him/her to their fate. It is tough and most do not have contacts or sources in music, literary and such niche circles. Most often reporters are forced to stick to their beats. But what the managements and editors (they are another story) fail to understand nobody can predict deaths, accidents, circumstances in which these can take place, for anyone. Then the bureaus are thrown into complete chaos, with each being forced to look into the angle of their beats. There are research cells or deskies/reporters who have to monitor online, agencies. Imagine the situation last night, from everywhere, except official, the news was false. Then many of us saw this post. Late at night, yet, no mainstream media had the courtesy to inform their readers/viewers they erred and failed to give any corrigendum. It may not reduce the damage to the reputation of that media, still, it would show some integrity still exists in Indian media. Alas!

Imagine the distress caused to the family members, which is something news managements and editors need to pay attention to. (Only one tabloid, Mid-day refrained from posting the news unlike the rest of media). This time even politicians rushed in to issue public condolence posts. Now I remember a newspaper once broke the news of the death of a politician from Maharashtra, he was an ex-CM. He however was alive, struggling for life. Not officially dead. At that time I knew a lady whose friend was in the adjacent room in a hospital in Chennai. She was closely monitoring her friend’s condition, which was precarious. The lady’s husband was on call, so through her I got the hospital details. However the newspaper broke the news, without the confirmation from his doctor or the dean of that hospital. I messaged the editor and the next morning an apology was issued on its front page. This wasn’t taken well by some members of that newspaper who still hold a grudge against me for pointing out their error. It is basic journalistic ethics we need to follow, because we are the primary source of reliable and direct information for the public. If we fail in our constitutional responsibility, it is a grave failure. Moreover, to NOT acknowledge this failure and go on with life as if nothing has happened and mistakes happen, is arrogance. There are basic procedures in place and like in medicine, where there are SOPs, journalism too has. These were followed earlier and it is NO excuse to not follow them today. At least one did follow this protocol.