‘New normal’ for Journalists

Harry Walia. Updated: 5/5/2021 12:16:10 PM Front Page

Jammu: The night after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nation-wide lockdown in 2020 in view of COVID 19 pandemic, journalists were suddenly in a fix – What will be their ‘new normal’? How will they make it work? This is their state, even today, in 2021.

“The working practice had to be reinvented last year to comply with the COVID19 guidelines, even though it should have been more about ensuring our safety. Some employees were given work from home, some were called to office on rotation basis, and some had to continue with their routine as in the pre-COVID times, leading to new, unforeseen challenges,” Rohit Jandial, a Jammu based senior journalist working for Dainik Jagran, a leading national Hindi Daily.

While digital media journalists fast caught up with remote working – the new normal, print journalists, who have essentially continued to function linearly – attending newsroom meetings, going to the field for respective beats, and contributing in the production of newspapers, struggled with it.

SP Sharma, another Jammu based senior journalist, currently working with The Statesman, a renowned national English Daily says, “Work from home, which most would romanticize, got us wondering then - how will we work without required softwares, processing speed and internet on our personal computers. Should we and can we go out in the field for newsgathering? How to churn out ideas daily for a news item while sitting lazily at home? How to stay connected with our colleagues for discussions on various topics, including next day’s newspaper? Most importantly, how to prove to our bosses that we are in fact working from home?”

He adds, “At home, besides lack of proper working space, there were several distractions. Our family, kids, household chores, disturbed schedule, etc. It was hard to remain focused and productive. The same holds true for this year too.”

The ‘new normal’ has been more unsettling for those who were in the field. To this day, when the world faces yet another surge in COVID19 cases, they grapple with the dilemma of pursuing a story idea and protecting themselves from catching the virus.

Rohit Jandial tells, “The pandemic reportage has not been limited to health. It has been found in almost every possible journalism beat - business, tourism, sports, environment, education, mental health, technology, media ethics, cinema, lifestyle, crime, politics, civic, rural, beauty, international relations, romance, data reporting, to mention a few. That is, COVID19 has kept journalists across all beats on their toes since it spread in India.”

“We have to come up with outstanding stories in any beat we are working upon, because everyone’s watching. We have to report on everyone’s hardship. But should it be done at the cost of our own life?” he asks adding that since first COVID wave, they have neither been provided safety gears, nor any financial relief from their employer or from the government.

“Kaam karo nahi toh Naukri chali jaayegi. Corona mein doosri Naukri milegi bhi nahi,” is what most of them have been told. A lot many organisations did shunt their employees, slashed their salaries, or suspended their operations.

“Moreover, a scheme, if at all is announced for journalists, it would be for those fulfilling some criteria, preferably accreditation or membership. As in the case of vaccination drive. Hundreds of others will have to wait for a messiah maybe!” Dinesh Manhotra, another senior journalist from Jammu, points out.

Further, there have been claims of under-reporting of the pandemic in Jammu.

Manhotra explains, “Did we ever have enough understanding of the virus which evolving continuously, or sufficient facts and figures to be translated into a story? No. But we always have a deadline. To make up for it, some of us started doing telephonic interviews, and stories based on data, research, human interest, opinions, etc. We have resorted to same this time too. Many activities were halted, which affected our list of story ideas. Those covering COVID19 related stories in their respective beats are mostly forestalled by reduced access and obfuscation of the information. As such, there is no official version or figures in most of the cases.”

He adds, “Last year, concerned authorities and our official sources avoided meeting us, citing the threat of coronavirus, or their true-or-not overwhelming schedule amidst COVID19 mitigation duties. This was happening with established or experienced journalists. Worst sufferers were young journalists who were still learning the trade. And not only us, the authorities avoided some of their own duties for the same reasons. They had to let go this attitude in the later months of the year though.”

Despite all this, great stories have come up since last year, with impact on livelihoods of various sections of the society topping the charts.

Not to forget, photojournalists, and video journalists had to be in the field to capture spot visuals of the lockdown, covid testing, last rites of the patient, availability of resources in the hospital, official visits, and so on. Also, J&K being a security state, attacks and encounters are not rare.

“What will a journalist do if he/she has to choose between his safety and a big story? Big story indeed. This is why, over 150 journalists across the country have died due to COVID19, most of them in line of duty,” says Vishal Bharti, also a Jammu based journalist, hoping that society and government recognize their unsung contribution and be more considerate towards them.

Journalists in unison demanded they be acknowledged as frontline warriors in Jammu and Kashmir, as is being done in other states of India, and also be given priority for vaccination.


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