घाउमा नून दल्न आयो शिविरमा दशैं
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। दशैं आउन 6 दिन छ तर भुइँचालोको कारण सर्वस्व गुमाउनेहरूको निम्ति दशैंमा कुनै रौनक छैन। सधैँ दशैंमा नयॉं लुगा लगाएर पिस्तोलमा केप फुटाएर रमाइलो गर्ने 10 वर्षीय राकेश ठकुरी यसपाली मौन छन्। तिनले आमालाई यसपाली न त पिस्तोल किनिमागे न त लुगा नै। भुइँचालोले पूर्णरूपले भत्काइदिएको घरको लथालिङ घडेरीमा उभिएर भत्किएका काठपात सम्हाली रहेका भुवन सिंह ठकुरीलाई बाबा हाम्रो घर कहिले बनिन्छ? भनेर प्रश्न गर्दा ठकुरी परिवार नै थर्कमान बनेका छन्। साना नानीहरूले गर्ने प्रश्नले नै गलेका ठकुरीले दशैं सम्झँदै भने, यसपाली शिविरमा नै दशैं मान्नुपर्ने होला, केटाकेटी मान्दैन होलान्।
मन्दिर गाउँ र शंखे गाउँलाई भुइँचालोले तहस नहस पारेपछि अहिले सानोसानो कुराले पनि पिरोलिरहेका छन् शिविरबासीहरू। कालेबुङदेखि 45 किलोमिटर टाडामा रहेको 24 नम्बर समष्टीको मन्दिर र शंखे गाउँ मात्र होइन त्यहीँ तलको लुङसेल, मालुटार, रङ्बी, आपते, ज्याङबारी तथा अन्य गाउँको पनि अवस्था यस्तै छ। मोठ पॉंचवटा शिविरमा बसोबासो गरिरहेका पीडितहरूले गुमाउने परेको पीडामा नुन छर्किन आइपुगेको दशैंले फेरि अर्को भइँचालोको काम गर्ने देखिएको छ। सधैँ आफन्तहरूलाई घरभरि थुपारेर टीको लगाइदिने 55 वर्षीय मनकुमारी ठकुरीलाई यसपल्ट घर गुमेकोले दशैंको वास्ता छैन। भुइँचालोको कारण नै सबै सन्तान गाउँ आइपुगेको छ। तिनी भन्छिन्, यसपाली त शिविरका सबैलाई नै टीको लगाइदिउँला। घर छैन, संसार छैन तर पनि रिति त निभाउनै पर्ला। शिविरका सबै नै मेरा सन्तान हुन्। लुङसेलका प्रेम सिंह छेत्री अहिले भुइँचालोले भत्काइदिएको बारी जतिबाट अदुवा खन्न व्यस्त छन्। दशैं आयो यसो अलिकति खर्च त जोहो गर्नै पर्यो, तिनी भन्छन्। तिनले अदुवा खन्न त खन्यो तर बेच्न पॉंचघण्टाको बाटो हिँडेर नगरकट्टा पुग्न पर्छ। गाउँमा तीनसय रुपियॉं मन छ भन्छन्, पॉंच सय पाउन नगरकट्टा नै बोकेर लान्छु-केही सय भए पनि धेर पाउने आशामा तिनी नगरकट्टा जाने भएका छन्। प्रकृतिले त ठग्यो, ठग्यो सरकारले पनि यी क्षेत्रहरूलाई ठगेको छ। किन भने यो गाउँमा गाडी नै पुग्दैन।
पैदल जाने जुन बाटो छ, त्यहॉं पनि पैह्रो गएको छ। भीरको बाटो सात घण्टा हिँडेर नोक डॉंडामा पार्टीका नेता र सरकारी अधिकारी भेट्न आएकी माया राईले भनिन्, अरूबेला त केही गरिदिएनन्, यस्तो परेको बेला त सरकारको मान्छे आउनुपर्छ नी, लाठसाबहरूलाई भेट्न यत्रो हिँडेर आउनुपर्छ। घर भत्किएकोले शिविरमा बसिरहेकी मन्दिर गाउँकी शिला ठकुरीलाई भुइँचालोपछि दशैंले पिरोलेको छ। भुइँचालोले सबै लुटेको बेलामा दशैँ आयो, के गर्ने के नगर्ने थाहा छैन-तिनी भन्छिन।
पत्रकारहरू पुगे कोही नपुगेका शिविरमा
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। कालेबुङका पत्रकार अनि सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता अनि कालाकारहरूले कालेबुङवासीलाई सहयोग मागेपछि शंखे गाउँ अनि मन्दिर गाउँका पीडितहरुको निम्ति रहत सामाग्रीहरू प्रचुर मात्रामा संग्रहित बनेपछि सहयोगी दलको एक टोली मन्दिर र शंखे गाउ मात्र होइन लुङसेल, नोकडॉंडा, मालिटार, दोरिङ, ज्याङ्गेबारी, हरिखोप, झण्डी, रङ्बी, अनि आपते पुगेका थिए। नोक डॉंडासम्म दुइवटा ट्रकमा लादिएका राहत सामाग्रीहरू बोकेर पुगेका यो टोलीले त्यहॉंदेखि गाउँहरू पुग्न पॉंच घण्टाको बाटो हिँड्नुपरेको थियो।
यति विघ्न राहत सामाग्री बोकेर कालेबुङबाट हिँड्ने टोली यही प्रथम रहेको थियो। प्रेस क्लबका पत्रकारहरू मनोज राई, डीके वाइबा, जर्नलिष्ट एसोसिएसनका सुनिल प्रसाद मात्र होइनन्, कलाकार बिक्रम पराजुली, कथाकार शमशेर अली, नाटककार दिनेश खाती पनि साथमा थिए। दैनन्दिनी च्यानल अनि समय दैनिकले मन्दिर गाउँ र शंखे गाउँको भुइँचालो आतङ्कबारे विस्तृत रिपोर्ट निकालेपछि कालेबुङ नै सहयोगको निम्ति उर्लिएको थियो। जुकालाई टोकाउँदै पैह्रोको पैदलबाटो हिँडेर टोली प्रभावित क्षेत्र पुग्दा दुःख झेलिरहेका शिविरबासका पीडितहरूको अनुहारमा खुशी झल्किएकको थियो। मालुटारका सिमन लेप्चाले भने, सरकारी अधिकारीहरू त आएनन् नै नेताहरू पनि आएनन्।
तपाईँहरू आइपुग्नु भयो, घाउमा मलम नै लागेको छ। टोली त्यस क्षेत्रका पॉंचवटा शिविरमा 17 कुइण्टल चामल, एक ट्रक लूगाफाटा, 50 लिटर मट्टितेल अनि 60 लिटर खाने तेल साथमा लगेका थिए। टोलीलाई सहयोग पुर्याएका थिए पॉंच जना जीएलपी जवानहरूले। घरहरू गुमाउनेहरू शिविरमा थिए भने आंशिक क्षति पुग्नेहरू दिउँसोदिउँसो घर पुग्दै चेरचाह गर्ने गरेको पीडितहरुले जनाए। सरकारको पक्षबाट तारपोलिन र केही टेण्ट पुगेको बताउने पीडितहरूले कालेबुङ नगरवासीले दुःखको घडीमा गरेको सहयोगको निम्ति आभार व्यक्त पनि गरे। भुइँचालोले गर्नुसम्म क्षति गरेको कुरा बताउँदा उनीहरूको आँखा रसाएको थियो भने सबैसित एउटै पीडा थियो कि अब हामीलाई सरकारले पुनर्वास गराएन भने गाउँलेहरूको बिचल्नी हुन्छ। मन्दिर गाउँ र शंखे गाउँलाई अन्यत्र नै सारिए मात्र गाउँहरू दुर्घटनाबाट बॉंच्न सक्ने बताउँदै उनीहरूले भने, पत्रकारहरूले केवल समाचारको निम्ति मात्र काम नगरेर परेको बेला यसरी सहयोग पुर्याएकोमा आभारी छौं।
पीडितहरूको पीडामा भावुक हुने जनप्रतिनिधिहरू पुगेनन् गाउँमा
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। समय दैनिक अनि दैनन्दिनी च्यानलले शंखे अनि मन्दिर गाउँका पीडितहहरूको पीडालाई सार्वजनिक गरेपछि नगरभरिबाट नै पीडितहरूलाई सहयोगका हातहरू उठे।
जसले जे पनि दिन सक्थे, राहत संग्रह केन्द्रमा ल्याए। जसलाई पीडितहरूसम्म पुर्याउन पत्रकारहरूले जुकालाई टोकाउँदै भए पनि शंखे, मन्दिर गाउँ, लुङ्सेल अनि अन्य चार क्षेत्र पुगे। महकुमा भरिमा नै सबैभन्दा पीडित क्षेत्र रहेकोले सबैको ध्यानाकार्षणको केन्द्र बनेको थियो तरै पनि जनताका प्रतिनिधि र जनताका पार्टी भन्ने गरेका दलका नेताहरू कोही पनि पीडित क्षेत्र पुगेनन्। जो पनि पुगे नोक डॉंडासम्म मात्र पुगे।
त्यहीँबाट रमिता जस्तो यी गाउँहरूलाई हेरे अनि फर्किए। मन्दिर गाउँकी माया राईले भनिन्, पञ्चायत कर्मीहरू को को हुन्, त्यो पनि हामीलाई थाहा छैन। विधायक त झन्, भोटको बेला भित्तामा टॉंसिएकोपोष्टरमा मात्र देखेका हौं। सांसद त सांसद भइहाले तिनी गाउँ आउने होइनन् नै नेताहरू पनि आएनन्। स्टेचरमा बुढौल्ली भत्ता थाप्न जानेहरूलाई स्टेचरमा नै लगेर भोट हाल्न लगाएका हौं, तर परेको बेला माथिमाथिबाट हाम्रो दुख बुझ्न आएरे। हामीलाई दुःख लागेको छ। किन भने उनीहरूले गुमाउनुपरेको छैन। गुमाउनु हामीले परेको छ, दुःख पनि हामीलाई छ। हाम्रो दुःख उनीहरूलाई रमिता भयो, तरै पनि हामी खुशी छौं।
मल्टिकम्प्लेक्समा स्टल दिने मोर्चाले - गाउँवासीसित निर्णय हुन सकेन
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। नगर सुन्दरीकरणको निम्ति नोभेल्टी सिनेमा हल परिसरमा रहेको मॉं सन्तोषी गाउँलार्ई हटाएर मल्टिकम्प्लेक्स अनि उच्चस्तरीय मोटरस्ट्याण्ड बनाउने सबै तम्तयारी भए पनि गाउँलेहरूलाई त्यसको भनकसम्म नदिएर एकैचोटी घर हटाउने नोटिश गाउँलेहरूलाई दिएपछि शुरू भएको विवादलाई आज साम्य गराउन मोर्चाले एउटा पहल गर्यो। 25 दिनको समय दिएर त्यस गाउँका चार परिवारलाई पीडब्ल्युडीले घर हटाउने नोटिश दिए पनि गाउँवासीले घर हटाएनन्। उनीहरुको पुर्खाको पालामा पनि यसरी नै घर हटाएर स्ट्याण्ड बनाउने नोटिश आउँदा प्रशासन र गाउँलेबीच मुद्दा चलेको थियो, जसमा गाउँलेहरूको नै जीत भएको थियो। त्यसबेला न्यायलयले स्पष्ट पार्दै दाबी गरिएको जमीन न त नगरपालिकाको न त पीडब्ल्युको रहेको बताउँदै दाबी गर्ने पक्षले लगाएको आरोप अनुसार जमीन नपाएकोले निर्णय गाउँलेहरूको पक्षमा सुनाइएको थियो।
अहिले पनि गाउँमा रहेको चारवटा घरहरूलाई हटाउने नोटिश आयो। नोटिशमा 25 दिनको समय पनि तोकियो तर नोटिश पाउनेहरूले घर हटाएनन् बरू उल्टै उच्चन्यायलयमा मुद्दा दर्ता गरिएको छ। यता गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चा अनि नगरप्रशासन गाउँ हटाउने अनि त्यहॉं मल्टिकम्लेक्स र उच्चस्तरीय मोटर स्ट्याण्ड बनाउने पक्षमा अडिग रहेको छ। यहॉंको समस्या समाधान गर्नको निम्ति मोर्चाका अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङ समेत गाउँ पुगेर घरहरू हटाइदिने अनुरोध गरेका थिए।
त्यसबेला बिमल गुरूङले उनीहरूलाई राम्रो गाउँमा पुनर्वास गराएर नै हटाउने आश्वासन पनि दिएका थिए भने मोर्चाको कालेबुङ शाखा अनि नगरप्रशासनसित बैठक गरेर समस्याको समाधान गर्ने अनुरोध गरेका थिए। तर गाउँवासीले गुरूङको अनुरोधलाई उत्तिसाह्रो प्राथमिकता दिएका थिएनन्। आज गाउँवासीलाई एउटा विकल्प बोकेर गोजमुमो कालेबुङ शाखाले बैठकमा बोलाएको थियो। पार्टी कार्यालयमा बैठक बोलाएको भए पनि गाउँका मुख्य अभिभावकहरू अन्य कामले व्यस्त रहेकोले बैठकमा उपस्थित हुन सकेनन्। दुइचारजना बसेर निर्णय गर्न नसक्ने भएकोले बैठक निष्कर्षहीन बनेको थियो। मोर्चाले उनीहरूलाई त्यहॉं बनाइने मल्टिकम्प्लेक्समा 35 परिवारलाई नै एकएकवटा स्टल दिने अफर गरेको थियो। जुन स्टलमा सबैले आफ्नो व्यापार गर्न सकून। यता गाउँवासीसित प्रश्न गर्दा उनीहरूलाई स्टलमा कुनै रुची छैन। किन भने स्टल सानोसानो दोकान चलाउन होला तर परिवारलाई बस्न सुविधा हुँदैन।
पुर्खौंदेखि बसोबासो गर्दै आइरहेको ठाउँबाट त्यसै उच्छेद हुने इच्छामा कोही पनि छैनन्। यता छिमेकी कल्याण सङ्घका अध्यक्ष प्रवीण मोथेले बैठकमा ठूला मान्छे नभएकोले अथवा धेर नै अनुपस्थित रहेकोले कुनै पनि निर्णय नभएको अनि दशैंपछि नै यसबारे कुराकानी हुनसक्ने बताए। तिनले पश्चिमबङ्गाल सरकारलाई मालिकाना हक दिनुपर्ने कुरामा नै उनीहरूले जोड दिइरहेको पनि उनीहरूले जनाएका छन्।
कवि गुरू रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुरको सम्झना दिलाउन - दुर्गा पूजाको पण्डाल
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। कालेबुङमा दशैंको रौनक बढेको छ। त्यसलाई अझ महादुर्गा पूजाको चहलपहलले हर्षोल्लाषको लहर उपार्जन गरेको छ। नगरपालिका क्षेत्र भरि नै दुर्गा पूजाको निम्ति भव्य पण्डालहरू बनाइने कार्य जारी रहेको छ। यता पूजाको बजारले शहरमा भीडभाड पनि व्यापक बनेको छ। शहरबीच बनाइएको दुर्गापूजाको पण्डालहरूमध्ये कालेबुङ सार्वजनिक दुर्गा पूजा कमिटीले स्थानीय रामकृष्ण रङ्गमञ्च परिसरमा बनाइएको पण्डालले भने छुट्टै महत्व बोकेको छ। किन भने यो पण्डाललाई कविगुरू रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुरको सम्झना गराउने थिममा तयार पारिएको छ।
दुर्गापूजा कमिटीले यसपल्ट 83 औं दुर्जापूजा पालन गरिरहेको छ। यो कमिटीले गर्ने पूजाको महत्व ऐतिहासिक रहेको छ किन भने कमिटीले गर्ने यो पूजा कालेबुङमा सबैभन्दा पुरानो रहेको छ। मिलन क्लबको छत्रछायामा गर्ने यो पूजाको सम्बन्ध रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुरसित जोडिएको छ। कमिटीका सचिव काजोन मुखर्जीले जनाए अनुसार यही स्थलमा यही कमिटीले गरेको पूजामा कविगुरू रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर पनि सम्मिलित हुने गरेका थिए। 83 वर्ष अघि रविन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर पूजामा सामेल बन्ने यही स्थल आएका थिए। यसकारण उनैको 150 औं पूण्य तिथी पनि परेकोले महादुर्गा पूजासंगै कवि गुरूलाई सम्झना गर्दै यसप्रकारको पण्डाल बनाइएको पनि तिनले जनाएका छन्। पण्डालभरि नै कविगरूको पुराना फोटोहरू सजाइएको छ। तिनी जब पनि कालेबुङ आए, त्यसबेला खिचिएका फोटोहरू बाहेक पनि तिनको जवान हुँदाका प्रायः नै पुराना फोटोहरू त्यहॉं सजाइएको छ। महादुर्गा पूजामा दर्शन गर्न आउने भक्तहरूलाई यो पण्डालले एक पल्ट फेरि कविगुरूको सम्झाना दिलाउने छ। किन भने कवि गुरू 83 वर्ष अघि यो पूजामा सामेल हुन आएका थिए भने त्यसबेलाका बुढापाकाहरूलाई यसपल्ट यो पूजामा कवि गुरूको सम्झाना गराउने छ।
वर्षेनी गर्ने यो पूजामा कालेबुङका धेरै नै बङ्गाली समुदाय सम्मिलित हुने गरेका छन् भने यसपल्ट त झनै कविगरूको सम्झनाको थिममा नै पण्डाल बनाइएकोले बङ्गाली समुदायहरुको निम्ति महादुर्गा पूजा मुख्य आकर्षणको केन्द्र बनेको छ। यसै पनि बङ्गाली समुदायले कुनै पनि पूजालाई अन्य समुदायले भन्दा धेर भक्तिभावले पालन गर्ने गरेको पाइन्छ भने यसपल्ट त उनीहरूलाई पूजामा कविगरू पाउँदा सुनमा सुगन्ध थपिएको अनुभव हुनेछ। यहॉं दुर्गापूजा गर्नैको निम्ति 83 वर्षअघि सिलगढीबाट घोडामा मुर्ति बोकाएर ल्याउने गरेको पाइन्छ। समयसित नै पहाडमा पनि व्यापक परिवर्तन हुँदै गयो अनि गेलखोला भएर रेल चलेपछि रेलमा नै चढाएर गेल खोलासम्म यो पूजाको निम्ति मुर्ति ल्याउने गरिन्थ्यो। रेल बाहेक पनि घिर्लिङसमेतमा चढाएर यहॉं मुर्ति ल्याइएको पूजाको इतिहास रहेको छ। घोंडा, रेल र घिर्लिङ हुँदै अहिले सजिलैसित वाहनमा चढाएर मुर्ति ल्याइने गरिएको छ। त्यसबेला यो पूजाको निम्ति ल्याइने मुर्ति पूजा सकिने बेला मात्र आइपगेको घटना पनि रहेको बताउँछन् आयोजक पक्षका प्रतिनिधिहरू।
नयॉं ट्राफिक नियम शुरू भएकै दिन जाम
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 1 अक्टोबर। धेरै समय लगाएर कालेबुङ नगरप्रशासनले तयार पारेको अनि जिल्लापालद्वारा अनुमोदन गरिएको कालेबुङ नगरको नयॉं ट्राफिक नियम शुरू भएकै दिन व्यापक जाम देखापर्यो। आजदेखि नयॉं नियम लागू भए पनि आज नै शनिबार हाटको दिन परेको अनि आजदेखि नै दशैंको रौनक बढेकोले सौदापात गर्नेहरूको भीड बढेको थियो। मानिसहरुको भीड त थियो नै वाहनहरूको भीड पनि उत्ति नै थियो। यस्तोमा पुरानै म्यानपावर लिएर नयॉं नियम लागू गर्न ट्राफिक प्रवन्धनपक्षलाई निक्कै गाह्रो परेको देखियो। यद्धपि मोटर स्ट्याण्डमा बसहरूको संख्या घट्यो भने ती बसहरूलाई यात्रू उतारेर नयॉं बस स्ट्याण्डमा पठाइयो। जताततै पार्किङ गर्ने वाहन चालकहरूलाई आज गाह्रो पर्यो किन भने नयॉं नियम लागू गर्न ट्राफिक पुलिसहरू तैनाथ थिए। मेनरोडमा मोटर बाइक पार्किङ गर्नेहरूलाई पनि आज गाह्रो पर्यो किन भने आजदेखि मोटर बाइकहरुलाई त्यहॉं पार्किङ गर्न दिइएन। आज भीडभाड बढेकोले नियम लागू गर्न गाह्रो परेपनि भोलिदेखि नियमलाई सुचारू गरिने ट्राफिक निकायले जनाएको छ। आज शुरूवात भएकोले सबैलाई नयॉं नियमबारे अवगत नहुँदा कडाई गर्न नसकिएको पनि निकायले जनाएको छ।
Historically news organizations have been running the business of ‘printing and publishing’. The modern journalism is supposed to have started with the Gutenberg press in the fifteenth century, when Bible was printed and made available to the common masses, liberating it from the clutches of the clergy.
The Bible printing press evolved into of a press that printed books, periodicals and finally Daily Newspapers by the seventeenth century. Soon various newspapers were in business all over Europe and America. Journalism was a ‘mission’ as well as a ‘business’.
Many of these newspapers were ‘promoted’ or ‘owned’ by people on a mission – people committed to the ideals of democracy. Even in India, journalism students are taught that modern journalism started with some of the great freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, starting their own periodicals or newspapers.
So journalism started as a ‘business of selling ideals of democracy’.
These ideas sold. People, the common man as well as the rich and the famous, bought them and they didn’t mind paying a price. The business sustained.
By the end of nineteenth century, some businessmen in the USA could recognize that the massive reach of newspapers made them the most powerful tool of mass marketing and advertising. The term ‘yellow journalism’ came into being a few years after. Profits skyrocketed.
Journalism became a ‘business of selling advertising spots’.
And it gave birth to page-3 journalism, it gave birth to sold out editorial spaces (by cleverly calling it advertorials), and it made the ‘mission’ of journalism take the back seat and give the driver seat to the ‘business’ of journalism.
The problem with television news was even more complex. Unlike the printing and publishing business, television business didn’t start with any grand mission of propagating ideals of democracy, revolution or education.
Television had broadly two roles when it started – government controlled mass communication medium or an entertainment medium better known as the idiot box, which attracted eyeballs and sold advertising spots as part of business strategy.
When independent television news channels started, they had the challenge to not take on either of these roles – a government propaganda machinery or an idiot box. While they ‘seem’ to have saved themselves from becoming a propaganda machinery of the government, they are definitely struggling to save themselves from adopting the idiot box business strategy of selling TRP slots.
We have assumed that TRPs almost solely determine the advertisement rates of the television news channels. Higher the TRP values, higher the advertising rates, and hence higher the revenues, causing the business strategy of the news channels to be TRP driven.
We have also assumed that it’s mostly non-serious and non-journalistic television content that attracts higher eyeballs and hence higher TRPs.
Both these assumptions are not completely unfounded. Television advertising rates depend heavily on TRPs (although not solely) and people tend to watch more of entertainment and non-serious content on television, because television remains a very important medium of entertainment.
Could these two factors be changed?
The first one (making television advertising rates a lot less dependent upon TRPs) would require a change in the market dynamics of the television advertising industry, while the second one (people start preferring serious television content) warrants a radical social behavior change or mass arrival of a completely new and personal medium of entertainment making television an ‘intelligent box’.
Obviously the change in market dynamics of the television advertising industry seems more feasible than hoping to radically change the society or entertainment mediums.
Television advertising industry has three major players – the rating agencies (who calculate and release TRPs), the media planners (who interpret these TRPs to price advertising spots), and the advertisers (who spend money to buy these advertising spots).
All of them would have to mutually agree to come up with a formula where some other factor is given equal importance alongside TRPs while pricing the television advertising spots. For example, the rating agencies could ask common television viewers to rate television news channels on some ‘credibility’, ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity’ index and media planners factor these ratings while pricing advertising spots.
Yes, I am proposing that television adverting spots should have ‘quality’ (public perception) too apart from ‘quantity’ (eyeballs and reach) to offer.
And it’s not an outlandish or too idealistic a proposition. In outdoor advertising, subconsciously or otherwise, advertising spots have surely a ‘quality’ attached to them. If you are driving on a highway, you won’t find a billboard at a spot that could be considered an eyesore by the passing people, even though the ‘eyeballs’ (traffic on the highway) remain constant all across.
Therefore the major players of the television advertising industry will need to be convinced that advertising on a news channel, which is considered to be frivolous or irresponsible by common people, is like putting up a billboard near a stinking heap of waste on a highway. So an advertiser is advised to look for a ‘better’ spot. It seems a bit difficult, but not impossible.
The first step towards the above solution warrants that there should be a public rating to calculate and evaluate parameters like sincerity, seriousness, credibility, neutrality and objectivity of different television news channels, just like there is currently the TRP scale to calculate and evaluate the channel reach. Will it happen? Let’s see.
(this is an abridged version of an article from this blog)
IIT students ask government to provide them girlfriends when they graduate
Kharagpur. Male students of IITs have asked the government to keep a girlfriend ready for each of them once they graduate out of the prestigious technological institutes. This was done after government decided to recover money from IIT students that was spent by the government on their education. Students say that if the government wants to recover the cost incurred, they wanted to recover the life lost.
“If they invest money for these four years, we invest our lives,” Ritesh Raj, a third year student at IIT Kharagpur said, “We have to satisfy ourselves with Facebook girls even as our non-IITian school friends hang around with real girls in the real world. There are not enough girls out here where the government has kept us captive for full four years!”
“If the government wants to recover money, we want to recover our golden years!” he added.Earlier this month, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had announced that IITs had agreed upon a proposal that made it incumbent upon the general category IIT graduates to pay back the money that the government incurs on their education as soon as they find a job after passing out. Students belonging to the reserved categories were kept out of this rule.
“We have no problems if they give a girlfriend each to the reserved category students too,” Ritesh claimed, “But those, who are being asked to pay money, must get a girlfriend. This is the easiest way to compensate us for the life that we lose in these four years.”
Ritesh said that ideally the students should be compensated for various things such as living away from their family, eating mess food, getting exposed to weirdoes, and becoming internet trolls – the commonly acknowledged negative effects of spending four years in an engineering college – but the students have asked for something that was “workable”.
“Can the government claim that those students who study in non-engineering colleges pay up the full cost incurred by the college?” Ritesh argued, “I have found out about the college fees of many ‘normal’ universities in India and they are ridiculously low. Then why are we being targeted even though we have to go through various hardships as compared to a non-engineering graduate?”
Not just the male students, even the female students of IITs agree that they should be compensated for spending four prime years of their life in an environment that is anything but ‘normal’.
The girl students too want a boyfriend who can appreciate the color of their salwar-kameez without thinking about the HTML code of that color.
Anatomy of TRP madness and television journalism of India
Faking news:The current mess of television journalism in India is often blamed upon “the mad TRP race” i.e. the race to show sensational and senseless stuff in name of news just to attract ‘eyeballs’ i.e. attention of common men and hence their viewership, which translates into high TRP numbers and business profitability. So is this ‘business’ of achieving high TRPs against the ‘business’ of journalism?Historically news organizations have been running the business of ‘printing and publishing’. The modern journalism is supposed to have started with the Gutenberg press in the fifteenth century, when Bible was printed and made available to the common masses, liberating it from the clutches of the clergy.
The Bible printing press evolved into of a press that printed books, periodicals and finally Daily Newspapers by the seventeenth century. Soon various newspapers were in business all over Europe and America. Journalism was a ‘mission’ as well as a ‘business’.
Many of these newspapers were ‘promoted’ or ‘owned’ by people on a mission – people committed to the ideals of democracy. Even in India, journalism students are taught that modern journalism started with some of the great freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, starting their own periodicals or newspapers.
So journalism started as a ‘business of selling ideals of democracy’.
These ideas sold. People, the common man as well as the rich and the famous, bought them and they didn’t mind paying a price. The business sustained.
By the end of nineteenth century, some businessmen in the USA could recognize that the massive reach of newspapers made them the most powerful tool of mass marketing and advertising. The term ‘yellow journalism’ came into being a few years after. Profits skyrocketed.
Journalism became a ‘business of selling advertising spots’.
And it gave birth to page-3 journalism, it gave birth to sold out editorial spaces (by cleverly calling it advertorials), and it made the ‘mission’ of journalism take the back seat and give the driver seat to the ‘business’ of journalism.
The problem with television news was even more complex. Unlike the printing and publishing business, television business didn’t start with any grand mission of propagating ideals of democracy, revolution or education.
Television had broadly two roles when it started – government controlled mass communication medium or an entertainment medium better known as the idiot box, which attracted eyeballs and sold advertising spots as part of business strategy.
When independent television news channels started, they had the challenge to not take on either of these roles – a government propaganda machinery or an idiot box. While they ‘seem’ to have saved themselves from becoming a propaganda machinery of the government, they are definitely struggling to save themselves from adopting the idiot box business strategy of selling TRP slots.
We have assumed that TRPs almost solely determine the advertisement rates of the television news channels. Higher the TRP values, higher the advertising rates, and hence higher the revenues, causing the business strategy of the news channels to be TRP driven.
We have also assumed that it’s mostly non-serious and non-journalistic television content that attracts higher eyeballs and hence higher TRPs.
Both these assumptions are not completely unfounded. Television advertising rates depend heavily on TRPs (although not solely) and people tend to watch more of entertainment and non-serious content on television, because television remains a very important medium of entertainment.
Could these two factors be changed?
The first one (making television advertising rates a lot less dependent upon TRPs) would require a change in the market dynamics of the television advertising industry, while the second one (people start preferring serious television content) warrants a radical social behavior change or mass arrival of a completely new and personal medium of entertainment making television an ‘intelligent box’.
Obviously the change in market dynamics of the television advertising industry seems more feasible than hoping to radically change the society or entertainment mediums.
Television advertising industry has three major players – the rating agencies (who calculate and release TRPs), the media planners (who interpret these TRPs to price advertising spots), and the advertisers (who spend money to buy these advertising spots).
All of them would have to mutually agree to come up with a formula where some other factor is given equal importance alongside TRPs while pricing the television advertising spots. For example, the rating agencies could ask common television viewers to rate television news channels on some ‘credibility’, ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity’ index and media planners factor these ratings while pricing advertising spots.
Yes, I am proposing that television adverting spots should have ‘quality’ (public perception) too apart from ‘quantity’ (eyeballs and reach) to offer.
And it’s not an outlandish or too idealistic a proposition. In outdoor advertising, subconsciously or otherwise, advertising spots have surely a ‘quality’ attached to them. If you are driving on a highway, you won’t find a billboard at a spot that could be considered an eyesore by the passing people, even though the ‘eyeballs’ (traffic on the highway) remain constant all across.
Therefore the major players of the television advertising industry will need to be convinced that advertising on a news channel, which is considered to be frivolous or irresponsible by common people, is like putting up a billboard near a stinking heap of waste on a highway. So an advertiser is advised to look for a ‘better’ spot. It seems a bit difficult, but not impossible.
The first step towards the above solution warrants that there should be a public rating to calculate and evaluate parameters like sincerity, seriousness, credibility, neutrality and objectivity of different television news channels, just like there is currently the TRP scale to calculate and evaluate the channel reach. Will it happen? Let’s see.
(this is an abridged version of an article from this blog)
IIT students ask government to provide them girlfriends when they graduate
Kharagpur. Male students of IITs have asked the government to keep a girlfriend ready for each of them once they graduate out of the prestigious technological institutes. This was done after government decided to recover money from IIT students that was spent by the government on their education. Students say that if the government wants to recover the cost incurred, they wanted to recover the life lost.
“If they invest money for these four years, we invest our lives,” Ritesh Raj, a third year student at IIT Kharagpur said, “We have to satisfy ourselves with Facebook girls even as our non-IITian school friends hang around with real girls in the real world. There are not enough girls out here where the government has kept us captive for full four years!”
“If the government wants to recover money, we want to recover our golden years!” he added.Earlier this month, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had announced that IITs had agreed upon a proposal that made it incumbent upon the general category IIT graduates to pay back the money that the government incurs on their education as soon as they find a job after passing out. Students belonging to the reserved categories were kept out of this rule.
“We have no problems if they give a girlfriend each to the reserved category students too,” Ritesh claimed, “But those, who are being asked to pay money, must get a girlfriend. This is the easiest way to compensate us for the life that we lose in these four years.”
Ritesh said that ideally the students should be compensated for various things such as living away from their family, eating mess food, getting exposed to weirdoes, and becoming internet trolls – the commonly acknowledged negative effects of spending four years in an engineering college – but the students have asked for something that was “workable”.
“Can the government claim that those students who study in non-engineering colleges pay up the full cost incurred by the college?” Ritesh argued, “I have found out about the college fees of many ‘normal’ universities in India and they are ridiculously low. Then why are we being targeted even though we have to go through various hardships as compared to a non-engineering graduate?”
Not just the male students, even the female students of IITs agree that they should be compensated for spending four prime years of their life in an environment that is anything but ‘normal’.
The girl students too want a boyfriend who can appreciate the color of their salwar-kameez without thinking about the HTML code of that color.
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