CRISIS OF JOURNALISM UNDER THE PRESSURE OF ADVERTISING: INDRA YADAV

CRISIS OF JOURNALISM UNDER THE PRESSURE OF ADVERTISING: INDRA YADAV

22-AUG-ENG 11

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------------It is not easy to become a journalist these days. Earlier people used to think that a journalist only writes the truth. But now the reality is different. Today's journalist holds a pen in one hand and wanders from shop to shop, office to office with a bag in the other hand. Why? To take advertising. Because a newspaper does not run without advertising. And without newspaper there is no bread.

Just think. A journalist wakes up in the morning. Two questions roam in his mind. First: What news should I write today that is true? Second – Which shopkeeper or company should I go to today so that I can get the advertisement? Both questions go together. And often the second question defeats the first question.

Now understand what is the joke. A journalist goes to a shop to ask for an advertisement. The shopkeeper says – Brother, we will give the advertisement. But don't write anything bad about our shop. Otherwise ads will stop next month. There are two paths before a journalist. Write one truth and remain hungry. Second: Keep quiet or tell a little lie and earn your living. Most people choose the second path. Because the fire in the stomach is the strongest.

And this game of building relationships is even more fun. To advertise, relationships have to be built. Have to smile. Have to praise. Sometimes even false praise. what happens then? The relationship which was created for advertising, suppresses the truth. A factory is spreading filth, an official is doing wrong work – everything gets suppressed. Because “They have given the advertisement, right?

Earlier the job of the pen was to show the mirror. Telling people their mistakes. To show the face of truth to the society. But today the same pen has started brightening the face many times. Like makeup artist. Hide the mistake, enhance the beauty, and take the advertising money. If you read it in the newspaper it will appear that everything is going well. But if you look on the road, you will realize that the situation is different.

People say, leave it friend, this is business. Yes, it is business. To print a newspaper, paper is required, ink is required, machines are required and employees have to be paid salaries. All this runs only on advertising money. But the question is, does journalism also run when newspapers run? The answer is no.

Newspaper is a bunch of paper. News is published on it. But journalism is something else. Journalism is something that has the courage to speak the truth. Which becomes the voice of the poor. Who does not bow her head even before the powerful. And this courage does not come from money. This courage comes from self-respect.

Even today there are some journalists who do not sell their pens even in difficult times. Suffer poverty. Not afraid of people in power. Do not come under pressure from advertisers. Salute to such people. Because he is the real journalist. The rest who are only running after advertisements are running newspapers, not journalism.

In the end, understand one thing clearly. A newspaper can run through advertising. The printing press can run. Office rent may be incurred. But journalism cannot continue. Journalism runs on self-respect for which no advertiser can pay. That self-respect that forces one to write the truth even while being hungry.

If this self-respect dies, tomorrow the newspaper will be sold, but there will be no news in it. There will be only advertisements. And then people will ask – is this a newspaper or a shop catalogue?

Only those who understand the pain of the pen can understand. Rest of the people will just laugh and say – it's business, brother!