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(In conversation with Sunil Sethi, Senior Editor, NDTV and Anchor, Just Books)
You’ve been associated with the news industry for a long time now. How has the industry changed/evolved over the years?
Well, I started out as a print journalist with India Today in the mid 70’s. I was there for 10 years and was one of the founding members of the team. It was a very very different place then. There was only one TV channel – state-owned Doordarshan – and technology back then, as compared to today, was very primitive. We functioned on teleprinters. Phone very seldom worked. The communication problems were unbelievable by today’s standards. There was no fax – forget emails –and we had old Remington typewriters and no computers. So, the changes in these last 25-30 years have been absolutely extraordinary. And I think, largely driven by technology.
Apart from technological advancements, do you think that, editorially, TV news media has deteriorated or has it improved? And is there scope for improvement?
Well, there is always room for improvement in any industry. The thing about the media is it is both, industry as well as institution because it has great social and political responsibility. Yet, one must not forget that it is an industry driven by advertising. So, the challenge at editorial level is to somehow balance commercial drive together with judicial reporting and opinion. What has been staggering in the growth of television is the satellite revolution – as to how fast news, ideas and opinions can be transmitted. As we saw during the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The people who were trapped inside the hotels didn’t know as much as the viewers knew. In fact, it’s not only television but even a cell phone which has become a very powerful tool. So, the growth and the speed with which electronic media operates today is really fantastic.
However, it is also open to misuse. The competition – due to the growth in the number of TV channels – is so acute that often people tend to sensationalise or blow up inconsequential and really irrelevant news to gain TRP ratings. So it is this ratings which leads to this sensationalisation and subsequent lowering of standards. But, in the end – as in all flourishing institutions – the best, most competent and most fair always survive and succeed because, ultimately, what matters in the media is your credibility.
But these days most people criticise the media and say the standards (of news coverage) have lowered. Would you agree?
The media in India, just like in other parts of the world, is too big a place to generalise like this. Obviously, some TV channels are better than others. As I said it’s the credibility of the channel to report and to reflect opinion fairly, substantiate points accurately and with great speed. That is what makes a TV channel or a newspaper acquire that fantastic thing called credibility, which the quotient by which your reading or viewing audience will believe you. Of course, many people tend to misuse it as well. But, that has always been the case. When you’re reading a novel, you can either read a cheap, stupid and trashy novel. Or, you can read great literature.
Now that you’ve mentioned literature, 2008 was a great year for publishing in India. A lot of debutants, such as Mohammed Hanif, Aravind Adiga and Basharat Peer among others, have made a mark. What do you for see for 2009 and the years ahead?
I think there’s a popular view that, with the proliferation and spread of TV and digital technology, books will be devalued and that people will read less and less. I don’t think that’s true. For instance, when I started my weekly show Just Books six years ago, I thought translating books onto television would be a difficult job. In fact, I didn’t think the show would last six weeks! And yet, it’s six years and every weekend, without a single week’s break, the show is aired. So, obviously, there is a great thirst for books. And, for the written word. Not only for new ideas and information, but for the sheer pleasure of reading. If you look at figures for Indian publishing over the recent years, they’ve soared. There are more publishing houses in India today in search of new authors than they were ever before. A young journalist like Basharat Peer has given us such a moving account (Curfewed Night) of what it was like to grow up during the insurgency years in Kashmir. Or the proliferation of Pakistani writers; people like Daniyal Mueenuddin , Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Hanif who have given us a unique portrait of Pakistan in their works of fiction. Hence, there’s always room for new voices and, in my opinion, the hunger for the written word will never die.
But even as publishing houses are sprouting up all over India, there isn’t enough coverage of books in the Indian media. Don’t you think coverage of books has plateaued if not declined?
I don’t think coverage has declined. I think, by and large, the coverage has been proportionately fair. On weekends, newspapers have a page or page-and-a half for book reviews.
But is that sufficient?
I think so. After all, if you wanted to read about movies alone then you would read a specialised movie magazine. You wouldn’t expect movie news to be splashed on the front page of the newspaper! So arts coverage, in some respects, may have declined. But, thank God for shows like Just Books. But most newspapers cover books and profile authors regularly.
But on news channels, one rarely finds books programmes.
Well, maybe because they are not easy to do. They are not instantly saleable or have that commercial cache that film programmes do. But, that’s not to say that there’s no audience for them and I do believe that there is sufficient books coverage in our weeklies such as India Today, Outlook or The Week. And newspapers do carry books news. Vikas Swarup’s Q&A - which is now Slumdog Millionaire – is a fine example.
Last quick questions: a) Are you planning to write a book yourself and b) which authors to look forward to in 2009?
I am always thinking of writing a book but I need to take time off from my journalistic and broadcasting commitments to be able to do so. I hope I will be able to do so someday. I have written books on Indian architecture and design. In 2009, the best books – particularly from fiction – will be from Pakistan. Perhaps there’s a point to this and the point being that societies in political and social turmoil produce the best writing. Authors like Nadeem Aslam, Daniyal Mueenuddin and Mohammed Hanif are the top literary stars of 2009.
You’ve been associated with the news industry for a long time now. How has the industry changed/evolved over the years?
Well, I started out as a print journalist with India Today in the mid 70’s. I was there for 10 years and was one of the founding members of the team. It was a very very different place then. There was only one TV channel – state-owned Doordarshan – and technology back then, as compared to today, was very primitive. We functioned on teleprinters. Phone very seldom worked. The communication problems were unbelievable by today’s standards. There was no fax – forget emails –and we had old Remington typewriters and no computers. So, the changes in these last 25-30 years have been absolutely extraordinary. And I think, largely driven by technology.
Apart from technological advancements, do you think that, editorially, TV news media has deteriorated or has it improved? And is there scope for improvement?
Well, there is always room for improvement in any industry. The thing about the media is it is both, industry as well as institution because it has great social and political responsibility. Yet, one must not forget that it is an industry driven by advertising. So, the challenge at editorial level is to somehow balance commercial drive together with judicial reporting and opinion. What has been staggering in the growth of television is the satellite revolution – as to how fast news, ideas and opinions can be transmitted. As we saw during the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The people who were trapped inside the hotels didn’t know as much as the viewers knew. In fact, it’s not only television but even a cell phone which has become a very powerful tool. So, the growth and the speed with which electronic media operates today is really fantastic.
However, it is also open to misuse. The competition – due to the growth in the number of TV channels – is so acute that often people tend to sensationalise or blow up inconsequential and really irrelevant news to gain TRP ratings. So it is this ratings which leads to this sensationalisation and subsequent lowering of standards. But, in the end – as in all flourishing institutions – the best, most competent and most fair always survive and succeed because, ultimately, what matters in the media is your credibility.
But these days most people criticise the media and say the standards (of news coverage) have lowered. Would you agree?
The media in India, just like in other parts of the world, is too big a place to generalise like this. Obviously, some TV channels are better than others. As I said it’s the credibility of the channel to report and to reflect opinion fairly, substantiate points accurately and with great speed. That is what makes a TV channel or a newspaper acquire that fantastic thing called credibility, which the quotient by which your reading or viewing audience will believe you. Of course, many people tend to misuse it as well. But, that has always been the case. When you’re reading a novel, you can either read a cheap, stupid and trashy novel. Or, you can read great literature.
Now that you’ve mentioned literature, 2008 was a great year for publishing in India. A lot of debutants, such as Mohammed Hanif, Aravind Adiga and Basharat Peer among others, have made a mark. What do you for see for 2009 and the years ahead?
I think there’s a popular view that, with the proliferation and spread of TV and digital technology, books will be devalued and that people will read less and less. I don’t think that’s true. For instance, when I started my weekly show Just Books six years ago, I thought translating books onto television would be a difficult job. In fact, I didn’t think the show would last six weeks! And yet, it’s six years and every weekend, without a single week’s break, the show is aired. So, obviously, there is a great thirst for books. And, for the written word. Not only for new ideas and information, but for the sheer pleasure of reading. If you look at figures for Indian publishing over the recent years, they’ve soared. There are more publishing houses in India today in search of new authors than they were ever before. A young journalist like Basharat Peer has given us such a moving account (Curfewed Night) of what it was like to grow up during the insurgency years in Kashmir. Or the proliferation of Pakistani writers; people like Daniyal Mueenuddin , Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Hanif who have given us a unique portrait of Pakistan in their works of fiction. Hence, there’s always room for new voices and, in my opinion, the hunger for the written word will never die.
But even as publishing houses are sprouting up all over India, there isn’t enough coverage of books in the Indian media. Don’t you think coverage of books has plateaued if not declined?
I don’t think coverage has declined. I think, by and large, the coverage has been proportionately fair. On weekends, newspapers have a page or page-and-a half for book reviews.
But is that sufficient?
I think so. After all, if you wanted to read about movies alone then you would read a specialised movie magazine. You wouldn’t expect movie news to be splashed on the front page of the newspaper! So arts coverage, in some respects, may have declined. But, thank God for shows like Just Books. But most newspapers cover books and profile authors regularly.
But on news channels, one rarely finds books programmes.
Well, maybe because they are not easy to do. They are not instantly saleable or have that commercial cache that film programmes do. But, that’s not to say that there’s no audience for them and I do believe that there is sufficient books coverage in our weeklies such as India Today, Outlook or The Week. And newspapers do carry books news. Vikas Swarup’s Q&A - which is now Slumdog Millionaire – is a fine example.
Last quick questions: a) Are you planning to write a book yourself and b) which authors to look forward to in 2009?
I am always thinking of writing a book but I need to take time off from my journalistic and broadcasting commitments to be able to do so. I hope I will be able to do so someday. I have written books on Indian architecture and design. In 2009, the best books – particularly from fiction – will be from Pakistan. Perhaps there’s a point to this and the point being that societies in political and social turmoil produce the best writing. Authors like Nadeem Aslam, Daniyal Mueenuddin and Mohammed Hanif are the top literary stars of 2009.
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