Mature Media or Mature People: A Tête-à-tête with Chetan Sharma

“People want a mature media, but the media wants mature viewers. If the viewers will become educated enough to differentiate between sensation and realism, no news channel will think upon selling emotions to remain in the race”, said the consulting editor, ZEE News Ltd., Mr. Chetan Sharma. Mr. Sharma came to BIMTECH on January 29, 2009. In an interaction with our student editors, Arjun Narayanan and Namrata Srivastava, he expressed his concern over some of the highly debated issues about media, its freedom and its impact on society.

How responsible do you think is the media today, especially in the context of terrorist attacks in Mumbai?
The sense of responsibility is closely related to the level of maturity. In that sense, electronic media is considerably younger than its print counterpart.  There are incidents where haphazard coverage of events was done. However, electronic media is in a learning state and we all are learning from our mistakes. Mumbai terror attacks were just an eye opener.   All news channels are showing similar content, and not much of new ideas are coming in. But then, media is a business. One cannot stay silent when someone else is offering something different. Channels have adopted an approach of marketing their news and they hardly think about the consequences. However, not all of them are running in this rate race, blindly; you can still see some decently researched news items.

Talking of business, the three letter word that guides Indian television today is TRP. How effective is this system when just 10,300 TV sets measure ratings only in A and B class cities?
Well, it is a big problem and needs some good brainstorming. TRP system is full of flaws.  A lot of times, efforts were made from the media fraternity to bring some constructive changes in this rating process, but in vain. Media is forced to follow it and the channels have been smart enough to beat this blemished system. ‘Win the game, within the rules’ and most of them are doing pretty well. After all, media houses cannot be held responsible if the TRP system is flawed. The concerned agencies have to peep in.  It is the advertisers who harp on the TRPs. We are forced to toe their line.

The content too is carried off by TRPs. Channels carry stuff that caters to the baser instincts. Is it not so?
There is some truth in that statement. The stuff that a channel carries has to satisfy not only its viewers but also its advertisers. These channels stoop down to any level to catch the eye balls of their target segment. It is sad. But this is where government regulations come into picture.

But media houses unanimously resist government interventions and self-regulation is not working well. What is the middle path?
Media does not resist government interventions, but it cannot sacrifice its basic right to have liberty in covering an event. Our right to show a news item with all its stark realities should not be checked. At this point, self-regulation is crucial. However, Indian media industry still needs to get mature, so different news channel have different levels of self-regulations, which can surpass all limits, at times. So, a certain amount of government intervention that could lead to the healthy understanding of self-regulation is the need of the hour.

Media tries to justify its content by saying that the public demands popcorn so we deliver popcorn? Is it not the other way round?
No. In fact, Indian media industry is waiting to have viewers who are very well informed, analytical and critical in their approach. When the viewers want higher quality of stuff, the media will be forced to push itself to raise the standards. This argument was valid a decade back when choices were limited. Today, viewers have complete freedom to choose.

What is your view about the award ceremonies organized by many media houses?
Award ceremonies are a big branding exercise. It pleases your advertisers and brings the sense of authority and good network to the channel, all this resulting into better business. Except a few awards, many do not have much credibility. So, in one statement I can say I am not in favour of these awards.

What about advertorials, do they not affect the credibility of the channel?
There is a thin line between right and wrong. I personally believe that when things are done in a graceful way they have a huge impact. Advertorials sometimes bring a positive side of the story too. Everything should not be looked at critically, just because it brings in money. Besides, the channels cannot befool their viewers for a longer time through advertorials, the difference between a normal content and an advertorial is quite visible. 

How do you see the young brigade of journalists?
These are talented people, with a passion to work. But we need more such people and for this we need better institutions. We hardly have any quality educational institution for electronic media. The few institutes we have for journalism teach print and electronic media in a similar fashion, whereas, both are highly different from each other. The coverage and presentation of a story for a TV Channel is very different from that of a newspaper. The job pressures are different, so we need different ways of teaching them. I do not understand why we cannot have journalism institutes along the lines of the IITs and the IIMs.

What do you think about Media Diversification? Some media houses have become very successful in this endeavour, while others have not been so. What do you think are the reasons?
Media diversification requires a lot of research and resources. Generally the old media houses have successfully diversified themselves because they have a strong brand image, sufficient funds and of course, the first mover advantage. Besides, it also requires foresight to anticipate future changes and opportunities. Diversification is not an easy task that everybody should do.

You have been a part of BIMTECH family. Please share your experience with you Alma Mater.
I did my management course from BIMTECH in early 90s, when the campus was small and the college was very new. It has come a long way now, with improved infrastructure and commendable exposure to students. But, one thing I still like about the old BIMTECH is the quality of teachers and students. The teachers were really nice and the students were more than curious. We had some wonderful brains with us in the class at that time, many of which have reached great heights in their professional lives.