DISCERNING readers all over the world are looking out for media outlets that make honest, sincere efforts for capturing the realities of a complex and fast changing world. They finally find some web sites or journals which meet these standards of honesty and sincerity. They feel happy about this and regularly follow what is published here. However in more and more such cases, they soon find that the media source they find so helpful and credible is having serious problems in terms of sheer survival.
One indication of this trend can be had from the increasing and often desperate appeals made by several such media organizations for economic support to enable them to continue their highly and increasingly relevant social role. Several of such appeals state clearly that they may not be able to survive if such economic support cannot be arranged in the near future.
It is not that these media organizations have indulged in any irresponsibly high expenditure. In fact some of them provide an amazing and inspiring example of how much can be achieved even when working on surprisingly low budgets. Despite working with such financial discipline and austerity, they are increasingly unable to find the means of surviving, let alone expanding, although at a social level expansion of their work would be highly desirable.
At the same time, several independent writers who are driven by a similar strong commitment to try to report and analyze a complex world changing in fast and often dangerous ways are finding it increasingly difficult to survive, again despite operating on very low budgets. They are more likely to be published in the smaller independent media outlets mentioned above, and as these are themselves facing increasing problems of survival, they are unlikely to be able to pay the independent writers adequately for their efforts, if at all. In fact one can also increasingly see several such appeals by independent writers for support.
The overall trend of economy in the greater part of the world is for the most important sections to be dominated increasingly by a few big players. The conditions for this are created in several ways, resulting eventually in the sector being dominated by a few big corporations. This is also true of media and communications. With such domination there is increasing control over what the people will hear and what they will not, what will be emphasized and what will be underplayed or misrepresented in a distorted version. The big media is also able to present what it selects in more attractive and entertaining ways at very low cost and high convenience to people, backed by massive advertising revenue, subsidized infra-structure and favorable, attractive working conditions. Those who rise in big media can become not only rich but also very famous.
However simultaneously the space for those who want to tell about a reality not at all favored by dominant sections is squeezed. Some create a space by making opportunistic alliances, but this again is at the expense of truth.
Overall the task of those who seek to remain firmly on the path of truth and sincerity has become more and more difficult. In difficult conditions, those who persist with telling or exploring inconvenient truths are further advised to stay away from some difficult but significant issues, and sometimes they are specifically targeted and harmed. Hence the space for independent efforts is squeezed further.
As a result, some of the most significant and relevant issues and views are also pushed back and sometimes altogether neglected. Another trend is to take up such issues in distorted ways that suit dominant interests. Hence the social discourse is increasingly along the lines of what dominant interests want in order to perpetuate their dominance. The kind of discourse that is needed to bring real change generally becomes a very rare entity, difficult to find.
This is why it is very important that till such time that wider media reform can become a reality, some ways of rescuing and supporting smaller independent media efforts are made, particularly those efforts that explore the world at various levels in truthful and sincere ways with an understanding of most important issues.
We are living in deeply troubled times when the most essential concerns of equality and justice, democracy and peace are increasingly violated in the greater part of the world, causing enormous distress. What is even more worrying is that a number of serious environmental problems combined with highly destructive weapons are pushing the world towards a survival crisis. In such times big media continues to mislead the world on very important issues, which in turn leads to denial of the need for real changes that are needed to save the world and protect the future generations.
Given this reality, it is a wider responsibility of society to support independent small media in ways that help them to make their contributions to create a safer and better world based on justice. Those who have created such important media efforts or are contributing in important ways to them should be supported in ways that are in keeping with their dignity and self-respect. Those who take responsibility for supporting such media efforts should themselves offer them help with due respect. To ensure that their help reaches most credible efforts, they can have an independent evaluation of who has been more consistent and creative, more careful regarding facts and truth and who has been working with a perspective of justice, equality, democracy, peace, harmony and protection of the environment. Citizen groups and even individual citizens on their own can also step in with their encouraging words and economic support in the form of subscription payments and small donations. Such support can be extended to small independent media organizations including alternative web sites as well as independent writers, photographers and artists etc. who contribute to these.
Such support will also help to ensure that among the young generation, media persons with commitment to truth and ideals are able to find adequate space.
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Bharat Dogra writes extensively on environment, development and welfare issues. The views expressed here are the writer’s own, and Clarion India does not necessarily subscribe to them. He can be reached at: bharatdogra1956@gmail.com
