In Source We Trust?

Source. The word in its simplest terms is anything that gives something. However just like how Indian movies and rip-off from the West and add a touch of the desi masala twist, Indian media is not too far behind. In the context of Indian Media the word source that was used to protect the anonymity of persons who provided them with solid evidences (documents, video and audio tapes) has now become associated as something akin to an imaginary friend of media whom they conjure up from time to time when they require that jump start for their story to gain momentum

The latest use of this fad in media was in the example of a prominent Editor (Barkha Dutt) of an English News channel (NDTV 24/7) tweeting with regards to a news about a supposedly “compulsory” Yoga classes being conducted in IIT Rourkee. The “source” of this piece of news was from a picture of a document sent via e-mail by a “student” of the Institute. However as many users pointed out the document contained no seal of the university or any other authenticity despite according to the document it was from the Dean for students welfare. She did post later a picture of an authentic circular contradicting the one she had gotten previously, but the storm had already started. In the midst of this cross-questioning she broke one of the codes of journalism: Naming the source. Yes, she actually gave out the name of the “student” who sent allegedly sent her the e-mail. While the student may or may not exist the act of naming the source that too by an editor is just crass journalism to try and deflect the blame from herself even though the authenticity of the document she got was clear to be false to many common people on twitter and as such should have been dismissed by her and thus this whole news controversy and twitter noise could have been avoided.

But therein lies the beauty of Source wherein even an unverified document could cause a rumble in the twitter jungle. Journalists have realized that in this day and age of Twitter trends dictating terms of what information is to be consumed, the trends will translate into viewership or TRP’s which is what dictate the terms of the ads on their channels because if they weren’t Main Stream Media (MSM) won’t bother with announcing weekly TRP’s or using hashtags for every sentence they use.  The quality of News has come down so much that it is no longer about which is the best news but which can be more easily shoved down the throat of the viewer. This is like people buying fast / instant food since they are too busy to make something themselves.

The question we need to ask is how can this be tackled?  There is something we can do and something that MSM should do. What we can do is to gather news from different media houses. Since most of them are posted online in real time we only have to spend more time and no extra money. Using Social media is also another good way to get a near 360⁰ view of the news that get reported. Now what the MSM should do is that they have to set a few guidelines regarding usage of anonymous sources.

1.  Unless some sort of document/proof that is relevant to the story is available the term “source” should not be used even if the source is a reliable one so as to avoid unnecessary speculation. But once some proof of allegation is provided anonymity of source must be maintained 
2. Even if the document/proof is provided its authenticity must be verified before airing the views provided by said document.  
3. If the information is found to be false/misleading/incomplete after airing then due apologies must be issued in a prominently visible space and this must be done in the space or time-slot of the ads. Also to be noted is that even at this time naming the source should not be done since the responsibility of verification rests with the media house.

 If the above points are followed they will help reduce the number of nonsensical debates and news stories that are extrapolation of gossips and more stories will get featured on air as and when they occur instead of when the pot boils over like the distress of farmers or sanitation problems. Now whether the media will take note of this and try to better itself only time will tell.

Note: Point 1 was based on a suggestion by team at Newslaundry during their NL Hafta Ep 20