Gender and the Media: Continuities and Discontinuities 12th National Meet of the Network of Women in Media

Osmania University, Hyderabad, 11-13 November, 2016

They came by train, they came by air, and they zipped in on their scooters. They walked, they hopped into auto-rickshaws and buses. They even came by boat. Almost 50 women journalists from outside Hyderabad converged on the historic Osmania University (OU), the venue of the 12th national meeting of the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), in November 2016. Journalists from the Hyderabad chapter of the NWMI and journalism students made up the rest of the participants.

Caption: Glimpses of the NWMI meet The approximately 150 participants who attended the three-day meeting came from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The student volunteers from the Department of Communication and Journalism at OU were also a diverse lot – in addition to enthusiastic local students, young women and men from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Mauritius and Uzbekistan played host and attended to every need, from arranging hot water at the guest house to setting up interviews and video documenting the entire meeting. FRIDAY, 11 November 2016

Caption: Prof K Stevenson, Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism welcomes the delegates. As soon as participants filled the ICSSR conference hall in the library building of Osmania University on Friday afternoon, introductions followed. Prof K Stevenson, Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, formally welcomed the participants and gave a brief background to the 62-year-old department, which boasts leading media personalities and ministers as its alumni. After ice-breakers conducted by Padmaja Shaw and C. Vanaja from the Hyderabad chapter , the stage was set for a substantive discussion on a pressing issue confronting the media today: lack of diversity and inclusiveness. Working Session 1: Towards Inclusive Newsrooms (3.00-4.30 pm)

Caption: The panel for Working Session 1: Towards Inclusive Newsrooms. Seen from right to left Jyoti Punwani, Akash Poyam, Jeyarani and moderator Sudipto Mondal. As the chair of the session, Hindustan Times correspondent Sudipto Mondal was held up in traffic, network member Raksha Kumar stepped in to initiate the proceedings.

Caption: Akash Poyam speaks on the issue. Mumbai-based independent journalist and network member Jyoti Punwani addressed the relationship between the ‘mainstream’ media and minority communities, particularly Muslims. Jyoti, who has been consistently covering issues related to communalism and minority rights, quipped that she hadn’t set foot in a newsroom for 26 years. Yet, she said, things have not changed much in terms of the perpetuation of stereotypes and the manner in which Muslims are covered, be it during times of conflict or in ‘peace’ time. When riots or bomb blasts take place, there is heavy reliance on police handouts. Questioning the police version would inevitably mean crime reporters get cut off from police sources. “Should not editors then ask other reporters to check the veracity of police claims, especially since the police have, more often than not, been found to have framed innocents, and are known to be anti-Muslim?” she asked. Instead, she pointed out, the English press turns many of these policemen into heroes.

Caption: Mumbai based independent journalist Jyoti Punwani speaks on the the relationship between the ‘mainstream’ media and minority communities. Jyoti also described how the use of language and photographs, and the placement of news betray prejudice. For example, the Babri Masjid gradually began to be called the ‘disputed structure’, lending legitimacy to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement which aimed to demolish the Masjid and replace it with a temple. Likewise, ‘love jihad’, a concept created by Hindutva extremists intolerant of inter-religious marriage, is often used without quotation marks. The myth of ‘Modi the moderate’ was another example

of reporting belying reality. In a recent case, the English press continued to describe individuals as ‘main accused’ even after they had been acquitted, she said. There is also a different emphasis on the placement of news related to the majority and minority communities, she argued. For example, news stories about Muslims even suspected of terror are always placed on the front page, while reports of Hindus actually caught making bombs have been buried inside. The former are often described as ‘terror techies’, while even those Hindutva activists convicted of having perpetrated acts of terror have been described merely as ‘right-wing extremists’. The question the English press must ask is: what would be the reaction of Muslim readers to such coverage?

Caption: Interactive sessions at the event. Analysing the use of images, Jyoti pointed out that file photographs of women in stereotypical garments like burqas are used in any article on issues related to Muslims, presenting a skewed version of reality. For example, coverage of the demonstrations urging the implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report on the 1992-93 riots in Mumbai included photos only of burqa-clad women, ignoring the fact that many non-Muslims also took part in them. This sent out the wrong message that the demand was purely from Muslims. All this has resulted in loss of credibility for the English press among Muslims, aggravated by the vastly different standpoint from which the Urdu press reports the

same incidents. However, she clarified; the Urdu press is even more non-inclusive, since its readership is confined to Muslims. The increasing presence in English newspapers of Muslim reporters with strong roots in their community has started changing the way the community is represented, said Jyoti. Editors of the English press are largely liberal, but how does one change the mindset of the majority of journalists, be they reporters or sub-editors who are responsible for the placement of news, headlines, etc.? Jyoti also pointed out that this was not a problem concerning only Muslims. During the Punjab turmoil in the 80s, Sikhs were similarly labelled by the English press.

Caption: Hindustan Times correspondent Sudipto Mondal was the moderator for the session. Introducing the issue of the invisibility of a large section of society, Sudipto Mondal said that, although Dalits are not a minority in India, he had met only about seven Dalit

journalists, and not a single Dalit or Adivasi among the top decision makers or owners of the ‘mainstream’ Indian media. In contrast to American newsroom editors who, as far back as in 1978, passed a resolution to increase newsroom diversity, Indian newsrooms remain not only predominantly upper caste but devoid of any move towards diversity, especially in terms of caste.

Caption: Jeyarani, Lifestyle Editor at Dinamalar in Chennai at the session. Jeyarani, Lifestyle Editor at Dinamalar in Chennai, delivered a passionate speech translated by journalist colleague and network member Kavitha Muralidharan. She first transported us to a fantasy land where a law is enacted ordering all media houses in the country to prioritise and publish/telecast only caste-related atrocities: “The media houses will be forced to expose a caste atrocity every second… If there is such a law, as we are now imagining, breaking news would become the norm of the day!” But in the real world there is a blanking out of caste atrocities. This is because, as Jeyarani explained, “Just like in society, where we have rigid caste hierarchies, the media and journalists, too, operate on the basis of caste hierarchies. The fourth pillar of democracy has come crumbling down under the pressure of caste hierarchies when it should have stood upright holding the torch of justice.” Dalit journalists, most of them first generation graduates, invariably end up in vernacular media. According to Jeyarani, they generally do not make it in the English media because they lack the ‘desired colour’ as well as proficiency in English. Vernacular media accommodates them but does not consider them on par with journalists from other communities when it comes to promotions or salary hikes. “We have only two options: to shrink ourselves to fit the space media offers us or to leave the media altogether.”

Caption: Jeyarani, delivers a passionate speech on the issue at the session. Commenting on identity politics, Jeyarani said, “If and when a Dalit journalist writes on Dalit issues or even speaks about them, their colleagues call it caste affinity or caste pride. How can a Dalit feel proud about her or his caste? The effort of Dalit journalists to record the violence against Dalits is only an expression of their anti-caste emotion, not an attempt to promote their own caste. But my Dalit colleagues, aware of such baseless criticisms, would not show the same interest in caste issue as they would in a political issue. Several of them have had to even conceal their identity and live with it. It is shameful that media houses have still not created a free and fair atmosphere where Dalits can work without any kind of inhibition.” Jeyarani drew attention to a tragedy ignored by the mainstream English media: the story of a Dalit youth, Ayyaru, who committed suicide in February this year, unable to bear caste discrimination. Like Rohit Vemula, he also left a moving suicide note. However, the letter in Tamil did not create even one percent of the impact that Rohit’s letter in English did. She asked poignantly, “How qualified should Dalits be to seek the attention of the media? Why isn’t the media concerned about Ayyaru - as it was about Rohit - if it opposes caste related deaths? On the day we begin reading Ayyaru’s letters, on the day we begin demanding justice for Ayyaru’s death, on the day we oppose violations by people like us, we can be sure that the media is actually changing.” She ended with an exhortation to journalists to become casteless and work against caste: “We should work on strategies that would bring more news on Dalit issues into our newsrooms. The workplace should offer them dignity and respect.”

Caption: Akash Poyam, who runs the website Adivasi Resurgence speaks at the session Akash Poyam, who runs the website Adivasi Resurgence out of Hyderabad, talked about the absence of the Adivasi voice in “mainstream” media. According to him, coverage of Adivasi issues is largely confined to victim narratives about atrocities, and romanticised perspectives such as that of the educational institutions called ghotuls which are commonly depicted as places where teenage Adivasis have free sex. Akash pointed out that the victim narrative was not empowering, and terms like ‘primitive’ further marginalised them.

The media need to cover the ordinary realities of Adivasi lives, and not highlight only extraordinary or celebratory aspects of their societies.

The polarised view of Adivasi lives between victimhood and exoticisation missed a layered understanding of the complexities of their lives, he said. For example, an analysis of why there are fewer jatras (festivals) in Adivasi areas in Chhattisgarh must be linked to mass killings by security forces during such events. While buying into the State versus Maoist template, the media often fails to report on the effects of military operations on ordinary people. He linked the lack of grounded, nuanced coverage of Adivasi issues to the absence of Adivasis in the newsroom. He recommended affirmative action to draw more Adivasi journalists into media organisations.

Caption: Jayanti Buruda, a young journalist from Malkangiri, Odisha takes part at the discussion. Jayanti Buruda, a young journalist from Malkangiri, Odisha, jumped into the discussion with her inspiring example. She related how she was the first Adivasi graduate in Malkangiri, but she received scant respect, whether as a woman or as an Adivasi. She said she was keen to do stories highlighting the issues faced by Adivasis in her area: child deaths, malnutrition, lack of health services.

Caption: The audience listens in rapt attention. Participants reflected on the question of how to cover “marginalised communities” more sensitively, and what could be done on a practical basis to promote more and better coverage of issues concerning them. The use of terminology such as ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ caste was questioned as possibly reinforcing caste hierarchies. It was suggested that a better alternative would be to promote the term ‘lowered’ caste instead, to stress the deliberate exclusion of certain castes. The session ended with the suggestion that – in addition to the ‘gender lens’ that many in the network have been advocating – it was necessary to develop and use a lens that enables a more sensitive and nuanced look at events and issues concerning Dalits, Adivasis, disadvantaged minorities, and the poor in general, and that facilitates the inclusion of their voices in the media. Open Session at Press Club, Hyderabad (6.30 - 8pm) Gender in media: Continuities and discontinuities

Caption: Release of the souvenir at the Press Club, Khairatabad Two busloads of eager media women were welcomed at the Press Club, Khairatabad, with steaming hot tea, vadas and spicy chutney, warming up an evening that was just turning chill. Local journalists and other Hyderabadis streamed into the packed venue of the public meeting. After Rajamouli Chary, President of the Press Club, welcomed the participants, Vijay Kumar, Secretary Press Club, Prof Sathi Reddy, Professor of Journalism and Registrar of Telugu University, and Prof K Stevenson, Head of the Mass Communication and Journalism department at Osmania University made brief speeches. Together with members of the network they then formally released the Souvenir published by the NWMI Hyderabad chapter.

Caption: Ammu Joseph, a founder member of the network and a Bangalore-based independent journalist shares her views. Ammu Joseph, a founder member of the network and a Bangalore-based independent journalist, chaired the public meeting and set the tone with her introduction to the NWMI, reminding the gathering that the network had held its third national meeting in the city 11 years earlier. Drawing on nostalgia, but offering a glimpse into the ephemeral yet substantive nature of the network, she likened it to the irrepressible, passionate and will-o-the wisp-like Maria from the all time favourite musical, The Sound of Music. “It is tough to explain how a voluntary, informal, non-hierarchical, participatory collective that has no institutional affiliation, infrastructure, staff or money exists, let alone how it has not only survived for 14 years but continues to grow and thrive,” said Ammu. She also likened the network to a cloud, “Especially now that the word is often used as a metaphor for the Internet. Much of the time it is a virtual network, with our interactions taking place in our Yahoo, Facebook and WhatsApp groups. That’s why these periodic national meetings are so precious, giving us an opportunity to cross the physical distance between us, meet face to face, and continue our online conversations in real time and space. How important this is to many of us is evident from the fact that we not only take time off from our busy schedules but free ourselves of professional and personal preoccupations to travel cross-country, paying our own way, contributing a modest registration fee, for the pleasure of spending time with each other, sharing experiences and views, learning from each other and invited speakers, and participating in actual debates.”

Ammu pointed out that since the network has no funding per se, a major task that local organisers take on is seeking support in cash or kind for the specific purpose of the meeting. Highlighting the fact that institutions in Hyderabad – media organisations in the past and universities (Osmania University and Telugu University) this time – have been particularly supportive, she said, “I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the relationships our members here evidently have with these institutions and, of course, the generosity of our local sponsors.”

Caption: Kalpana Sharma, senior journalist now retired from The Hindu and a founding member of the network shares her views. Kalpana Sharma, senior journalist now retired from The Hindu and a founding member of the network, reflected on the tumultuous times and changing concerns that characterise the media today. “This has been a week we will not forget,” she began. “On November 8, even as America woke up to vote, Indians heard their prime minister announce that, within four hours, all 1000 and 500 rupee notes would be nothing more than pieces of paper. By the time November 9 dawned in India, Americans had defied all predictions of polls and the media and voted in Donald Trump. And Indians woke up to face a day without any cash.” She highlighted the need to go back to the basics of journalism: “The discussion about what the media missed in the US has considerable relevance for us in India. It shows us how easily we as journalists can get out of touch with reality if we rely on technology and punditry instead of the traditional ways of reporting.” According to Kalpana, who was editor of the fiercely independent weekly Himmat during the Emergency in India (1995-77), “It is important to recognise that Emergency-like situations can happen suddenly, as in 1975. But they can also creep up on you, as now. When the freedoms

we take for granted are slowly and steadily whittled, we don't realise that we are operating under another kind of censorship, one that is more insidious than the direct censorship we experienced during the Emergency.” Kalpana cautioned that the media was going to witness more direct and indirect pressure if journalists dared to expose the ruling party and the government. In addition, media economics will increasingly make independent media vulnerable while there will be greater consolidation and concentration of corporate media. Yet, as she pointed out, the good news was that “There are new and younger journalists willing to take on and buck the system, some of them in this audience; there are digital platforms providing space for these stories. The reach of digital and the alternative platforms on it will grow in the years to come.” Talking about the threats from within, Laxmi Murthy, consulting editor with Himal Southasian and also a founding member of the network, drew attention to the ubiquitous phenomenon of sexual harassment in the media. She referred to a recent study by the International Federation of Journalists, Inside the News: Challenges and Aspirations of Women Journalists in the Asia Pacific, to which a few NWMI members had contributed. The study revealed that a quarter of the women surveyed said that they had witnessed or heard about sexual harassment at their workplace. In contrast, only 10 percent of the men surveyed reported having witnessed or heard about sexual harassment. With 90 percent men oblivious to sexual harassment at the workplace, the continued invisibilisation of such rampant violence against women at the workplace was a cause for concern, especially when only a few media houses have put in place the complaints and redressal mechanisms mandated by law. While some cases of sexual harassment, such as the ‘Tehelka case’ and the case in Sun TV, have been discussed in the media and other public forums, most women journalists face sexual harassment almost as a part of the job, and this is hardly spoken about. According to Laxmi, what is required is a change in the culture of newsrooms so that the gender of a media worker should not matter, and the professional space enables creativity and intellectual growth among all employees. In fact, she stressed, making newsrooms conducive for women journalists by tackling practices that make them hostile workspaces is an equal opportunities issue. Laxmi addressed the widespread anxiety about the law against sexual harassment being ‘misused’, pointing out that there is not enough evidence to suggest misuse at a time when there is little data even on its use. She suggested approaching the issue from the viewpoint of civil remedy, where the intention is not to be punitive, but to proactively create a workplace atmosphere in which women can realise their full potential. Alongside pressure to implement the law must come awareness raising among both men and women employees, and discussions on the issue in open forums such as the present one. Transgender activist Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, founder of the Telangana Hijra Intersex Transgender Samiti, in her incisive and heartfelt presentation, focussed on media representations of the transgender body. She confined her critique to the English “mainstream” print and online media which, by and large, tend to invisibilise the lived

reality of transgender women. Headlines such as ‘Trapped in the wrong body’ feed into the gender binary, she pointed out. According to her, the recent Supreme Court judgement in the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, also known as the NALSA case, was extremely far-sighted in this regard, since it conceptualised gender identity as emanating from the brain and not the genitals. The principle of self-determination of gender is a crucial one, and the judgement, despite some flaws, recognises this notion, she said. The NALSA judgement has brought some relief to the community, but not all states have implemented it. Vyjayanti pointed out that the media has not adequately highlighted this lack of implementation. Nor has it called out discrimination against transgender people in educational institutions and workplaces. Structural violence, due to which transgender people are pushed to the margins of society, has resulted in them constructing their own communities, cultures and means of livelihood. There is also a lack of awareness in the media about the complexities of the legal issues surrounding gender identity. For example, the draconian Rights of Transgender Persons Bill has taken a few steps back from the progressive Supreme Court judgement in the NALSA case, conflating biological sex with gender and thereby eliminating 95 percent of transgender people from its definition. The humiliation involved in being ‘certified’ as transgender, as proposed in the proposed Bill, has also not come under the media scanner. Likewise, the atrocities on transwomen – most recently Tara, burnt to death in front of a police station in Chennai – have not received the media attention they deserve. Dinner at Press Club, Hyderabad, Khairatabad After the thought-provoking discussions, participants headed to a sumptuous dinner of signature Hyderabadi biryani, hot pakodas, sabudana vadas, ginger and chilly chicken and enjoyed unwinding among old friends and new. SATURDAY, 12 November 2016 Working Session 2: Is small always beautiful? (9.30 to 11 am)

Caption: Glimpse of the panel at working Session 2: Is small always beautiful? The Osmania University Library building was an eminently appropriate venue for a discussion on the movement for a separate Telangana state. Chairing the session, NDTV Resident Editor Uma Sudhir drew attention to the fact that the Arts College was the hub of the movement which led to the formation of Telangana state in 2014. Her provocative remark, “When English becomes ‘national’, every other language becomes ‘vernacular’”, set the tone for the panel discussion by seasoned analysts and activists on whether the reorganisation of states and the creation of smaller ones are always beneficial for the people in whose name it is done.

Caption: Eminent political scientist Prof M. Kodandaram, chairman of the all-party Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) speaks at the event. Eminent political scientist Prof M. Kodandaram, chairman of the all-party Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (T-JAC), which was formed to fight for a separate Telangana state, began by questioning the title of the session: how small is ‘small’ and is it not limiting to talk about state reorganisation in terms of size? He pointed out that each region has its own specificities, but the assertion of a regional identity is often seen a threat to the national identity, and to the very integrity of the nation. While the colonial state was organised for ease of economics and administration, Jawaharlal Nehru was of the view that different languages and cultures contribute to a diverse, cosmopolitan culture, which was desirable. On the other hand, B.R. Ambedkar’s understanding of the states question was that a political plan should take into consideration the social reality. Prof Kondandaram proceeded to provide a brief history of the Telangana movement, starting with the agitation against non-Mulkis (locals) soon after Independence.

Caption: Chair for the session, NDTV Resident Editor Uma Sudhir shares her views. Bringing the discussion back to the present and examining the impact of the new state, Uma asked whether governance in Telangana was really reaching the people, and whether the problem of landlordism – for example -- has been tackled. She pointed out that the dream of the movement was not only a physical, geographical Telangana state,

but the promise of social and economic justice. She recalled that non-party formations – caste associations, student bodies and professional groups – were instrumental in achieving in the goal of a separate state. She also highlighted the participation of women activists on the roads, in rallies, weaving flags, etc. Prof Kondandaram agreed that the role of non-party forums was very important in politics, especially in Telangana, where there is a real possibility of intervening at the public policy level. He pointed out that Telangana is an important model in state formation because of the following features: respect for non-party forums; accepted leadership at every level; powerful networks in every district; and immense public mobilisation and support. Rama Saraswati, a journalist working with Sakshi, a Telugu daily, threw light on the language issues that were reflective of growing insularity. She related her experience with her earlier newspaper, titled ‘Namaste Telangana’, saying that the word ‘dawakhana’ - the Persian-derived term for hospital - was not encouraged even internally. Even the name of a features page, ‘Zindagi’, was frowned upon as being targeted to Urdu speakers alone, even though Dakhani (the local version of Urdu) is widely spoken by both Muslims and non-Muslims in the region. Rama also highlighted the fact that there was very little coverage of the Telangana movement in the “mainstream” Andhra newspapers. So, as far as the media is concerned, small is definitely beautiful, she said. Commenting on the wide gap between ‘universal truths’ and ‘local truths’ as portrayed in the media, Uma invited the next speaker to share his experiences.

Caption: Krishank Manne, a student leader now associated with the Congress Party speaks at the event.

Recounting how student activists were branded as vandals and Maoists, Krishank Manne, a student leader now associated with the Congress Party, said that the demand for a separate Telangana state was not an emotional issue, but one based on rational factors. He lamented the sea change in the atmosphere of the very place we were gathered in. Osmania University, the vital core of the movement, where students had been lathi charged in February 2014, now did not allow protests or even the chanting of slogans on campus. He also decried the use of public money for pilgrimages and changes in government buildings in accordance with vaastu. According to him, the elitist form of urban planning, with flyovers entailing the cutting of hundreds of trees, was not in tune with the notion of a separate state based on the promise of social justice. In the discussion that followed, two vital issues were raised: Kochi-based environmental journalist Suchitra Vijayan questioned the land acquisition policies of the government under the first chief minister of Telangana, Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, or KCR as he is better known. According to her, the Polavaram Dam project across the Godavari river was anti-people, with two lakh Adivasis scheduled to be displaced. Another question from Kolkata-based journalist Rajashri Dasgupta about why women were not visible in the JAC, despite being active in the movement, led to a discussion about the marginalisation of women in mass movements. Working Session 3: Reporting from conflict areas (11.30 am – 1.00 pm)

Caption: A glimpse of the panel for Working Session 3: Reporting from conflict areas Chair of the session, Malini Subramaniam, contributor to the news website Scroll.in, who was hounded out of her home in Bastar district (Chhattisgarh) earlier in 2016,

began by acknowledging how reassuring the NWMI’s letter of solidarity was to her during that stressful period. According to her, the widespread support she received emboldened her to continue to uncover the truth in an atmosphere where distorted facts often passed as news. She said the present times were the best times ever for investigative journalism which was grounded in facts and at the same time analytical. She also warned that while dissenting voices could be a ‘badge of honour’ they also involve risk, given the prevailing political polarisation in the country. She questioned the impunity enjoyed those who encourage and perpetrate crimes against journalists, and highlighted the growing tendency towards labelling journalists and others as desh drohis (traitors) and pitting them against desh bhakts (patriots).

Caption: Bangalore-based journalist and writer Rohini Mohan speaks at the event. Bangalore-based journalist and writer Rohini Mohan said that journalism was an act of defiance. She spoke about working on her book on post-war Sri Lanka, The Seasons of Trouble, and flagged three markers that were significant while covering an identity-based conflict: being an outsider, a freelancer and a woman. As an outsider, she was always acutely aware of the power imbalance that created a charged atmosphere. “I knew I was trying to tell a story but would not face the consequences like a local might,” she said. Rohini said she never used the help of local journalists, because she did not want to tell a story that was already told, and did not want to endanger those who had to continue to live in the area while she had the luxury of leaving. The other issue was that of credit: why should the local journalist not get credit for the same work? She also spoke about the presumption that she could not “get” it, and that this criticism had to be taken on board, to be able to report with empathy. In practical terms, it meant

incorporating local usage in interviews -- for example, saying ‘movement’ rather than ‘militancy’; knowing the emotional difference between ‘Indian Occupied Kashmir’ and ‘Indian Administered Kashmir’; researching rigorously to understand nuances; trying to break stereotypes. While reporting from Kandhamal, Odisha, it meant understanding the nuances of not only Christian and Hindu identities, but also the underlying influence of socio-economic competition over reservation benefits for SCs and STs that were lost if they converted to Islam or Christianity. As a freelancer, she spoke about issues of pay, security and the difficulty of not having an editor on speed dial. She mentioned practical tips to ensure safety while reporting in an unfamiliar area – for instance, identifying oneself as a journalist could protect or provoke, depending on the situation. Using a press card while covering stone pelting in the Kashmir Valley might invite more hostility, she pointed out. A woman journalist in a conflict zone needs to do more than just interview women, Rohini felt. A feminist perspective must inform all reporting. The portrayal of women as victims is common, and the symbolism of pregnant women being subjected to atrocities was a standard way to reiterate injustice, but we need to question that, she said, and find other ways to include female perspectives. She ended by remarking that she had an issue with the term ‘conflict journalism’ which somehow reeked of machismo and adventurism. With more women covering conflict, perhaps that term could become less masculine, and conflict itself less seductive.

Caption: Nishita Jha, Assistant Features Editor at Scroll.in speaks at the event. Nishita Jha, Assistant Features Editor at Scroll.in, took issue with women journalists being called ‘brave’ if they report on conflicts. “It’s like people are surprised at the fact

that you showed up in a place where you do not belong as a woman, to function as a journalist,” she said. She went on to talk about an issue seldom brought up by journalists covering conflict: fear. While reporting from the border villages of Punjab after the recent shelling triggered the mass evacuation of villages and the displacement of large numbers of people, she said she was helped by all she had learned covering the most widespread and oldest conflict in the world, gender. When she travelled through a village devoid of women near the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistan and India late at night, with a car full of men she had met just a few hours before, one of the most palpable but also most familiar feelings, was fear. The men accompanying her had said, “If something happens to you, we are not responsible.” The words stayed in her head all night. There is little that is glamorous about the war-zone, or the conflict beat, she said – it only seems that way when journalists return home, are safe and exchanging “war-stories”. She pointed out that when she pitched the story her male editor’s response was: “Great story, go for it!” On the other hand, her female boss asked, “How do you feel about it?” That question made it clear that it was all right to “feel” fear or any other emotion. It also made her realise that no story is worth risking your life for, even though as women we push ourselves to chase certain stories harder, and not let fear dictate our actions. The key point she made was that it was important to acknowledge the fear – it is natural. According to her, while she was immensely grateful for the kindness of strangers, she was most thankful for fear, because it can guide you to be more empathetic to the fear of others, find where the stories are and where the voices are.

Caption: Panelist Nishita Jha listens to other speakers share their views. Nishita also highlighted the importance of including multiple voices. A young boy’s feelings of embarrassment about urinating in public in a displaced people’s camp are

part of the reality of their lives, even though one would not think of this as a story from a “conflict zone”.

Caption: Panelist Linda Chhakchhuak, independent journalist based in Shillong and other speakers on the issue. Linda Chhakchhuak, independent journalist based in Shillong and member of the editorial collective that published the magazine, Grassroots Options, began her talk saying, “The Northeast region of India is home to more than 200 different tribes and communities and one person cannot claim to represent that kind of diversity.” However, being the only person from that region at this conference, she said, she would try to present a view of the situations that journalists have to deal with while reporting news in the area. The first kind of conflict starts with the misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of the reporters about the reported. For example, there have been times when metro-based newspapers have made rudimentary mistakes like misplacing the capitals and states of the region in their reports, or misspelling them. These are very simple mistakes but they create a sense of rift, she pointed out. There are a myriad conflicts in the region, she said, over boundaries, resources and identities but, in her view, the most significant one is what she termed the ‘cartographic conflict’ – i.e., the dispute over land, who owns the land that many tribes call their homeland? Linda said reporting on the conflict between the Indian army and insurgent groups were relatively easy, with the lines quite clearly drawn. But reporting on inter-tribe conflicts was more difficult, since it was a challenge to describe what was really going on. In Manipur, for example, there are about 21 armed groups, and it is not always clear what exactly they are fighting for. Indeed, the national cause here is not the

Narendra Modi brand, but the local ‘national’ cause, or each tribe’s struggle for nationhood. Journalists, she said, should try to dig out the truth. But there is no one truth: there are multiple realities and multiple truths as people claim shared space and geography. “We need to become ‘explainers’ in a way that does not promote violence. The use of words, terms and concepts is very important in reporting any conflict, but especially in such cases, and can contribute to more understanding of the issues involved or raise further tensions. The media should not pour petrol into already burning fires, which are many in our region,” cautioned Linda. She went on to share her thoughts on how the northeast story can be reported. There are no new stories in the Northeast, said Linda, only old stories being rehashed and replayed. “Working for daily newspapers, I and several of my colleagues got to a point where we thought: there has to be a different kind of journalism that can do justice to the stories of the region, not just of the breaking news kind. That’s the thought that set us off to launch a magazine called Grassroots Options, the first magazine from the region on people, the environment and development. Through this publication we would concentrate not on spot reporting and sensationalised news, but on what we called ‘process reporting/journalism’. We were determined to always keep the context of the story and follow it up, in the kind of documentation which is direly needed. However, Grassroots Options, a purely journalistic enterprise fuelled by the passion to tell the story, soon ran out of money. After bringing out 27 editions purely as a labour of love by the team, with members of the collective working in other media houses for their bread and butter. They made it into an online publication since the financial burden would be less than for print editions. But they ran into problems there, too, with the site being hacked twice. Yet, according to her, there is no choice but to keep at it, since good reporting can change the world.

Caption: Chair of the session, Malini Subramaniam speaks on the issue. She invited members of the NWMI, with their experiences in working in conflict areas, to visit the region and pitch in with their perspectives, which many open up fresh ideas about how to deal with the issues involved. In the discussion that followed, Delhi-based freelance journalist Urvashi Sarkar shared her experience of reporting from Palestine. She spoke about how identities blur: is one an activist or a journalist? In the West Bank, where there is no one left to document the devastation, Urvashi came across a ten-year-old girl who was functioning as a journalist: documenting what was happening to her people.

Caption: Chair Delhi-based Divya Arya, journalist with the BBC shares her views. Delhi-based Divya Arya, journalist with the BBC, raised the issue of the differences between writing about something while living in and experiencing conflict in contrast with going in and reporting it. Aditi Bhaduri from the Bengal network, who has written extensively from Kashmir, emphasised the importance of maintaining contacts in order to carry out long term follow up.

Caption: The audience is engaged and participates in the discussion. Responding to the question of what defences could be adopted to safeguard oneself in a place like Bastar, Malini said that as a resident of the area, she lived life like any ordinary person: going to the market or sending her daughter to school. Of course, living in the conflict zone gives one a deeper sense of what is unfolding, which is different from coming in from outside the region to report for a couple of days, which is perhaps what unnerved the authorities in her case, she suggested. As a resident, she was familiar with the place, took buses or self-transport to reach villages, stayed there during the day and returned only by late evening. She felt that as a journalist there was no need to hide behind anything, and made her presence felt in security camps, making herself visible by registering her name in security camps and not spending the night in the villages. She was grateful for the time and space she was provided by her editors, which enabled her to go back to ascertain facts without the pressure to file stories immediately. Padma from the Hyderabad chapter revealed that she had been part of a Maoist squad for 14 years before leaving that life and becoming a journalist. She lamented the fact that, although a lot of violence was taking place in the form of fake encounters and the targeted killing of Adivasis, there was not much reporting of these atrocities in the “mainstream” media. Working Session 4: Understanding the Labyrinths of Law (2.30 – 4 pm)

Caption: Prof SV Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor of the University shares his views. On Saturday afternoon, the meeting venue shifted to the Conference Hall in the campus of the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in Hyderabad. Opening the session, Prof SV Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor of the University, and Sathi Reddy, Registrar and Professor of Journalism, welcomed the participants and provided a brief introduction to the history of the 30-year-old University, which had reservation for women from its inception in order to boost the presence of women in higher education.

Caption: Chair of the session, C. Vanaja. explained the purpose of the session: familiarising participants with the workings of the law on the ground.

Caption: Chair of the session C. Vanaja explained the purpose of the session .

Tripurana Venkatratnam, Chair of the Women’s Commission of Telangana state, shared her observations about the implementation of laws relating to women’s rights. According to her, despite the existence of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, aimed at punishing cruelty towards women in a marital relationship, the male-mindset that prevailed within the police force and judiciary hampered women’s quest for justice. Thanks to additional allegations tagged on by the police and advocates, which cannot be proven in court, the cases are often dismissed. She said the majority of the cases brought before the Commission related to violence against women, but little could be done because of problems in the way they were handled by the police and in the courts. The recent Criminal Law Amendment of 2013, which broadened the definition of sexual assault and enhanced punishment for perpetrators, was also not being implemented, she said. Indefinite adjournments meant that cases dragged on for years.

Caption: Tripurana Venkatratnam, Chair of the Women’s Commission of Telangana state was a speaker at the session Ms. Venkatratnam also spoke about the phenomenon of ‘NRI marriages’ in which men enter into marriage, take large dowries, and then leave the country. The abandoned women are left endlessly waiting to be called to join their husbands abroad, usually in the US or the Gulf countries. Such cases are shackled with jurisdictional issues, which further worsen the women’s plight. The Commission has been pressurising the Government of India to sign bilateral agreements with the countries where most of these men reside so that the cases can be effectively prosecuted.

Caption: Tripurana Venkatratnam, Chair of the Women’s Commission of Telangana state speaks at the session She believes that in order to address the male biases among judges it is necessary to mandate 33 percent reservation for women in the judiciary. She also flagged the use of technologies such as mobile phones to record and then circulate videos of rape, saying that such instances were increasingly coming to her notice. Ms Venkatratnam urged the media to investigate and pursue justice for the women and young girls subjected to this form of harassment. Women journalists should act as a pressure group, she said.

Caption: Manoj Mitta, senior editor with the Times of India was a speaker at the session Manoj Mitta, senior editor with the Times of India, spoke about legal issues that have an impact on the news media and journalism. Citing the example of the contempt of court notice recently issued to a former judge of the Supreme Court, Markandey Katju, he pointed out that if a former justice was vulnerable to action for critiquing a judgement on his own blog, it was only too clear how the provision could be used against journalists. According to him, such an over-reaction by the apex court could prove dangerous for journalists reporting on sub judice cases. Even though the Law Commission of India has recommended that truth is permissible as a defence, there has been only limited reform in this area. This is ironic in a country that swears by the motto, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ (truth will triumph), he pointed out. Asked how he has escaped inviting contempt of court charges in the many years he has been reporting on legal matters, he said, “I have managed to strategically convey that I have done my homework rigorously, leaving no room for doubt.” According to him, criminal defamation should be done away with, leaving civil contempt intact as a remedy for aggrieved parties. Across the world a private wrong (civil) tends not to be seen as a public wrong (criminal); in most democracies defamation is dealt with as a civil offence. However, India has yet to follow this path.

Caption: Glimpses of the breakfast meet and other sessions. Touching upon other laws of particular relevance to journalists, Manoj commented on the sedition law, pointing out that the huge amount of discretion provided to the police left the law open to misuse or over use. The right to privacy of victims of sexual assault was another sensitive issue which many journalists did not pay heed to. Likewise, he said, the contentious issue of stings and the potential violation of privacy through them had to be seen in the context of the larger, identifiable public interest.

Caption: Shahina KK shares her experiences with law at the session In the discussion that followed, network members Neha Dixit and Shahina KK talked about how laws had been used against them – for ‘inciting communal hatred’ or ‘intimidating witnesses’. According to the latter she had even been defamed -- described by sections of the media and also on social media as an agent of the Lashkar-e-Toiba -- but was left with no recourse to justice.

Caption: Neha Dixit shares her experiences with law at the session The discussion then moved to the issue of self-regulation in the media (or the lack thereof) and the ineffective nature of a statutory body like the Press Council of India.

There was scepticism about the media industry’s interest in an independent self-regulatory body. Its scant respect for the law was evident from the fact that very few media houses have set up complaints mechanisms under the new law to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. A notable exception, said Divya Arya, was the BBC, including BBC India, which has a well functioning Internal Complaints Committee. She also asked what could be done to combat the notion that women file false cases to get men into trouble. Responding to Manoj’s assertion that media houses should immediately report all internal cases of sexual harassment to the police, Laxmi Murthy said that the purpose of the law was civil redress, to make the workplace more conducive to women, and that not all women subjected to harassment wanted to pursue criminal cases.

Caption: The audience at the session In response to Jyoti Punwani’s comment that the Supreme Court was often the last resort for justice, participants also discussed the judiciary and the fact that “justice is too important to be left only to judges”. According to Manoj, the judiciary needs to be made more diverse in terms of gender, caste and ethnicity, not necessarily because women are more progressive but because diversity is always good. In conclusion, Manoj suggested that journalists must keep to their dharma of truth telling, despite the fact that the authorities might react badly to this. Auditorium of Telugu University, Public Gardens: Special performance of the ballet, “Gandhari,” written by well-known feminist Vasanth Kannabiran and performed by Rajeshwari Sainath and troupe (with music composed by flute maestro B.V. Balasai).

The new book, “Menaka & other ballets,” a compilation of five ballets written by Vasanth Kannabiran, was released by Rajeshwari Sainath before the performance.

Caption: Glimpse of the ballet Gandhari performed at the Telegu University. The ballet, Gandhari, looks at silence and speech, greed for power and dharma, through the tales of gods and heroes fighting battles in the name of justice and truth. Through the battle of Mahabharata, the tone of the ballet is set by transforming the power of hate to the healing power of compassion and love. A mother of a hundred sons, Gandhari is the central figure in this ballet. Despite her allegiance to her sons – collectively called the Kauravas – who are considered the villains of the story, the epic attributes high moral standards to Gandhari. She was praised and respected for blindfolding herself so that she could not see the world that her blind husband, Dhritarashtra, could not. Her austere life gave her the spiritual powers that enabled her to see the battlefield even though she was not present there. Her insistence on abiding by principles even in battle was, unfortunately, dismissed and disobeyed. The ballet focuses on her anger and pain at the death of not just her sons but the destruction of men, women and children through war. It touches upon the stripping of the dignity of human beings through acts of deception both on and off the battlefield.

Caption: Glimpse of the ballet Gandhari performed at the Telegu University. Dinner on the rooftop of Telugu University was a sumptuous spread of varieties of dosa, vada, puri, pongal, piping hot badam milk and jilebis. SUNDAY, 13 November 2016 Impromptu Early Morning Session: Glimpses into History As the conference venue was Osmania University and participants were staying in the vicinity of the iconic Arts College building, the local chapter planned a heritage walk through this historic building. Offering a glimpse of the rich history of Hyderabad, N Venugopal Rao, editor of Veekshanam, a Telugu monthly journal of political economy and society, walked the early birds among NWMI members through the building and explained the social history of the university and the imposing edifice to them [link to Venu’s longer paper on the web]. He pointed out the significance of Osmania University, established in 1917 as the second in the native princely states and the first in introducing a local language (Urdu) as the medium of instruction. He also dwelt on the rich history of Hyderabad, which was founded in 1591 as a city of bridges, based on the love between a prince, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, and a dancing girl, Bagmati, who took on the name Hyder Mahal, and lent her new name to the city. Of course the Qutub Shahi dynasty was conquered by Mughals and, after a short interregnum, a new dynasty named Asif Jahis came to rule the province. The last and seventh king in this dynasty, who ruled from 1911 to 1948, was Mir Osman Ali Khan and the university was named after him.

Venugopal also explained how the iconic building was conceived by a Belgian architect and built by the local Vaddera community, whose traditional occupation is stone cutting and masonry. He pointed out some of the architectural characteristics of the building and gave an overview of the student movements that grew out of the University over the last eight decades, starting from ‘Hyderabad for Hyderabadis’ agitation in 1935 and the ‘Vandemataram’ movement in 1938 through the protests against the proposal to convert it into a Central Hindi university in 1952, against non-mulkis (non-locals) in 1952, and against the government’s highhandedness in appointing a vice chancellor in 1966, on to the Jai Telangana movement of 1969, radical movements in the 1970s and 1980s, and the recent separate state movement of 2009-14. Participants stood outside the plain wooden door of ‘Room No. 57’, an ordinary classroom that was the hub of virtually all these movements. Working Session 4: Media under Siege (11.30 am- 1.00 pm)

Caption: Working Session 4: Media under Siege The session to discuss current crises facing the media and journalists as professionals was prompted by the recent series of attacks of various kinds on the media and journalists, as well as the accelerated shrinking of spaces for dissenting views and voices. In her opening remarks, Kalpana Sharma, chair of the session, reminded us how any criticism or dissent is labelled as ‘anti-national’ by both central and state governments, although the stifling of the regional language press gets less “national” attention than any assaults on the English media. Journalists face the consequences of going against the grain either immediately or some time later. She pointed out that the problem is not specific to India, but a larger, global phenomenon, related to the direction in which the media is moving the world over.

Caption: Kalpana Sharma shares her views at Working Session 4: Media under Siege Delhi-based independent journalist Neha Dixit focussed on the corporate-political nexus that determined news priorities. She recalled early days at editorial meetings where they were told their reader was a 35-year-old techie man from Bangalore and all stories had to be pitched at him: “I was told there is no ‘she’!” According to Neha, investigative journalism was usually aimed at uncovering financial or corporate scams, but the parameters of investigative journalism needed to be broadened. She mentioned two stories she had worked on – from Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, where almost a hundred people had been killed and a lakh displaced, several raped. She spent a lot of time and effort investigating the story and uncovering the half-truths and falsehoods that were being spread. Likewise, her story on the trafficking of girls from the Northeast by three outfits affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – a crime that violates several laws -- was tracked over months. She met the girls in Gujarat and Punjab, and wrote a water-tight story after talking to all sides. Yet, the result was not that those involved in the trafficking industry were caught, but that she had fake cases of ‘inciting communal disharmony’ foisted on her by individuals affiliated to the Sangh Parivar. In such cases, the reporter becomes the story and the focus shifts away from the need to take action against the criminals involved.

Neha also mentioned that in the last ten years of her career in journalism she has covered child trafficking extensively. “In 2010, when I wrote about child trafficking by some madrassas in North Delhi running sweatshops inside their compounds, it was a

crime story for me and my editors. After the story was published, over 250 children were rescued. Similarly, in 2011, I did a story in the dense Saranda forests at the Odisha-Jharkhand border on the training camps for child soldiers run by several Maoist groups. “These articles won national and international awards and I wasn’t branded a Hindu fundamentalist ‘Sanghi’, a rabid ‘nationalist’ or a ‘capitalist thug’ for covering these issues,” she pointed out. According to her, the difference in the reaction to these two stories, on the one hand, and the RSS story (“Operation #BetiUthao/Babylift”) raises two very pressing questions: are journalistic duties subject to the whims of the political regimes in power? How can political regimes remain unaccountable for curbing the basic freedom of expression?”

Neha also spoke of the harassment that she had faced, dealing with a barrage of misogynist comments in the online space. In a lighter vein, Neha said she resented being labelled a ‘concubine of the LeT’, rather than being called an LeT operative, like Shahina! “One gets identified as a trouble-maker, and there is constant pressure to perform, while fighting about choices, whether of your career or of your partner,” she said. In such a situation, there is little scope to talk about your fears or the risks that you face. While pursuing the story on child trafficking, she was locked up by RSS members in a Saraswati Shishu Mandir for several hours, which was a nerve-racking experience. However, she didn’t bring it up with her editor, lest he tell her, “Then don’t do the story’. “But one is desperate to do the story, so one takes risks,” she said.

Caption: Shahina KK, assistant editor with Open Magazine shares her views at Working Session 4: Media under Siege Shahina KK, assistant editor with Open Magazine, quipped that she was always called to public meetings in Kerala to talk about ‘media under siege’ and never about 20th century English literature which she would love to talk about -- such are the times!

“Often, what you want to report about – criminal activities -- turn against you,” she said, describing how she was slapped with a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after she wrote about a controversial Muslim political activist in Kerala, Abdul Nasser Maudany. Her stories were used as evidence against him, as proof that he could influence witnesses even while in jail. Shahina pointed out that journalists are not asking for special rights, but only their constitutionally guaranteed rights to be able to carry out their profession. “Freedom of the press is a legal fiction in India,” she said. It is legally enforced and validated neither by the Constitution nor by any statutes. Freedom of the press is embodied in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech and expression. The ambit and scope of freedom of speech and expression has been widened and transgressed into the freedom of the press by the many battles fought by media institutions and individuals from time to time (with legal principles settled in cases such as Bennett Coleman and Company V Union of India, Indian Express V Union of India, Sakal Times V Union of India, etc.) Although the drafters of our Constitution adapted many ideas from those of Western democracies like the US and Germany, they eschewed specific, explicit provisions for the freedom of the press. On the other hand, she said, there are numerous statutes that can be used against the press and media institutions in order to try and control their voices. Apart from the provisions of defamation and contempt of court, journalists have been booked under various provisions of the IPC like Section 153 A, and also under special statutes like the UAPA, the Official Secrets Act, etc. It is high time to initiate collective bargaining to get real constitutional protection for journalists in India. At the same time, she pointed out, when we say this we have to equally keep in mind the chicken-egg story of press freedom: is the freedom of the working journalist or that of the media institution she or he works for? “We cannot ignore the possibility of such a constitutional mandate being misused by powerful media institutions to serve their vested interests,” she cautioned. “A balance has to be struck and we have to find a solution.”

Caption: The audience at the session The isolation of journalists with cases registered against them for their writing is severe, she said. Editors do not follow up on the process or come to court with you repeatedly, hearing after hearing. Tehelka, for whom she was working at the time, did not support her except in terms of paying the bail amount, which hardly covers the years and years of legal fees and other expenses incurred as the case drags on and on. Her editors also did not understand the seriousness of a non-bailable offence being registered against her and initially did not respond to mails or calls. It was only when her bail was rejected by a lower court that they realised how serious the matter was. She has to go every three months to attend court in a different state from the one she lives in, making her own arrangements for travel and stay. “Still, at least I do have some money. What about those who do not?” she asked. She cited the case of a Dainik Jagran employee who was fighting a case against the CBI on his own resources. “The NWMI must do something to address the issues of regional language journalists,” said Shahina, highlighting the threats they received not only from the government, but also powerful political parties and other vested interests.

Caption: Padmaja Shaw, Professor of Journalism at Osmania University (now retired) shares her views Putting these experiences in a broader context, Padmaja Shaw, Professor of Journalism at Osmania University (now retired), gave a brief presentation on the impact of ownership on media independence. “When free speech and the media’s role in democracies as the primary sources of information are debated, we must also recognise that what we experience as individual journalists is a symptom of a larger malaise.” A study of the Telugu news television industry since 2012 revealed that of 11 channels, nine are owned by entrepreneurs belonging to the dominant Kamma caste from coastal Andhra and two are held by entrepreneurs from the dominant Velama caste of Telangana. Except for V6 and 10TV, which are financed by resources from the real economy, all the other channels are funded by the speculative part of the service sector, such as real estate and non-bank finance, including chit funds. Apart from the domination by caste and regional interests, which exacerbated the separatist sentiment before the bifurcation of the state, the direct and indirect participation of politicians in the news media industry and the perpetual financial losses incurred by the channels, indicate that the common argument explaining away sensationalised news coverage as merely a business strategy to garner TRPs is suspect. Media houses that are invested in the local political stakes remain in the market even though they are in the red year after year. “Politicians and the speculative business interests have taken over the news television industry and are driving their own agendas,” said Padmaja. Many channels have been unable to pay salaries on time. There have been mass retrenchments in 2014-15 of middle and senior positions in newsrooms. There is greater reliance on untrained and

under-paid recruits who have little understanding of the larger mission of journalism in a democracy. In this general atmosphere of siege, women journalists have been finding it more difficult to work and survive, she said. According to her, the media is under siege from two forces. First, the state and its various coercive arms, which are more visible and can be challenged to an extent by invoking the extension of Constitutional guarantee of free speech to media. But when the media come under the siege of dubious financial and political forces, it is a fight against a more insidious enemy. It has to be fought at the regulatory, structural and systemic levels. There has not been much introspection in the media about this, she pointed out. Throwing open the discussion, Kalpana remarked that there was a significant absence of implementation of laws and the existing regulatory mechanisms seemed lax.

Caption: Kalpana Sharma and Shahina Nafis at the session. Kavin Malar from Chennai thanked the NWMI for standing with her during a difficult time when she was subjected to harassment on online platforms after she reported on violence by Vaniars in Dharmapuri. “Even people I respected ‘liked’ and ‘shared’ offensive posts on Facebook against me,” she said. Approaching the cyber crime cell police did not yield any results. Besides reporting on communal and caste violence, highlighting environmental issues can also be a political hot potato, said M. Suchitra from Kerala, recounting a scary experience reporting on the sand mining mafia in Kulithalai for Down to Earth magazine.

Jayanti Buruda from Malkangiri added that the media is squeezed between the

government and vested interests, and the police usually fails to act. “If we have to keep shut and take everything lying down, why should we be journalists?” she asked. Describing the situation vis a vis security of journalists in a bygone era, Rajashri Dasgupta pointed out that although several cases were slapped on her and her colleagues, the legal cell of the media house they worked for handled the cases, sparing them, as journalists, the harassment. Network Sessions

Sessions for internal discussions among members of the NWMI took place over breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, as well as on Sunday afternoon.

Strengthening Independent Journalism (Saturday, 12, 8.00-9.30 am)

Since the NWMI has a large number of independent (freelance) journalists as members, issues specific to their work have long been at the forefront of its concerns. It was at the 2014 meeting in Ahmedabad that issues facing freelancers began to be drawn together more systematically, with Neha Dixit, Raksha Kumar and Rohini Mohan taking the lead in collating a database of publications, editors, payment rates and conditions, and even some remarks on the general trend of payment timelines. Since this resource has proved to be so valuable, a network session was held over breakfast on the second day of the meeting in Hyderabad to take the discussion forward. Providing an update of the database, which now contains information from 127 organisations and individuals, Neha and Rohini pointed out that the list of editors and commissioning editors needs to be updated as some people have changed/moved on from their organisations and similar details about regional language media are still missing since contributions have not come in (they pointed out that this is important and could be helpful for both English and regional language journalists). They also said there are too few names of editors on the list and it would help to include more, especially those of women editors in various organisations. The main challenges for independent journalists are:

i) No paperwork or legal documents to hold media houses accountable, especially in case of late/delayed payment

ii) Ideas reportedly rejected but actually stolen to be worked on by staff and appear in print a few months later

iii) No provision for kill fee (part payment for commissioned stories that are not published for various reasons)

iv) No reimbursement for travel and accommodation while news gathering v) Lack of a support structure and accountability of media houses in the event of

cases filed against reporters for stories Various ways of putting pressure on media houses to be just and fair towards independent journalists were discussed. One suggestion was to start a weekly online ‘warning and whispers’ to caution freelancers while also naming and shaming erring publications. However, some felt that such a move could boomerang, with repercussions such as payments being withheld, future work denied, and so on. One member confirmed that while she was paid after 14 months after having used NWMI’s support to

pressurize a particular publication, it was clear that she could never write for them again. Another suggestion was that, in lieu of a public weekly bulletin, the remarks section in the existing database can be used to post warnings based on experience. This gives a heads up to any journalist planning to write for the publication that payments are likely to be delayed, if not denied. Another important issue that came up was the question of how to talk about money. It was generally felt that women often don’t like to talk about money, but they need to. Taking the direct approach was found to work best. For example, it is important to keep asking for an advance and, in fact, embarrass editors by being direct and detailed about expenses, even if advances are seldom provided. It was suggested that it was advisable to have this conversation right at the beginning of a discussion about an assignment. The fundamental thrust should be to inculcate a culture of respect for the independent journalist who has pitched a story idea or already done a story, at the very least letting them know about rejection quickly so they can pitch elsewhere and, of course, not stealing ideas. Recognising that not everyone may be familiar with the relatively recent practice of formally pitching stories to editors, it was felt that it would be helpful to develop and share a sample pitch that could be used as a prototype. There was concern about the fact that many freelancers distort the market by offering to write for free. Often, the sub-text of the editor’s message is: “We don’t have a big budget but we will give you visibility.” The example of 101 Reporters, a Bangalore-based network, was shared. They reach out to reporters across the country, give them basic training and negotiate a rate of Rs 5 per word for them. 101 Reporters takes a cut and gets credit at the end of the report. Of course they run the risk of those reporters eventually approaching editors directly, but the system appears to be working for now. Another concern was that editors could perceive some journalists as good but tough to deal with because they “negotiate” a lot. Negotiation at the collective, rather than individual, level could circumvent such labelling, it was felt. A suggestion to improve connection and communication between journalists and editors was to create a list of independent reporters, with details such as areas of specialisation (if any), language competencies, etc., and samples of recent work– so that editors can find and approach suitable reporters for particular stories. Some members volunteered to start compiling such a directory, which would include not just metro-based, English language journalists, but also those based in different parts of the country and working in different languages. The idea of a Charter for Independent Journalists [link to freelance charter]– a wish list of ideal conditions to work towards – which was discussed in Ahmedabad was taken forward in Hyderabad.. A link to the charter in the email signatures of independent journalists could convey the information that there is a larger community of independent journalists who are conscious of their professional rights. The absence of official accreditation, identity/press cards for independent journalists also came up as a big issue that sometimes hampers effective reporting by freelancers and was seen as an area that needs to be further explored.

Since women journalists in the regional language media face additional, immense problems which are rarely highlighted, it was decided to schedule a special session to focus on these issues. Several concerns emerged during the session. Issues concerning regional language media (Sunday: 2.00-3.30 pm)

Rama Saraswati summed up the situation of the Telugu press, which still has very few women, saying they cannot do what they want, only what they are told. According to her, they are akin to clerks, not really journalists. Women are generally given only the features desk, not the political beat. They cannot report from the field. Even if we want to interview someone, she said, the editor will give us a list of questions. The designations are lowly and unchanging –she has been a sub-editor for ten years. Sexual harassment is rampant. There are complaints cells, but even the women on the committees tell us to ignore the problem and get on with work, and do not address the issue at all.

Padmasri, who earlier worked as a contributor from a Naxalite-dominated area, said that one of the major issues was non-payment. She had worked for about 20 years, doing rigorous investigative pieces. However, when she moved to a larger media house in Hyderabad, there was “no investigation, no nothing”, she said - in fact, no journalism at all. “We have to soften everything according to the owner’s wishes and he wants to please a particular political party. Only if the party is out of power, we become anti-government,” she rues. According to Manjula, “We have a committee to deal with sexual harassment, but their actions lead to more insecurity for the women staff.” Here, too, the notion is that women should adjust and tolerate sexual harassment, which is just part of the job.

Kavitha Katta, who has been in the Telugu media for 12 years, still draws a pittance as salary. As a Dalit journalist who moved from print to electronic media, she has faced the humiliation of juniors getting the same salary as her, sometimes even more, simply because of their caste. Being a Dalit and a woman makes it difficult to be a journalist, she said: Whether it is cultivating sources over a drink or being ‘one of the boys’, a Dalit woman always risks character assassination. Delhi-based Divya Arya said, “As a bilingual journalist who reports for the BBC in English for worldwide audiences and in Hindi for a domestic B-town non-metro audience, I think forums get dominated by English-language journalists and there is an urgent need for journalists in vernacular languages to speak up.” She added that Hindi journalism in general also faces issues of low salaries and harassment for employees of any gender. She shared that across the BBC there is a move to understand how content can be made gender-sensitive in order to attract more women as consumers of news and that should pave the way for a different news agenda and, indeed, even reportage. Shobhana from Chennai thanked seniors like Kavitha and Kavin for paving the way for younger women like her in the Tamil media. Women journalists are easy game, and one has to watch what one says and does, since it is easy to get stuck with a label, she said. Talking about the scene in Marathi news, Manaswini Prabhune said that the harassment was not as bad, since the situation had somewhat changed over the past five or six years. There are more channels, and more women are getting into electronic media. But the political beat continues to be out of bounds for women. In fact, because of the shaming and mud-slinging to which female reporters are often subjected, many women prefer to stay on the desk. Salaries continue to be low.

Megha Shimpi said there is little encouragement for professional growth: “When I released a book on street children, I was criticised for not doing my job, even though I had worked on it in my off-time.” Sandhya Taksale touched upon the abysmal situation of freelancers in the Marathi press. When the payment is low and even that takes a long time to come, there is no question of getting any reimbursement for travelling or other expenses. In the regional media, the deep-rooted gender bias ensures that freelancing is considered just a hobby or pastime, not a serious professional option, she pointed out. Sharing her experience of moving from Marathi to English media, Kaumudi Gurjar spoke about how women journalists are not treated on par with male colleagues. “I was not given an appraisal in Sakal, the Marathi daily I worked for, on the ground that I came from an affluent family and did not need the salary to run my family,” she revealed. When she moved to Mid Day, it was a great opportunity for professional growth as she was given the crime beat and covered major events like the German Bakery blasts and riots.

Chithra from Kerala spoke of the disregard for photojournalism, when photos were not considered work to be paid for. If photographers refused to give their photos for no payment, the article was used with photos lifted from the internet. In conclusion, Rajashri said that it was a pity that the same issues should continue to plague women journalists decade after decade. The good news was that they are now speaking up, demanding their rights and making their voices heard.

[The 12th National Meeting of the NWMI in Hyderabad was organised by a team from the Hyderabad chapter that included: C.Vanaja, Padmaja Shaw, Anuradha Raparla, Yashoda Vanga, Y Padmasri, E Agitha and K Arunajyothi.]