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Guest Times: Reporters under pressure worldwide

Shantanu Guha Ray, who attended the Eurasian Media Forum recently held in Astana, Kazakhstan, says the global media forum agreed that a reporter's job today is just about the worst

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Guest Times: Reporters under pressure worldwide

Guest Times: Reporters under pressure worldwide

Shantanu Guha Ray, who attended the Eurasian Media Forum recently held in Astana, Kazakhstan, says the global media forum agreed that a reporter's job today is just about the worst

May 8, 2013

publive-image Shantanu Guha Ray

An early morning fog smoked out the sun and enveloped Astana's most luxurious Rixos Hotel last week where delegates from across the world attending the annual Eurasian Media Forum debated whether a reporter's job is worse than that of a garbage collector.

The newly laid out capital of land-locked Kazakhstan was actually scheduled to debate the impact of social media in global politics, but the topic went on the backburner ever since www.careercast.com made public its annual survey, ranking news gathering as the world's least desirable job and asking people to flee journalism.

Obviously, the survey triggered a veritable furor in media organisations across the world. Those who agreed kept their reactions private. Only those who called the study a piece of “cow poo” went public with their comments. Yet, on social media (read Facebook and Twitter), those favouring the study heavily outweighed those against it.

“The reporter's job has become tougher because many – now that you have the social media – feel he is not speaking the truth. He is fighting for his space with a blogger, or a citizen journalist, who do not confirm to newsroom rigours of deadline and guidelines,” said former CNN and Al Jazeera International host Riz Khan, who moderated some of the sessions at the forum, now in its 11th year.

“The media is definitely under pressure. Social media, which is free, is on a high and no one wants to spend money on newspapers and magazines. The reporter is increasingly looking vulnerable,” said Khan in an apparent reference to the findings of the website that took 200 jobs and ranked them in order from most to least desirable, based on factors such as environment, income, outcome and stress. Added together, the newspaper reporter found a dismal 200 rank out of 200 – the worst job on CareerCast's list, below lumberjack, janitor, garbage collector and bus driver.

“We were very analytical,” Tony Lee, CareerCast's publisher, said in an e-mail.

Veteran television host Stephen Cole said the reporter once used to be the public eye because others could read his work and take issue with what he had written. “But now, many more people are asking questions, commenting on the social media. Obviously, the reporter is no longer in that exalted position.”

Why is that happening?

Cole said the work environment had actually worsened because earlier, newspaper reporters were responsible for writing their articles within a deadline. Now, they have to tweet it the whole day, perhaps write a blog and even take a video if his organisation has a television channel. “His job has become significantly more demanding.”

Interestingly, the speakers - after two days of contentious discussions - were unanimous that it was time for the media to move to a higher level, changing from the fourth estate into one equal to the executive and legislative branches, which largely influence on going global geo-political developments.

“Media barons across the world must find out why information wars are so relevant at the moment. And whether such an occupation as journalist eventually disappears,” argued Greg Palast, New York Times bestselling writer and journalist.

“Not only professional journalists, but even popular bloggers are more and more often in the vanguard of information attacks. And non-professional news owners are filling up the media space, opening sweat shops and downing shutters as it there is no tomorrow,” Palast added.

Palast was referring to the recent incident of a Ponzi cash scheme owner in India, Sudipta Sen of Kolkata-based Saradha Group, who turned an overnight media baron and started newspapers and television channels, only to shut shop a year later in complete ignominy.

Palast remarked, “I am told there are 1,200 reporters on the streets. They all came to do sensible journalism but do not have a job. Now, these very reporters will hate the profession.”

Everyone agreed.

(Shantanu Guha Ray is a senior business journalist who scooped the coal scam while working for India Today in 2011. He currently works for the Vienna-based Central European News as its India Editor.)

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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