Northeast Nuances
3.3.8 Interpreting Northeast through Media Texts
According to News coordinator of a regional television news channel:
GS Road incident or BTAD violence only portrays the dark side while there are so many positives that can also be portrayed by the national media.
According to Freelance journalist reporting for national newspapers and news portals:
News is shown or reported depending upon what viewers/readers want to read or know. Hence, violence is increasingly reported from northeast India going by the judgment of media that violence from the region only interests people.
According to Feature writer of a regional newspaper organisation:
The events that occur have been convoluted or processed in the way that people can easily understand. Current affairs seem to attract maximum viewer attention.
Perhaps summing up of most of the views of patterned projection of northeast in the media is the point made by Senior Producer of Doordarshan, Regional News Unit:
Earlier only print media and cinema use to represent violence and related issues, after 1970 the
“idiot box” came to existence through Aakashvani (All India radio) and DD was born too as the first television channel. After that revolution of visual media came drastically and mushrooming of media houses /channels began. These satellite channels can been from any corner of the world. And for the survival and existence they need regular income sources; which comes through sponsorship and commercials. These compel them to abide by responses of financers, sponsors and target audience. Thus the social importance of the media houses got reduced to please sponsors or commercial decision makers, than to serve the interest of the people. Instead of authentic reliable responsible news media, there are dictative and bias media. The political parties have been taking advantages of these mushrooming commercially motivated media houses, which are reflected in media content. Commercial motive and political inclination has been the basic cause for these kinds of representations.
Media texts in general about the region irrespective of its spread, reach, language and channel apparently does further the strong stereotypes that have been prevalent in minds of people. A majority of 101 respondents believe that media texts about northeast have been furthering the negative image of Assam and rest of the northeastern states through stereotypical representation of violence instances only. On the contrary, only seven out of 112 respondents believe, that interpretative media texts have been changing of late for the good, breaking the existing traditional practice of stereotypical projection.
The responses (Figure 3.21) on Interpreting northeast through media texts may be categorised as below:
Figure 3.21: Responses on Interpreting Northeast through Media Texts
Furthering stereotypes: 88% respondents (Figure 3.21) opine that media texts regarding Northeast apparently stereotype northeast branding the region with backwardness, violence, underdevelopment, unrestfulnes, terrorism prone, and similar negative attributes.
According to Senior Copy Editor of a regional English language newspaper:
Media reinforces the notions of terrorism, backwardness, physical distance of exotic northeast by words used in the story and also the angles given to stories related to this region.
According to News Producer of a regional television news channel:
Media text are always very sensitive especially when it is related to a particular group, community etc. In the eyes and ears of the other parts of the country, northeast is a militant infected region filled with corruption and jungles. If the media always stresses on this points
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Furthering stereotypes
May be Alterations for good
Lack of mainstream
attention
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Interpreting Northeast through Media Texts - Responses
Responses
rather than looking at the positive aspects and work on how to develop the region, then northeast will always be connected to militants, jungles, corruption etc.
According to Producer (News and Programme) of a regional television channel:
The word associated with North East is ULFA, NDFB, Bomb Blasts etc. Repeated usage of such words relates this part as a violent area.
According to CEO & Content Editor of a regional television news channel:
You always come across terms like geographically difficult to commute; land-locked Northeast, insurgency hit Northeast, alienated from mainstream etc. These are some words, which has become synonyms with Northeast. As a journalist of this region, I find it stereotype. As if journalists can use flowery words to brand the entire region, which comprises of eight states.
According to Sub-editor of an English language Newspaper organisation:
The consistent usage of terms like violence hit, terrorism, hardcore criminals, violence torn, conflict ridden, etc can be evaluated as the media being already judgmental and following the existent age long belief of northeast being completely disorderly.
According to Sub-editor of a vernacular language newspaper organisation:
Northeast is interpreted in very poor light by the rest of the India. By personal experience, I can say that most people view Northeast to a land of terrorists, every hold possessing gun and ready to fight. It is viewed as underdeveloped region with uneducated and unrest people.
According to Reporter/copy writer of a vernacular language newspaper:
All the northeastern states are viewed as faraway land where people from the mainland are afraid to enter.
According to Freelance journalist of Assam:
Northeast is a volatile region, hub of conflicts- this is the mainstream India’s interpretation.
According to Producer News, Doordarshan News Regional News Unit:
We should consider the interest of nation’s traditions, culture and the value of humans’ basic needs. But national media has been projecting Northeast in inappropriate manner, where the real picture has been hiding somewhere and the negative is more prerogative. Northeast is provided with less of media space and time and moreover has also been denied due attention because of less commercial value. Any viewer who is watching Northeast through media will have all negative perceptions. Even though we are lighted enough by the grace of god, still we are in confinement. And this confinement is mainly caused by less representation by media persons and intellectuals who are supposed to lend their voices properly for the cause of the people. Charity begins at home, but our intellectual heads think in overreaching part of India.
They should focus first on the northeastern region, first home then rest of the world.
Alterations for good: 6% respondents (Figure 3.21) refer the way the representation patterns of violence in the region have changed over time is evident through modified media perceptions and interventions into other than violence aspects. Apparently interpreting media texts, the Northeast may be portrayed in positive light in a much better way by following ethical and moral steps and practicing developmental journalism. Violence seems to be the dominant media content which is gradually being taken over but cultural and tourism aspects and propagations.
According to Sub-editor of a regional newspaper organization:
Northeast is nowadays portrayed as a vault of resources, scenic beauty, musical talents and shunning the age-old images of Northeast as a terrorist-ridden region.
According to Desk editor of a regional television news channel:
Northeast can be highlighted through its diversity in nature, resources, rich culture, and new developments in various fields. Being more positive and showing positive things is the new trend in media.
Lack of mainstream attention: 1% of respondent (Figure 3.21) refer to the lack of attention provided to the northeastern state as a whole by the mainstream media which makes interpretations insignificant.
According to Desk Editor of the English language newspaper organisation:
No text can be interpreted by itself, without social, economic, political and cultural studies of the same alongside with it. Northeast has a long way to go before it will be even considered for interpretation at a popular level in the nation.
As derived from the respondents, media representation with reference to reporting of violence in Assam and also instances from entire Northeast was found affirmative in collectively promoting the predominant perceptions of a wider range of media consumers about the region. As derived from literature survey and responses that regional as well and national media has been focusing on extensive and selective reporting of instances of violence only from the region. Also as revealed in a study, conducted on trends of conflict reporting in the Northeast “the dominant media structure does not think beyond the existing frameworks for viewing the situation”
(Bordoloi). With a majority of 88% respondents strongly believe that media texts only have furthered the stereotypical perception about Assam and entire Northeast. As widely understood the media represents only ‘disquieting stories of unrest, insurgency
and violence’ (Basu and Kohli 183) and rarely deals with the ‘institutional development processes’ (183) of the northeastern states. Like “in the case of Manipur, many of the media agencies did not focus on the importance of past history and the indigenous demographic profile of the state” but instead only intervened when the violence that was in accordance with popular perceptions, was expected to attract media consumers. Thus it may be confirmed that the “narrow media outlook is responsible for a substantial misunderstanding of political processes in the northeast”
(Bordoloi).
Media texts, specifically news are broadly “socially constructed reality” (Berkowitz 16/453) which “necessarily has meaning and significance” (118). Interpretation of media texts also depends on the how messages or ideologies are transmitted to the public. Thus the way violence in regard to the region is shown in media texts has the power to define what northeast actually is and what it becomes in perception of the media consumers. As widely understood “news is not the reality, but an interpretation of the event that depends on who sees it, writes it and often also who reads it (Mochahari); the media perceptions surrounding Assam and the entire Northeast needs to be relooked into in order to project a better region to the rest of the world and change perceptions and break stereotypes.