News On Local Newspapers

By: Lunminthang Haokip

Introduction: The ever-increasing craving to know what happened where, when and
how make members of myriad families vie with one another to first grab the lette
red daily home-de¬livered broad-sheets called local newspapers. In a state like Ma
nipur where bundhs fluctuate for¬tunes and punctuate the pace of life, the propa¬gan
da published in the print media, usually set the agenda of the day.
Own Favourites: Preferred columns vary from person to person. Straight from bed,
the father feasts his eyes upon the latest political com¬ments. The mother's prim
ary concern, however, is the gas cylinder- update or item issued by school autho
rities that helps her decide as to whether children are to be readied for class
or not. Masculine as male-priority is, the son of the house goes gaga over pot-s
hots on cricket stars or hot reports on soccer and other sports. Com¬ing to girls,
the flippant type who grew up on MTV aren't much bothered about news. But the s
erious wannabe woman-of-substance does not miss a column and a word of the occas
ional ex¬clusive article--more so if the author is one of her liking.
Medium of Info: : The advent of the Television cannot rob the radio of i
ts well-entrenched place in the listener's psyche. Like¬wise, the impact of the In
ternet in no way dimin¬ishes the utility of newspapers. For one, among the vehicle
s of mass communication, the news¬paper is cheap and convenient. No other me¬dium ca
n beat it when it comes to access to the masses. You can go through it lying sup
ine on the sofa seat, while in rapid transit, in the zoo or inside the loo and a
board the train or the aero plane. It also caters to the need of every stra¬tum of
society by ventilating and moulding pub¬lic opinion, tapping popular expression a
nd pro-viding remedies to the ills of evil systems.
The local newspaper is a low-cost medium of adver¬tising, publicity, information a
nd propaganda. The visual sophistication of the electronic media can¬not belittle
the down-to-earth appeal of good old newspaper. Its affordability certainly is
an asset. Arriving home late, you can miss choice radio or TV program, but prin
ted news can be read any time of the day or night. Through it flows out the powe
r of the press. But for it, in a democracy, the press is termed the fourth estat
e.
Localization of News : An exotic gour-met recipe may look delicious and taste th
un-derous in places of its origin. Yet, it's the regional delicacies that tickle
the selective native palate. In the same manner, national and international new
spapers are not as vocal about and focal to area-specific sensibilities as their
local counterparts are. Burning issues of a particular region can only kindle t
he special interest of the immediately concerned. A scandalized scoop rocking re
lation¬ships in a city does not create the same sensation elsewhere. A calamity of
tragic magnitude occurring in alien land loses its shocking-impact when it reac
hes one's hometown.
Taking Sides: In contrast, incidents of national importance that happen in obscu
re townships aren't given the proper treat¬ment they deserve in metropolitan tablo
ids. That's why we see readership loyalty gradually tilting homewards. The verna
cular press that vocifer-ously champions parochial feelings are looked upon by p
atronizing readers as the conscience-keeping messiah of hope. They see their joy
s, sorrows and dreams adequately reflected in it. The language papers, in turn,
side with the com¬mon people in any controversy that the estab¬lishment and the unde
rdogs lock horns in. They, for sure, know which side of their bread is buttered.
That discerning sagacity keeps them afloat in tempestuous times and helps them
ar-ticulate a buoyant personal rapport and an emo-tional attachment with their s
ubscribers.
Conflicting Constraints: Most of the small newspapers have big financial
 problems. They are therefore vulnerable in several ways. Their circulation figu
res are modest - fetching humble ad-rates. Unpaid ad-bills pile up only to gathe
r dust. Still, the show must go on--every evening and morning. Purchases of pres
s-items are to be made urgently. The employed staff can-not live by words alone.
So, a conflict of role and status emerge inevitably. By and large, the scribe c
ommunity had, more or less, accepted their positional plight of being paid low t
o subsist in tune with high expectations.
Journalistic Brinkmanship: However, the sil¬ver lining in the dim scenario is that
some of the vernacular papers are doing profitable business by local standards
through classified ads. Such leading dailies play key roles in state-level polit
i¬cal affairs. Their crusade against atrocities and excesses on innocents, fearles
s exposure of in¬justice in public life and timely echoing of popu¬lar sentiments ea
rn for themselves endearing soft-spots in the hearts of the readers.
Size Does Matter: The wearer knows best where the shoe pinches. Running a small
news¬paper is harder than one thinks it to be. Hazards begin right with the declar
ation itself which is filed with the District Magistrate. The DM has to refer th
e proposed title to the RNI for clear¬ance and registration. Lakhs of titles accum
ulate at RNI's desks awaiting entitlement. The other¬wise formidable fort of the f
ourth estate is fraught with double-think and double-act. Some file a declaratio
n but never publish a sheet. Many file more than a declaration during a year wit
h an eye on newsprint quotas. To top it all, RNI is too under-staffed to weed ou
t the in-operative titles.
Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Once registered, the local daily has to maintain account
books as per directives of RNI and DAVP if it desires to get newsprint or gov¬ern
ment advertisement. Of course, such formali¬ties are not imposed upon the smallest
newspa¬pers. The fact of the matter is that most of the small newspapers do not m
aintain these accounts as they are not aware of the facilities. But igno¬rance is
not bliss here. Sooner or later, they en¬ter into agreements with one printing pre
ss or another under which the press itself provides the paper and charges them d
early. This happens because of the mysterious difference between the number of n
ewspapers registered with RNI and the number of applications seeking newsprint.
Rolling Out Mediocrity: Besides, news¬print supply can never keep pace with its de
mand. When big publishers take away their share, scanty stock is left in the mar
ket for the small ones. Moreover, newsprint comes in rolls to suit big players w
ho print on rotary machines. Small play¬ers have no choice but to pay more as cutt
ing charges. The rolls are cut into sheets for flat-bed presses. The woes are en
dless. They not only have to fish out more money for inputs like paper, ink, pri
nting charges etc., but also cannot afford to engage better qualified staff nor
provide refer¬ence libraries. The net result is mediocrity.
Small Town Mentality: With the progress of literacy and explosion of population,
there is a massive growth in the development of reading habits. The small towns
and villages also have a proportionate share in such a growth. Lan¬guage newspape
rs are quick to cash in on the benign atmosphere. But there is a flip side to su
ch newly acquired reading habit. In the country-side, one copy of a newspaper is
read not by one but on an average, by five persons. In the deeper in¬teriors, a s
ingle copy, at times, is even shared by the entire village. Having perused, they
tear the paper to pieces and use them to roll tobacco into cigarettes. One wond
ers whether there is a relationship between purchasing power and read¬ership.
Habits Vary: Folks in downtown Churachandpur in Manipur cultivate a better hab
it of buying newspapers than those in Moreh or Chandel. But settlers of national
high¬way region of Sadar hills are regular readers although they do not have the
same purchasing power as their kindred in CCpur have. Local tea-stalls are the
fave haunts of news seekers who do not have the aptitude to subscribe or buy a c
opy on daily basis.
Storm-In-A-Tea-Cup : What's considered as an insignificant newspaper in the Stat
e capital is regarded as a cherished daily arrival in a small town. Lacking in o
ther media of communication, the printed word is taken seriously as the ulti-mat
e truth. News items, in rural areas are read and verbally raped repeatedly. They
form the basis of animated discussions in road-side tea-stalls for crazily lazy
family-men who try to compensate their allergy to manual works in the fields wi
th a superior grasp of the happenings around the world. Such a fancied fad can o
nly be fed by lo¬cal dailies.
Political Pundits: Electoral predictions and party poli¬tics are the pet topics of
conversation over sips of cups of tea taken on credit which sometimes end up i
n storm-in-a-tea-cup kind of heated argument. Participants in such debates know
all the names of the Ministers and MLAs. They are experts in psycho-analyzing im
agined situations by correlating the news items with the rumours they heard thro
ugh the word-of-mouth channel. Shrewd as they are, some of the VLPBs ( Vil-lage-
Level Power Brokers) adopt the witty opin¬ions incorporated in the editorials as t
heir own, aggressively defend them and increase their (fake) prestige percentage
in the backblocks. Knowledge, indeed, is power- borrowed though it may be .
Symbiosis of Govt And Press : The government and the press are made for each oth
er. One can only pretend a healthy existence without the other. Of late, the gov
ernment's role had diversified from limited concerns of maintenance of law and o
rder and revenue collection. It has become a potent tool of social change throug
h meticulously planned development. But all the high-sounding pro-poor policies
and the satis¬factory (in parts) achievements mean nothing to the subjects if due
publicity is not given to them.
Press Pressure: That's where the print media comes handy. Prominent cove
rage of honest implementation of rural and urban schemes will boost up the moral
e of the agencies. Investigative reporting on embezzlement of funds and lamentab
le ele¬ments of lapses will serve as a deterrent to fu¬ture fraud. On the other hand
, newspapers can make good use of govt. notifications, court sum¬mons, and display
ads. If the respective parts are played with no strings attached, any symbiotic
relationship between the press and the govern¬ment will end up in the benefit of
both. Posterity ought to remember Gandhiji's succinct saying, " One of the objec
ts of a newspaper is to under¬stand the popular feeling and give expression to it;
another is to arouse among the people cer¬tain desirable sentiments; the third, i
s fearlessly to oppose popular defects ".
Desired Future Role: Manipur had been thriving on diversity of culture and reli
gion. Many languages and dialects are spoken here with Manipuri as the lingua fr
anca. Human nature being what it is, pot-boiling conflicts are bound to erupt in
social interactions. The local news¬paper, with all the influence at its command,
for a change, should shift focus and concentrate on regional news and events. T
hen, it must effec¬tively poise and employ its credentials as the rec¬onciling confl
uence of ambivalent viewpoints that need to be thrashed out threadbare in print
un¬der the guiding rationale of the general-will. The via-media mid-way meeting-po
int it hammers out should then be chiseled to be channeled to en¬hance the affluen
ce of the state in fraternal am¬ity.
The need Is Righteousness: By His grace, God had blessed our state with abundant
resources, salubrious climate, fertile hills and dales. Heaven endows the citiz
enry with brilliance in sports, culture, art and science. But why aren't we maki
ng capital of the divine blessing ? What hinders us from getting our acts togeth
er towards organized economic prosperity ? Why do we once too often suffer the o
rdeal of a financial crisis that shows no sign of improvement ? And why are we l
osing out a huge sum in remittance for outside studies ?
Head Held Low: There are questions individuals would rather leave to the
 press to answer. The press, on its part, sometimes, cannot resist the temptatio
n to be partial. Better sense fails to prevail at crucial junctures. Big or smal
l, the print media survives on the strength of the collective moral support rend
ered by its readers. When a critical issue mentally arm-twists media-men to igno
re the glaring truth so as not to offend the majority readership, facts are muti
lated with guilty nonchalance. Lesser voices are throttled. Truth is buried und
er fear. Why?
God Sees All: The print media, using its hold over the masses and classe
s, should initiate a social survey-cum-research and suggest viable remedial meas
ures. Personally, I think we have collectively grieved the all-knowing all-seein
g God in individual and public discharges of re-sponsibilities. More often than
not, truth had been trampled and falsity lapped up for petty gains or shady barg
ains. Only "righteousness can exalt a nation (or state)” - Prov. 14:34. Everything
else will end up in grief. Going by the trend that is socially in vogue, we may
be drift-ing towards the cesspool of a hopeless mess of a social system.
Healing Not Impossible: But there is hope in the written Word in the scr
iptures. If we truly repent and make suitable amends, we can still en-cash the
riches of God's promise in II-Chronicles 7:14, "If my people ,which are called b
y my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my ways, then will I hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land".