Editors’ Power Play

In Orissa, journos take full time to politics with startling results, says TSI's Dhrutikam Mohanty

Nearly 80 per cent editors of Orissa's 10-odd vernacular newspapers are poised to contest in the coming state Assembly and Parliamentary elections – and you don't need to read between the lines to see how partisan their approach to "news" is. Indeed all of them, without exception, have been using their columns to project the line of the parties under whose banners they are contesting. And they are not setting a new trend – whether in Orissa or elsewhere in the country. Time and again, media personnel – even from nondescript media houses – have been allotted party tickets; and what's more, in many cases they won. Pandit Godabarisha Mishra, Pandit Nilakanth Das and Dr Radhanath Ratha were editors of the state's oldest daily Samaj; Chintamani Panigrahi, Bhairav Mahanty and Janki Ballav Patnaik entered politics after having had successful careers as editors of Prajatantra. And Surendra Mohanty and Bichitrananda Kar were also in the same league. But the name that comes first to most people is that of JB Patnaik, who quit a bright career as editor of Prajatantra, and later of the English language weekly Eastern Times. And he went far. He not only became a Union Minister, but also rose to become chief minister of the state all of three times! But here the similarity between Pattnaik with modern day editors ends. For while the former quit the media for good, the latter want the best of both worlds. Needless to say, this has seriously damaged the credibility of the vernacular press – especially of dailies such as Sambad (editor, Soumya Ranjan Pattnaik), Dharitri (editor, Tathagata Satpathy), Prajatantra (editor, Bhartruhari Mahatab), Samay (managing editor, Ranjib Biswal), and Kalinga Mail (editor, Shibanand Ray). And this list of editors who would be netas is by no means exhausted: more names are cropping up as D-day nears.

A sharp critic of the Naveen Patnaik government, Soumya Pattnaik initially supported the Bharatiya Janata Party, but later – influenced by his father-in-law, JB Patnaik – switched his allegiance to the Congress. He tasted his first electoral victory in 1996, when he won from the Bhubaneswar Parliamentary seat on a Congress ticket. This time, Soumya is expected to contest from a much smaller constituency – Khandapara in Nayagarh district – where his Paribartan Yatra (Journey of Change) is in full swing these days. And yes, no issue of Sambad ever fails to cover the Yatra in detail. But Soumya insists there is nothing wrong with this. "I don't lay any stone by this so-called neutralism. I see no harm in taking sides if it benefits Orissa and helps fight corruption. Voicing one's opinion is crucial if real change is to come about.And at Sambad this is precisely what we are doing," he told TSI. The editor of Dharitiri, Tathagata Satpathy, who has won one Assembly and two Parliamentary elections, is again preparing to contest from Dhenkanal on a BJD ticket. Though his paper is considered pro-Naveen by many, Tathagata hotly denies reports that his political ideology affects the editorial credibility of Dharitiri. "As I am an MP under the BJD banner, some people want it to become the party's organ, but that is not acceptable to me and it will never happen." Prajatantra's editor, Bhartruhari Mahtab, who is one of the frontline BJD candidates for the Cuttack MP seat, also insists that his paper is not being used to promote partisan ends. And he claims, "Editors should not force their political aspirations on readers. Prajatantra is a newspaper of the people and it will continue to tell their stories alone."But other editors are more honest about the matter. As Managing Editor of ­Samay admits, "If someone is into active politics, and controls a newspaper, it is impossible for him to stay neutral. The media both shapes and reflects people's opinions, which after all is why they are wooed by all parties, especially during election time." Ranjib Biswal, who won the Parliamentary seat from Jagatsinghpur on a Congress ticket in 1996 and 1998, lost in the last two elections. There is every chance, though, that he will be the Congress candidate from the Kendrapara constituency this time.

And finally – the editors who will make their electoral debut... Kailash Mishra, editor of Amari Katha, is currently president of the Samajwadi Party in Orissa. It is said he converted his weekly into a daily two years back with an eye on the upcoming elections. But when asked whether his paper is a tool for promoting his political ends, he too denied this saying, "It's nothing like that. Amari Katha is not my party's organ. It only publishes my political activities, and conveys my thoughts to the people." Another newcomer, editor of Paryabekshak, Pabitra Mohan Samantray, says, "If I get elected I will quit my editorial responsibilities." Comments senior political analyst Basant Das, "Currently, political personnel believe that to be successful in politics one must have a newspaper in hand. On the other hand, editors have understood that it's easier to build up a career in politics with a media house backing their candidature." Adds Ganeshwar Mishra, former editor of Samaj: "Owing to close ties between editors and politicians, most of the newspapers in Orissa are not free. They are like party leaflets." Indeed, pick up any of these papers and you will invariably find them spilling over with 'news' of inaugurations and ceremonies presided over by their 'editors' – or dishing out pre-poll pledges of the political parties which are backing them. And these editors are making sure that most of this PR exercise is complete before the Election Commission's Code of Conduct comes into force. This phenomenon – if it can be called that – can only be checked if the courts take note of reports in the free media about this large scale and totally unchecked conflict of interest.

Medium is the message Orissa is by no means an oasis. In Karnataka, Tejaswini Gowda, a 42-year-old journalist and talk show host on a Kannada TV channel, humbled 'humble farmer’ HD Deve Gowda in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Her margin of victory against the former Prime Minister: a comfortable one lakh. Now rumours are rife that Tejaswini is seriously considering a BJP offer.Back in the 1950s, veteran Kannada journalists like Dinakara Desai, Ranganath Diwakar and HK Veeranna Gowda demonstrated that they understood their politics well by winning Lok Sabha seats. Diwakar even served as Union Information Minister in Nehru’s Cabinet.Sanjay Nirupam is today known as a hard-hitting politician, but in the not-too-distant past, he was editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Samna (Hindi). Likewise, Sanjay Raut, editor of Samna (Marathi), is also an MP.Many stalwarts crowd this field. In Kolkata, Saeed Malihabadi, editor of Azad Hind Daily is now a Rajya Sabha MP. Bihar’s Ali Anwar, a veteran reporter, became a political activist and was nominated by Nitish Kumar to the Upper House in 2006. The other shining example of this 'genre' of journalism is Nai Duniya editor, Shahid Siddiqui, for years with Mulayam Singh Yadav as a Rajya Sabha member, but lately with Mayawati. Like others, for Shahid too, politics and journalism remains entwined. Undoubtedly, the most outstanding examples of this transition remain Chandan Mitra and Rajiv Shukla. It is therefore no surprise that even Page 3 celebrities have "PRESS" stickers on their windscreens. They have been told it pays to be a journalist these days.