How many of us, when reading the morning newspaper, have to think about the accuracy of the news printed in it? Not in passing but really think about it. Now India's largest publishing group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. has its readers doing just that by launching a new category called "edvotorial." Or simply put – paid news.
Last year the group launched a business division called Medianet. It functions like a paid news desk through which, for a price, advertisers and public relation agencies can place editorial content in certain lifestyle supplements of the group's flagship newspaper, the Times of India (TOI). The word Medianet at the end of the article informs the reader that the copy is, in fact, a paid piece of news.
This move has unleashed a debate on journalism ethics that this country's print media has not seen in the longest time. First, a brief backgrounder about Bennett, Coleman to understand the significance of this move.
Bennett, Coleman is no dodgy publisher. It is India's largest publisher and a privately held media and entertainment company that publishes a number of leading newspapers and magazines, runs music stores and a radio music channel. One of its flagship products, the TOI has a circulation of more than 21 million, making it the largest selling broadsheet in the world. The English business daily, The Economic Times, claims a circulation of 400,000 making it one of the top three business newspapers in the world.
However, over the past few years the Times group has had its journalism standards questioned. In April 2000 it launched an online portal, the Indiatimes, and critics accused it of using its extensive editorial space to promote the portal. Then in February 2003 an ET journalist was arrested, along with an online portal journalist, for allegedly blackmailing a stockbroker. None of this has induced the kind of Times-bashing as Medianet has.
The question everyone is asking is – sure these are not easy times for media with advertising under pressure all around. Yet, does one of the country's richest and largest media groups need to follow such an aggressive profit-garnering tactic?
In the center of the controversy are nine city editions, called Bombay Times, Delhi Times and so on. These are cheesy insertions that accompany the morning paper and cover local entertainment news, fashion events and even have a smattering of international celebrity news. The supplements were created to capture local advertising and the strategy worked out beautifully. The coolest parties and people are featured on Page 3 of these supplements. The papers are so successful that the term "Page 3" person or event is virtually a cult term amongst readers in urban India, defining everything that is cool, urbane and rich.
The Times sees this as the next evolutionary stage in contemporary news gathering. The group argues that today's readers don't just expect news about politics or society or business issues anymore. They also expect an editorial line on contemporary issues like fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle. So instead of sticking to the traditional age-old methods of reporting on these categories, why not get the advertiser to give the news to you and pay for it as well! It's a win-win -- the reader benefits and so does the advertiser.
What of credibility of such news? Does the news gathering process have any less integrity because it is a fashion trend that is being reported on and not a politician's bank balance? If one reads a great review about a new restaurant, the assumption is that the newspaper believes that the food is great and the piece is done by a food critic. If you hear about a miracle-worker beautician, then the reader has the right to believe that she can work wonders with acne.
In response to questions sent by this correspondent, a spokesperson clarifies Medianet's position: Medianet is hardly a channel to buy your way into the Times group publications because unlike an advertorial, editors control Medianet Edvertorials. All Medianet features are processed for print after due approval from the Medianet Editor and respective editors of Metro Supplements. All Medianet articles have to pass the most stringent editorial filter, the commitment to which is unflinching in the Times Group. So, if the editor of the lifestyle or city-supplement of The Times of India feels the story is not worth the advertising it is riding on, it gets dropped.
The spokesperson said that the Medianet sales team will never approach people like politicians or quacks to ensure that the editorial quality is maintained.
In fact, the Times position further argues that this method of news gathering actually lends credibility to the whole process. What with increasing influence of PR agencies that might choose to push a certain kind of product or designer and exert an influence on the reporter!
For most, the argument is, well, strange. News is reported. Any kind of news is reported – and not paid for. The basic premise of this profession is that all news needs to be reported fairly and PR agencies, ideally should not be exerting any kind of influence on that process. Paid news seems to be a strange way to battle that influence.
In an article written on this subject, T.N Ninan, editor of Business Standard, a business daily says it best when he says: "There is no one way to run a newspaper, any more than there is just one truth on any subject. But just as falsehood cannot become another truth, there is a way in which you should not run a newspaper."
