These days, it’s getting harder to clearly define what real journalism is. It’s tough to explain what true journalism means, and even tougher to figure out who is actually practicing it. Once you somehow sort out those two questions, the biggest one remains: How should journalism be done, and with which organization?
While living in a big city like Delhi and learning how the world works, I found answers to these questions. But often, those answers end up fooling no one but myself.
There is no shortage of good journalists. They exist in places like Bilaspur, Ranchi, Banda, Bastar, and Vidarbha. These people hold on to their goodness despite their flaws, but one thing is missing from their flaws: no ‘brokerage’—neither financial nor ideological. Committing to an ideology is completely different from being an ideological broker. A broker abandons principles and runs after a person, while a committed journalist stays firm on his beliefs.
This is not a sad song of mourning—it’s just facing the reality. At Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism, Ashutosh Gupta once spoke openly to students: “If you came here thinking you will change society, go back home. Journalism is just a job, like being a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. Drop the dream of changing the world and treat it as a practical profession.” Professor Pushpendra Pal Singh wrote about this incident in detail in the magazine ‘Hans’. Ashutosh was honest—he said it straight. Many journalists don’t have that courage. Later, Ashutosh thought politics would bring more money, but he couldn’t succeed there either and came back to journalism.
Another strong example is Shamsher Singh Bisht from Almora. While working at Jansatta, when pressure came to bring in advertisements, he asked senior journalist Ram Bahadur Rai: “If the journalist himself brings the advertisement, how can he write an honest story about that advertiser? Once you take their money, won’t the news have to favor them too?”
This is the biggest challenge for journalism today. The advertiser pays the salaries, so the news often has to bend toward them. If any media house tries to do honest work while looking toward the people, what can it do if the common people—who already bend their backs for daily bread—refuse to support it? Under market pressure, organizations bend, and journalists feel helpless.
Even so, this time of disappointment is actually the best time for journalism. Honest and good journalism has become very rare now. If even a little bit of real quality shows up, society is ready to welcome it with open arms. Any journalist who puts truth forward without brokerage or compromise has a very high chance of success. From villages to cities, people are searching for an unbiased voice.
Saving journalism is now a matter of personal courage and shared responsibility. If a few people keep the old commitment alive, this profession can once again become society’s true mirror. The times are full of challenges, but they are also full of opportunities. Honesty is now the biggest strength.
