How many times will a man turn his head and pretend that he cannot see

This is an editorial written by my colleague and good friend James Hardy on the role of a journalist while covering rural affairs.

“What will you people do?” The words of a widow who had seen countless journalists come and go but her situation remained the same. What exactly is a journalist supposed to do in the face of such overwhelming poverty and injustice? Where does he/she draw the line between becoming a voyeur and a sympathetic listener?

One of the unwritten rules of journalism is to keep oneself in the background. One should never get involved in one’s subject. A journalist is there for a job and after his job is done he/ she has to withdraw. But when faced with such stark reality one has no choice but to get involved. At this point it is no longer a question of one’s profession but rather one’s humanity.

Journalists are better suited for this task because they are aware. They can see beyond the superficial reality that is presented to the world. Their experience and knowledge tell them that there is another world out there that only they can see. That is one of the great advantages of this profession. To borrow a line from spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility. A journalist might even call oneself a prophet because he shows the world what it cannot see or rather what it chooses not to see.

But then the question lingers: how does one go about this overwhelming task? How can we make a difference? It does not mean that one should leave everything that he does and head for the rural areas hoping to change the world at the first instance. Only people who can afford to forsake everything can do this. This is because there is no turning back on this idea. But there are also other ways to make a difference. As Milton said in ‘On his blindness’: They also serve who only stand and waite.

A journalist’s greatest weapon is his pen. His / her stories are capable of influencing multitudes of people. A politician can speak to the people and influence them. But as time goes by his voice will deteriorate and he will not remain the effective speaker that he was. A journalist however will remain the same for the rest of his life because his pen will forever remain the same.

The first step is awareness. The people who live in their tall ivory towers have no idea how the rest of humanity lives. It is not true that they do not want to know but rather that they cannot know because no one tells them. Ultimately the power lies with the people. So the people should be made to understand that for every comfort that they seek there is somebody who goes without the basic necessities of life.

And this is what the journalist can do.