Raj Kalam:
I am starting with respect and honour for real journalists and the journalism profession. And I would like to make it clear that this article of mine is just an attempt to differentiate between real journalists and yellow journalists.
To know about the meaning of a real journalist what we get in the paper, we can refer to the quote of former Secretary Mr. Shafiul Alam.
He said that the word journalist is defined in Section 2(8) of the Act.
It states that a journalist means a person who is engaged as a full-time journalist in the work of print media, electronic and online media or news organization or the editor, news editor, deputy editor, assistant editor, feature writer, reporter, correspondent, copywriter, cartoonist, news photographer, editorial assistant and any medal holders determined by the government by notification in the official gazette will also be considered as journalists of such media or news organization.
Accordingly, I believe that learning, proper subject-based training, higher education, pronunciation, diction, modesty, body language, smartness, language knowledge, word choice, and an innovative mind are the characteristics of a good, genuine journalist.
Now let’s come to what is yellow journalist or journalism?
According to Wikipedia, yellow journalism refers to the intentional presentation or presentation of baseless sensational news. In this type of journalism, news is presented with eye-catching and eye-catching headlines without proper research or investigation.The main objective of yellow journalism is to increase the revenue of newspapers or increase the viewership of television channels by any means possible, without following journalistic norms.In other words, yellow journalism means reporting baseless news, using attention-grabbing headlines, trying to portray ordinary events as tragic, taking scandalous news seriously, creating unnecessary shocks, etc.
American historian and journalist Frank Luther Mott has outlined five characteristics of yellow journalism:
Turning a simple event into a large, scary headline spanning several columns. Excessive use of images and fictional designs. Fake interviews, misleading headlines, fake scientific articles, and the use of false educational writings by so-called experts.
A full-color Sunday periodical publication, usually with comics attached. Dramatic sympathy for the defeated heroes swimming against the tide.
Now, one thing that cannot be left unsaid is how this yellow journalism is corrupting the true profession of journalism and how it is leading society, the nation, and the country towards destruction.
While writing about this, I remembered a joke: An inspector from the district came to inspect a school in the village. He entered the classroom of eight. He asked a student a question.
Inspector: Who is the President of our country?
Student: Sheikh Hasina.
Inspector: I am asking you who is the President?
Student: President Khaleda Zia.
Inspector: How did you get into class 8? I will cross your name off.
Student: I don’t have any name in the school register, how can you cross it off? Inspector: You mean no name?
Student: I brought a cow to the school grounds, Teacher said to me,” I will give you ten taka, come to class and stay.” Inspector: Shame, teacher, don’t be ashamed of yourself! Are you doing business with your education? I will dismiss you from your job.
Class teacher: Hey, you can’t dismiss me, the grocery store you see in front of the school is mine. Master said to me, “A man from the city will come. I am going to market. You, go to the classroom and sit down for a while.”
Inspector: (Going to the headmaster’s room angrily) “Are you the headmaster?”
Headmaster: Yes, is there any problem?
Inspector: What are you doing, running a school with fake students and teachers?
Headmaster: No, I’m n’t headmaster, my uncle is the headmaster of this school, he is also a land broker. He has gone to another village with a client. He told me to give him this bundle of one thousand taka when the inspector comes.
Inspector: You are all survived this time. Actually, I am not an inspector either! The main inspector, he also works as a contractor, he went to the City Corporation to submit a tender. He told me to inspect for him and come back.
I noticed one thing about the joke: it is steeped in corruption from top to bottom.
Similarly, when there is a shortage of real journalists, a society, a nation, a country goes into the abyss. For example, a small example will make it clear, now Facebook journalists, cadre journalists, (they are called by many other names, I have refrained from using that language)
The government has issued a notification to refrain from digging up agricultural land, thinking about the future of the country. Someone informed that a pond is being dug up with a excavator in such and such a place, first try to find out whose leadership is doing the digging work, if they hear that such and such a leader gives 200/500 taka occasionally, then that’s the end of it.
And if they fail to find out, they will go to the spot, threaten you, make news, report to UNO, Assistant Commissioner of Land, police station. If you give 200/500 again, everything is fine.If there is no agreement, so they go away from there and give a short post on Facebook saying that a big festival of digging soil is going on in such and such a place, then when the digger notices it, he reaches an agreement with them, then other groups go and manage it in this way.Then the administration is informed again. The administration officers come and fine them and take away the battery of excavator. They again catch the leader and demand money to manage the administration and bring the battery back and the digging is started again
Since then, the manage fee is fixed up,how much the police station will get, how much the leader will get, how much the chairman, how much the journalists, how much the UNO,how much the Circle ASP and so on. This serial corruption is 90% due to the lack of real journalists. If there is real journalists, there would not be so many places and so many media outlets to establish corruption.
N.B:[I am only talking about those who are involved in such corruption, not everyone in the same row.]
Finally, I would like to say that those who are real journalists should speak out against such yellow journalists, resist them, and strengthen their position. Then their respect will increase, the common people will be benefitted, and the society, nation, and country will be free from corruption.
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