Not A Single Book Written On The Subject! By Kaleem Butt
Not A Single Book Written On The Subject!
By: Kaleem Butt
How would you feel hearing the words: “there is not a single book written on the subject!” from your teacher who is standing before you and giving lecture in class of a subject in which you are doing your “Masters.”
As a student, I was really upset to hear these words.
This means that we will not find an authentic reference about the subject as books are the most authentic source. As a student of journalism, I have learnt that journalists are men of words, but hearing that “there is not a single book written on Rural Journalism” was astonishing as if journalists have lost their words on the subject.
Especially, we the people of South Asia, who mostly depend on rural life, are still silent on this, even when we claim that media, by every passing minute is going towards advancement.
Journalism is changing and the changes are the introduction of technology. A number of journalists are using computers instead of typewriters, pencils, pens and papers.
The lecture ended but my mind was creeping on that question, so I came back home and started browsing through my study room which has a thousand of very good books.
On almost every topic, I grasped a copy of Encyclopedia Britannica, the most authentic reference book I use. I was amazed to know that there was not a single reference about rural journalism amongst 30 volumes of the great Encyclopedia Britannica. It speaks about journalism as:
“The profession of gathering, writing, and editing news. As observers, reporters and commentators on the rest of the society, journalists enjoy a unique status that amply justifies their occasional designation as the “Fourth Estate.” The importance of journalist’s function in a free society, his potentials for influencing the history by reporting the news, has only gradually recognized in 20th century.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, vol: V, p: 617).
It speaks about the development in journalism with its history, development in press, photo journalism, yellow journalism and techniques used in journalism but it is says nothing on Rural Journalism.
Rural society as described by Encyclopedia Britannica is: “generic term for societies in which the predominant human activities are those involved in the production of food, fiber, minerals and raw materials. Rural societies differ from urban societies, also in kind of relationships found amongst their members.”
If the rural society differs from urban society, surely then, its life must be different, the problems including social, economic and political must be different and to solve their problems, we need different techniques and different expertise, and to solve their problems their voice must be carried to people sitting far away from them.
As a journalist is a mirror of the society, he must also notice the voice of rural society. But as professional journalist, who has spent his entire life in urban areas, do not know about the living standards, traditions, culture and problems of rural areas.
A journalist who is unaware of the techniques to perform journalistic activities in rural areas, how would he be the voice of a village? How would he solve the problems? What he would present?
In that a condition, a natural thing for any journalist would be to follow the traditional methodology of journalism carried on, especially in our country, that is, he will keep on blackmailing the landlords, the police working there, the government and non-government sector and even the common people whose life is already in hell.
The news stories and reports will be sold out for high rates, as it is happening, truth will be sold openly, after all a journalist has to live, he has to earn his bread and butter to survive in the world.
I would love to hear from anyone, who knows an appropriate book on the subject of “Rural Journalism.”
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