By HH Mohrmen
I would not have mentioned the press in Meghalaya in yet another article if it is not for the ST editor’s comment on my observation in my previous article. I made my observations about the media in the State in one article and I think that is enough and I should move on and write on some other pertinent issues which demand immediate public attention. I also rarely respond to feedbacks on my article not because I do not respect my critics but my understanding is that I had had my say and in a democracy others should have their say too. I also think it is rather unfair for me to take undue advantage of the valuable and scarce media-space on the editorial page of the ST to take a jibe at my critics; ultimately it is for the readers to arrive at a conclusion and decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
I am glad that Kong Patricia agreed with me on many counts and admitted that the media in the State had many limitations and she also lamented the fact that the journalists were not paid the salary that they deserve. But Kong is silent on the question whether the media house can afford to enhance the pay of their staff or not? If the media house in spite of earning maximum revenue from sale and advertisements is not willing to share the profit with its staff, who are the backbone of the paper or the channel then that is very unfair of the media house. I also believe that this space is very valuable and is not to be wasted on debates and verbal-sparring among the columnists hence this write-up is about the most important aspect of public life i.e. public relationship
I hope the management of the ST would not mind if I point out at some of the recent examples of the newspaper taking undue advantage of the readers with regards to advertisements. Readers of the paper edition of the ST would have noticed that on many occasions advertisements are pasted on almost 75 percent of the space on the front page of the newspaper leaving just 25 percent space for news. The front page is not only the face of the paper but it is also the most valuable space of the newspaper because advertisement cost on this page is hundred percent more than in the other pages. It is true that the paper should try to maximize profit at any available opportunity. After all, the newspaper is a business enterprise and not charity. But one would expect ST to respect its readers and stick to the convention followed by many national dailies to reserve 75 percent space on the front page for news and 25 percent or a quarter of the page for advertisements. Occasionally the paper would also have two or three big DAVP advertisements on several pages in a single issue. On such a day one would also expect the management of the newspaper to compensate the readers for their money by inserting additional pages. A newspaper serves its readers by disseminating news and views and also by allowing itself to become a platform for the people to air their grievances but it should also treat its readers with due respect; in other words newspapers too should have good public relations (PR). ST now still has a large readership and commands the respect of a large section of English speaking readers of the state, but it is very important that the newspaper keeps up the relationship that it now has with its readers.
Good Public Relations is one that is lacking in many government departments and even in banking sectors too. More often than not, general people are taken for a ride and are not even treated with respect by those supposed to help them. Not only are ordinary citizens treated shabbily by those in responsible positions, but even public servants too are not given due respect. Consider this, the District head of Jaintia hills district has been incommunicado with the press for about a year now. The office of the Deputy Commissioner and the media persons in the district have no contact whatsoever for nearly a year now. If you have been wondering why you do not see any DC-related report from Jaintia hills these days it is because the media in the district has boycotted the DC since last year. Now if the District Head does not have even a working relationship with the press then the question that begs the answer is what kind of relationship does the DC’s office have with ordinary denizens of the District?
The general public, particularly, those coming from rural areas are not given due respect by the people who are supposed to serve them. When I made a complaint to the Branch Manager of the State Bank of India, Jowai against an accountant whose attitude towards the customers created more problems than solving them, I was shocked by the young BM’s response. He said “It is his nature what can I do?” I responded to the BM saying, “But he holds a post that deals with the public and it requires that he has a good rapport with the customers.” I also suggested that the Bank should first send him for a course in Public Relations which is available in many mass media institutes before letting him handle such a demanding job. All public employees for that matter need to have some kind of training in good PR; it is one aspect of a job in public services that needs to be inculcated in each and every employee to ensure effective governance.
I once wrote an article on the subject of Police-Public relations in a Khasi daily and noted that we are still taught to fear the police. Parents who wish to scare their recalcitrant children would say they will call the police to set them straight. Judging from the attitude of many men in uniform, perhaps it is not wrong to conclude that the police too enjoy this image that the public have of them. But is that what we expect from men in uniform? It looks like the police are trained to act tough because their job is to deal with hardened criminals, but can the policemen treat citizens they meet in any ordinary day the same way they treat criminals? Every person they meet in the street is not a potential criminal is he? On the 4th of July this year I sent an Independence Day greeting to my American friends by posting on my Facebook account a photo of me near the life-size cut-out of President Barrack Obama. The comment I made on photo apart from wishing my friends Happy Independence Day was, ‘the closest I can be to Obama is his life-size cut-out.’ Adrian Worsfold a colleague from Manchester commented on my posting by sharing a story of a shop owner in England who put a life-size policeman cut-out to guard his shop. This happens when people respect and are not afraid of the law.
It may also be mentioned that the policemen in Norway patrol the streets of Oslo without carrying any arms. The life-size policeman cut-out perhaps serves what is actually expected from a living policeman, which is to remind people to respect the law. Oh how I wish to see the day when we won’t even need policemen to patrol our streets or traffic wardens to ensure people obey traffic rules. Perhaps the Police Training School (PTS) too needs to inculcate good PR as part of the training for their cadets. The public would be glad to have a friendly police man in the neighbourhood and not somebody they would not like to have anything to do with.
Good public relations is expected from each and every employee paid by the government or any service provided which deals directly with the people. In fact any employee in the service sector from the top echelons of the organization to grass root workers needs to have a good PR. This requires a change of mindset among those working in the service sectors starting from the top. Employees in the public service sectors should know how to treat the person on the other side of the table and to treat her with due respect even though she is poor, perhaps even ignorant and is not as well dressed as he is. Public service employees especially those in the government departments are expected to treat every individual who approaches their office with dignity.
(The author is a research scholar and an elder of the Unitarian Church)