The disappearance of the newlywed couple from Indore, Madhya Pradesh who came To Meghalaya as tourists has grabbed national headlines. What is called mainstream media has spiced up the story to win eyeballs. This section of the media has caricatured Meghalaya as a land infested with criminals and termed this region the “crime-prone hills.” Such reportage by someone sitting several thousand kilometres away from Meghalaya and listening only to hearsay, possibly from the couple’s kin and then forming an opinion and labelling the entire Sohra region the “crime prone hills” is scandalous because till date there is not a shred of evidence about the fate of the couple. To label the citizenry of Sohra region as being ‘crime prone’ is libellous and this ought to be taken up by the Government of Meghalaya as it does a huge disservice to the state and its tourism potential. True the Tourism Department has to constantly engage with tour operators and address the pin-pricks that could turn into major calamities such as had happened to the Hungarian tourist who ventured alone into an unfamiliar destination and perhaps lost his footing and then plunged down the steep cliff.
A journalist writing from a distance without having a local source who can provide an accurate account of the place and with no quotes whatsoever from any of the local authorities in the government has failed the basic premise of journalism. There is such a thing as “journalistic truth,” a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. After that journalist tries to convey a fair and reliable account of those facts, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about their sources and methods used. They cannot rely only on one source, especially one that is directly linked to the event/issue. It is then left to the audiences to make their own assessment of the information. This is where accuracy counts. It is the foundation upon which the story is built.
Journalists rely on a professional discipline for verifying information and there is no space for assumptions based on hearsay, in this profession. Granted that the relatives of the couple are distraught at not knowing where the couple has disappeared and they are emotionally surcharged. But to carry only their side of the story and paint a grim picture of the situation as if no effort has been made by the State Government to track down the couple is bad journalism. This profession demands a consistent method of testing information – a transparent approach to evidence – precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work. This discipline of verification is what separates journalism from other modes of communication, otherwise journalists can be accused of spreading fake news or propaganda. Sadly, even renowned media houses today slip on this so while journalism has developed various techniques for determining facts, it has not done much to develop a system for testing the reliability of journalistic interpretation. As of today, Meghalaya’s reputation as a safe tourist destination has taken a beating thanks to shoddy journalism.
