Reporting on Religion

Before the election season kicked in this year, in February and March, a major topic of news discussion was freedom of expression. The trigger story was publisher Penguin India’s decision to withdraw the book The Hindus by Wendy Doniger on the ground that the book allegedly offended Hindus. Justifying their decision to discontinue the legal contest, the publisher and the author blamed Indian law, especially Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which limits the freedom of expression on matters of religion. This legal provision is relevant to news media in Kerala too when they discuss religion.

A recent academic contribution in this sphere was a paper in the Asia Pacific Media Educator journal last year, by the Dubai-based journalist-turned-academic Swapna Koshy, who wrote about Kerala media’s reporting on religion.1 It was a timely piece of commentary because media coverage of religious matters has apparently increased in the past decade, when compared to say, the 1980s or 1990s.

 

Unholy-stic Reporting

What does Koshy tell us? 

First, she presents Kerala as a land of religious tolerance, but with “its share of ethno–religious conflict” and a changing scene marked by increasing “caste-based sectarianism” and “fundamentalist outfits” (p 86). 

Second, Koshy observes that “politics and religion are intertwined and influence governance and policymaking” in the state (p 88). She cites Joseph Tharamangalam, who wrote: “to the extent that caste and communal conflicts have persisted in Kerala, they have generally been fought within the framework of the democratic political game and with relatively little inter-religious violence or strife.”2 Koshy feels that “mainstream media have respected this ‘framework’ while reporting religion” as she finds that “the popular talk shows and news analyses featured on all channels usually are on political and social issues (not religion). Interfaith dialogues are missing and there is a lacklustre homogenization where the same news in the same order is telecast by various television channels” (p 88).

Third, she identifies trends in the coverage of religion in Kerala media. Thus, on television, she notes the emergence of religious channels (Shalom, Power Vision, Divine and Harvest) and “religious programmes telecast on secular channels” (like a Christian programme on Reporter and a Muslim programme on Jaihind). In print, she notices that in the Malayala Manorama’s Sunday spirituality column “in recent years, references to the Bible and Jesus Christ are increasingly being replaced by quotes and anecdotes from the lives of secular thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi or Norman Vincent Peale” (p 90). And, that while the newspaper published daily inspirational columns on Ramadan and Ramayana one month (“on the same page, with identical column inch and placed side by side ... daily features do not appear in the Christian-owned newspaper during Lent” (p 91).

Fourth, Koshy argues that “good news receives in-depth coverage, irrespective of religious leanings, by mainstream media, while cases of conflict are treated superficially” (p 95). In other words, festivals of all religions are celebrated extensively without much editorialising, but conflicts (such as, a clash between two church factions, or clash between a community and the police, or between two communities) are subjectively twisted and presented to the reader. This is why she describes the Kerala media’s reporting on religion as a “skewed balance.”

Fifth, Koshy feels that on the reporting of religion, there is dearth of responsible journalism in Kerala, and she attempts to explain why there is no critical coverage of religion in the region’s media. She quotes journalists and commentators, and compiles three reasons: globalisation (leading to sacrifice of national interest for financial gain), increased market orientation of the media (leading to journalists’ insecurity, dwindling editorial independence, and managements hesitant to invite buyers’ wrath) and “absence of regulations to protect journalists” reporting on religion (p 94).

 

Scope for In-depth Analysis

Koshy does a service by pointing to a mound of religion that has gathered in Kerala’s newsrooms. Compared to her success in putting this topic up for discussion in an international academic journal, however, the effort itself is modest in terms of rigour and analysis. News content of five TV channels was analysed for just a three-day period; there is no mention of how or how long print media was studied. Most of the sources cited are journalists’ impressions and news reports, and conclusions drawn in such fashion need systematic study for validation. Clumsy classification (of religious groups’ media ownership), a minor error (PFI is wrongly expanded), an incorrect example (Shahina’s case) and loose usage of terms (“circulation” and “readership”) take a bit of the sheen away from the work.

Whatever its research and presentation weaknesses, Koshy’s article is commentary that opens up possibilities for further inquiry. 

For example, the analysis does not mention Section 295A or other provisions in Indian law regarding freedom of expression on religion. Is it because the law has not been a constraint on journalists due to their legal illiteracy? Or is it that a mass newspaper wields great power and practically can report on religion more freely without fear of being legally targeted, unlike a publishing house?

Consider also Koshy’s explanation of the changing content of Malayala Manorama’s weekly column on spirituality: “There is also no explicit reference to a particular god or religious leader—only a non-committal mention of the ‘almighty’. This seems necessary to maintain their circulation, which is currently highest in the state” (p 90).

What exactly is happening here then? Put plainly, is Malayala Manorama trying to extend its reach beyond Christians and tolerant non-Christians to now attract intolerant non-Christians? Or is it that the number of tolerant non-Christians is shrinking, and Malayala Manorama is compelled by the market to calibrate its content to retain that segment of consumers? Interrogating such questions will enhance our understanding of not only Kerala media but also Kerala society. 

Recent coverage of news of irregularities in a religious ashram in Kollam District suggests that in the years ahead, reporting on religion in Kerala is likely to be led by that other child of globalisation—social media.