Press Day

Editorial:
Yes, we in the media too have our Day. 16 November is the National Press Day, that one day in the year when the Fourth Estate, forever prying into other people’s affairs and conduct, is expected to turn the mirror on itself and take stock of where it stands and where it is headed. Unfortunately, even we end up trading in generalities, congratulating each other on having made it this far and return to business as usual by evening.
And the ritual plays out every year. A common thread through most of these functions is the frank and common admission that the “standard” of journalism in Sikkim could do with some improvement. That’s what ‘trading in generalities’ implies. Everything, not just journalism is always in need of some improvement, always.
To get a true bearing of journalism and its development in Sikkim, one has to put some things in perspective. Till 1975, Sikkim was a monarchy. Free press was obviously neither practised, nor promoted or even missed. And then, even if there had been dedicated journalists around, there wouldn’t have been enough readers because the literacy levels and the need to stay informed were low. With the Merger came the trappings of democracy and a media scene started developing in Sikkim. Several journalists set up base in Sikkim, but the other estates of democracy were not as prepared for free speech and the Press had a rough time for the first twenty years. Those were specially trying times for the media and while many crumbled under the pressure, a few stood their ground. The only documentation of this period of trials and tribulations comes in the form of Jigme N. Kazi’s “Inside Sikkim, Against the Tide”; thankfully, at least he had the foresight to record the time vis a vis the Press while it was still fresh in memory. There should have been more memoirs from senior journalists of the time to attest what the present media scene is born from. Everyone would then perhaps appreciate where the media has reached now.
Things changed only with a change in regime and to its credit, the present government has been more tolerant. The impact of this change in attitude manifests in the proliferation of publications which hit the newsstands on a regular basis. Even seven years back, there would have been very few who saw a Sikkim-based daily as anything but a folly. Now, everyone is habituated to a daily dose of Sikkim news. Agreed, not everything that gets printed is worthwhile, but at least it’s a beginning. The Press in Sikkim is admittedly young and still in the process of finding readers, but in a strong testament to the resilience of the publications and readers, newspapers rooted in diverse ideologies and leanings continue to survive. The pressure for increased professionalism is already being felt by media houses in the State and one only needs to pick up a newspaper from a decade back and compare it with what is released on newsstands everyday to notice the difference. While at present most papers are concentrating on giving the readers what they want, soon, with increased readership, they will have to start giving the people what they need. The time is close when the Press will have to persevere harder to live up to the expectations of its readers and essay out its responsibility towards the people more convincingly. The next level would have been attained then.