The state of Television Stringers in India

Transcription

1 26 July 2010/Bhubaneswar/Odisha/India Questions asked by: Answered by: An international media researcher. Mr. Nilambar Rath, General Manager- News, Kanak TV, Eastern Media Group, Bhubaneswar (Odisha). The state of Television Stringers in India The rural-india is so vast and so happening these days that no single agency can cover the length and breadth of the country and cater to the varied needs of different television channels. Though some news agencies are trying hard to meet the competition of the day, but most of them largely depend on the same system, i.e. engaging stringers to gather news feeds from rural and remote locations, says Mr. Nilambar Rath. Is there a database of (televised) stringers? If so, where can we find it? NR: I am not sure about any consolidated database on the same. In my knowledge, every channel or network maintains a database of its own and normally nobody shares it with others (may be the need has not aroused.). Let s take the example of ETV Network. As per the information available, it was having over 400 stringers throughout the country and practically they were the backbone of the entire semi-urban and rural coverage across the Network. Like ETV, Zee TV, Star News, NDTV and other networks would have appointed adequate number of Stringers across the country.

2 What kind of news are stringers asked to report? Are they sent to cover specific stories, or do they send stories to channels when breaking news occurs? NR: In most of the channels, stringers are engaged in all kinds of assignments. They are more useful in case of breaking news because of their proximity to the incidents. In general, Indian channels follow 2 sets of practices in newsgathering, be it the stringer or their staff correspondents. (1). The reporter sends the story idea to the station/bureau for approval or advice. He can work on the story once he gets the go ahead from the HQ. (2) And, the other one is planning and doing stories on a day-to-day basis as per the broad guidelines/practices followed by the channel. Of course, they do share plans with their bosses on a regular basis. In case of a breaking news, the reporters/stringers inform the HQ/Bureau promptly and handle the story as per the instruction coming to them from time-to-time. In many cases the stringer handles the whole coverage and in some, channels send special crews from the HQ to the spot as soon as possible to sustain the coverage for a longer period and do special and quality stories. As far as quality output is concerned, some of the stringers are good at the subject and have proper audio visual understanding. They acquire such skills from their practical experience, i.e. from the day-to-day assignments and guidance from the team leader/hq. They use gadgets of medium grade or equivalent to that if the station. Such stringers are asked to do special and investigative stories too. In general, Stringers are engaged in handling all kinds of news stories and it regional channes/networks they do everything what a regular staff correspondent does. In fact, channels need their presence across the geographical area of their operations. More importantly, in the present day economics, no channel can practically keep staffers across the operation area. What the average TV stringer is like? Why does he choose to pursue this vocation? Does their vocation offer them some sort of social status? NR: It s a good question. My answer will be primarily based on my experience in the channels I have served. The average TV stringer is a rural or district level journalist who wants to pursue a career in mass media. As the print media is already saturated and it doesn t pay well in most of the cases, some of the rural young and enterprising people tend to get into the television networks. Of course, TV is more rewarding in terms of remuneration and a social status. As far as education is concerned, almost all the stringers are graduates or post-graduates and are independent minded people. They connect themselves with the people and the surrounding. These days, people with mass communication degree are also getting into the shoes of stringers and considering this as a stepping stone for their career. Young and educated girls are also getting into stringership without any hesitation.

3 As a stringer represents a TV channel in a particular area, he/she enjoys some sorts of social status/acceptance and even some power (which the media enjoys anyway!). Normally channels engage stringers in the district and rural pockets. Some channels engage stringers in the cities too to cut the number of staffers or to have more penetration in the coverage in certain areas. Some channels with national level operations are also engaging stringers in some state capitals, instead of staff reporters, where they want to have less focus. When you come to remuneration to the stringer there are different stories and practices followed in different networks. In some channels, the stringers have a monthly package (like ETV) which is connected with performance of this video journalist. The monthly earning goes up or comes down depending on the number of stories he/she has filed in the said calendar month. Normally, stringers are asked to file stories for the particular channel/network only. So, they are not allowed to work for anybody else. But, some other channels (channel having operations in national perspective, mostly Hindi and Englidh language channels) do not bother about the stringers association with any other network. They pay the person per story or assignment what they want buy and telecast. How effective is the stringer system in rural areas? What are the reasons behind the lack of media coverage of people poorer and rural areas? (Sorry if that sounds like a loaded question.) NR: The stringer system is very effective in India, especially in handling the rural coverage at large. Because, nobody can really afford staff reporters and camerapersons to cover the length and breadth of the state or the country. In my observation, (look at any regional channels today, which are focused on a particular language or a geographical area) stringers are handling more than 50 per cent of the inputs those are landing in the central server of any channel on any particular day. If you discuss in terms of rural coverage and stories on the poor (and development news), it is the stringers who cover such subjects to a great extent (what else do they cover?). If someone says that channels are not focusing on the problems of the poorer and not going into the rural places, I do not buy this theory today. I would rather say, you have not seen the operations from a close distance and you might have been monitoring the so-called national channels and the channels whose operations is limited to Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. If someone needs more inputs on the issue, I can show how we have handled the coverage in Odisha (and outside) in the past 9 years, during my tenure at ETV Odia or at my present network. There are many other channels from where you can pick up details and a larger picture can be framed on rural coverage.

4 What is the payment system for an Indian stringer? What does the typical stringer earn per story (that is submitted/accepted)? Are they paid when they are commissioned to run a story or only after the story is run? NR: A good question again. Well, I will focus on the brighter side of the story. There are cases, where the stringers are either not paid or they are paid a very small amount for their hard work. But there are channels, which have defined proper systems to compensate the works of the stringers. Some channels pay purely per story. It varies from Rs to Rs2, The slab can also be based on the quality of the footage and the nature of the story (say breaking news, exclusive, investigative, routine etc.). The conveyance (for outstation coverage) is paid separately in some of the channels while others keep it as a part of the package (that is paid for the story). Indian channels with national level operations normally follow this method. The regional channels, where the stringers work exclusively for a particular channel or network, have their own system. The stringers are either paid per story or in a package at the end of the month. Some channels have developed system to pay certain amount as a regular conveyance (say Rs2,000 pm) and a regular telephone allowance (say Rs750 pm) in addition to the payment towards the number of stories used by the channel. Yes, payment is calculated basing on the stories aired and not on all the stories those are filed by the stringer. Even, some channels (say ETV) have developed a system to convert each story into certain points (say: routine- 1 point, special/exclusive/breaking- 2 points, investigative/current affairs- 3 points, impact story- 4 points etc.) and calculate the remuneration of the stringer at the end of the month. Thus the person is paid for his works based on the total number of points he/she has achieved in the particular month. (In fact, I was a part of the Network Core Team which was engaged in developing and revising this system from time to time.) In addition to the regular conveyance allowance, stringers are also allowed to use car to cover fast moving incidents like breaking news and exclusive stories (where the assignment desk feels that it is needed). Who is our main competitor in terms of delivering rural content to TV stations? Is it traditional outlets like Reuters/INI? Or rather the stations themselves who do their own reporting without the use of a wire service? Or is it the newcomers like groundreport.com, ireport on CNN and etc.? NR: The rural-india is so vast and so happening these days that no single agency can really cover at length or cater to the need of all the TV channels. Of course, ANI does some stories from the rural pockets and there are other news agencies which are trying hard to meet the competition. But again, most of them depend on the same system, i.e. engaging stringers to gather news feeds from rural locations. Thus, the channels (especially the regional news

5 channels or networks), for their reach and exclusivity, still depend on their own stringer network and compete with each other. Do TV stations prefer the current system of rural stringers or is it still economically better for stations to send their reporters from the cities? NR: I have answered the question in earlier part of this conversation. No station, normally, send their staff correspondents/crews to rural or interior pockets to do stories on a day-to-day basis. However, teams are being sent from the state capital or from the nearest bureaus in case of top and planned stories or when a big story or breaking news develops. Teams are sent to do special stories, features, documentaries, series of news items in case of special occasions and events. In normal situation the local correspondents (whether a stringer or a staff reporter) cover all the stories from the said area. This practice is followed as a step towards efficiently managing the cost and benefits. Has the role of stringers changed in the context of the current transition of old / new media? NR: I do not see any major change in the role and responsibilities of the TV stringers. They are the correspondents of a particular area and they represent their channel in the said place. They do work as a facilitator to the staff crews when they (the crew) visit from the HQ for a specific purpose. A few channels are now engaging the stringers to bring regional business (as it happens in case of some newspapers). Thanks. Note: In addition to operate as the News Head of ETV Odia, Mr. Nilambar Rath was a front line business leader at ETV News Network, Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad (India), till He worked as a member of the Core Team which was handling the day-to-day editorial affairs and operations across the 12 channels Network covering 8 Indian languages. An international media researcher had raised the above questionnaire for a research programme focused on the state of (televised) stringers in India. Mr. Nilambar answered each question sincerely and tried to add information which could be now useful to people who are interested to know about the rural journalists engaged in audio-visual platform.