Diepeu Mero
Dimapur | October 22
‘Connect, Exchange, Strengthen’, was the theme chosen for the Eclectic Young Leaders Connect 2 that took place at Bamboo Hall, Kisama on Saturday, October 20 organised by Youth Net in association with the Government of Nagaland.
The conclave brought together young, vibrant leaders and achievers from the region as well as outside the region on a common platform with policy makers, strategists, entrepreneurs, professionals, members of academia and students on a common platform with the sole purpose of connecting with each other.
A lively panel discussed “Role of Media in Repositioning the North East” during the second session of the Conclave. The panel was moderated by Bano Haralu and the panellists included Karma Paljor, CNN-IBN, Avalok Langer, Tehelka, Yirmiyan Arthur, Associated Press, Akum Longchari, The Morung Express and Moji Riba, Film Maker, Rolex Awardee.
The panel surfaced a number of viable ideas and potential solutions as to how the North East may be more adequately and accurately represented in the mainstream media. The speakers maintained that hitherto, the mainstream media had only reproduced the stereotypes associated with the North East projecting it mostly as a conflict stricken region ignoring the positive aspects.
Addressing the practical problems faced by the mainstream media in covering the NE states, Karma Paljor, CNN-IBN stated that the long distance, deployable road connections and bad flight connections were major hindrances. Avalok Langer added that there also existed the practical problems of readership and logistics. In order to get better accessibility of the region, Karma Paljor maintained that VSAT connections must be set up in every North East state capital and a strong broad band connection was vital.
Yirmiyan Arthur, who is a photo editor with the Associated Press, expressed her disappointment stating that the photographs she had received from the region would only conform to the stereotypes.
She stressed on the importance of broadening our horizons and breaking out from the stereotypes.
“North East is a myth created”, Moji Riba said. The ‘North East’ is often viewed as one entity by the mainlanders but Moji Riba called for a reality check stating that there existed hardly any connections between the NE states. He hoped that efforts will be made not only for media exchanges within the states but also to develop connections even at an interpersonal level.
While answering how practical it was to represent every state in a local daily, Akum Longchari stated that there existed difficulties even in representing every district in a paper. He mentioned that there were several factors in determining how a media house functioned; interplay of feelings and truth on one hand and other factors like polity, history and geography of the region on the other hand that it becomes confounding for people at the editorial desk.
Revealing the sad truth, he said that in today’s context, feelings have become more important than the truth and so long as newspapers operate on feelings, they will remain stagnant.
The panel also discussed the importance of fostering good reporters and creating news worthy stories in the region. The speakers agreed that there is a need for a paradigm shift in reporting. The urgent need to communicate, not simply comment.
“Stories are your ambassadors”, Avalok said. Responses are received only when quality reports are written.
It was agreed upon that if the North East wants to be represented adequately, it will require everyone’s efforts. The panel discussion concluded with the moderator pointing out on the need “to stop looking at ourselves as the victims but rather, the doers”. “We must be creative in the issues that we write about. Community must stop accepting and promoting mediocrity”.
