Linguistic versatility is a
requirement, more or less, for Mumbai journalists, and some editors admit that
finding qualified personnel is a problem. English is needed by subeditors
(copy readers), since a large part of their work is translation of materials
received in English into the language of publication. The reporter who feels at
ease in only one or two languages is limited in his usefulness. Some reporters
for vernacular papers will cover a meeting
or a speech in English, but take their notes in the language of publication. At the time of the survey, covering the courts and the municipal corporation
(city hall) required a knowledge of English, but covering police news and the
state government required Hindi. These beats are staffed regularly by the
three English-language groups and by two of the larger Hindi dailies; the
reporters for the English papers send copies
of their article to the editors of their vernacular adjuncts, who have them
translated.
The smaller papers cover these beats through “common
reporters,” press releases, telephone calls, insiders, or tipsters who will
pass on what they hear for the sake of personal friendship, loyalty to the
newspaper or a few rupees. A frequent arrangement is the
“common reporter,” a man who covers a beat and sends in his story to several
newspapers regularly, receiving a monthly fee from each. It is not unknown for
a “common reporter” to phone in his story to
one paper in one language, then call
another paper and dictate it in another language, truly a virtuoso performance.
Coverage of news outside the standard beats is sparse
and haphazard, especially on the smaller papers. Their interests are limited to their own small linguistic or religious or political
community or subgroup, often concentrated in a small,
well-defined neighborhood within the vast city. “We are not interested unless
it is news in which the Hindi speaking people will be interested,” said one Hindi newspaper editors urge their men to pick up at least a smattering of important local languages. Others
juggle their staff assignments as best they can to fit the linguistic
skills of their men. Still, there are times when a reporter is forced in to an
assignment which he is not equipped linguistically to handle. There are various
remedies available—cooperating with other reporters who do know the languages,
relying upon the often present government press officer, hiring an interpreter,
enlisting the aid of a local tipster, or asking a speaker after a meeting or
press conference for the substance of his remarks.
Almost all of the Indian-language papers depend upon
the support of specific communities, and each must cover the news of interest to its community and reflect
its viewpoints editorially. This often results in passionate but parochial editorials, and an inordinate amount of
precious newsprint spent on local social and cultural events, and third-rate literary efforts. Some communities are
more interested in commerce, others in sports, others in films and others in
Indian music and dance. Religion is important to many. Immigrant groups usually
want news from their home regions, and this may necessitate a
special correspondent or a “stringer.”
Only the English-language dailies (now Indian-owned,
but still catering to the educated elite) can afford the luxury of being aloof, dispassionate and objective. The
Indian Press Commission, analyzing coverage of a representative group of news
items, concluded that “inaccuracies, mistakes and slips are more numerous in
Indian language papers than in those published in English.” Surveys by the
commission, the International Press Institute and others show that the
vernacular papers often stint on international news while the English-language
papers, despite their far greater resources, sometimes disdain local
occurrences. A Marathi editor, when interviewed, said he had just thrown away
a long wire service story on negotiations in Laos in favor of an article on an
unexpected shortage of kerosene, Bombay’s principal cooking fuel, and how the
housewives had to queue up to buy it. The English
journals gave this scant attention.
The English-language papers usually have higher
circulation, more modern equipment, larger staffs and many other advantages, One of the greatest is that they can
print news agency reports and articles as they receive them, instead of
requiring cumbersome and time-consuming translations in the face of deadlines.
The wire services transmit only in English, except for a minor one, Hindustan
Samachar, which transmits in Hindi, translates at its local offices, and
hand-delivers its copy in the language of publication. Stories of gummed- up
translations are legion; one favorite is the Urdu paper which referred to a
pack of Cub Scouts as “The Children of the Lion.”
Advertisers in Bombay
Advertising agency officials offer many reasons for
avoiding the smaller papers: their circulation figures are not reliable, their
plants are ill-equipped for a technically-complex promotion campaign, their
languages are not adequately expressive, etc. However, a skilled and
sophisticated advertiser can make good use of selected newspapers for selected products.
One of these said that vanaspati, a vegetable shortening, should be advertised
in the Urdu press, as many Muslims use it. Gujaratis, he said, are heavy users
of face powder, while Maratha women use more vanishing cream. Sindhis
use both; “they are the greatest users of cosmetics, along with Punjabis.”
Government advertising constitutes about 12% of the
total, as far as could be learned, and the government uses it to “encourage”
smaller newspapers.“The language press has worked under a handicap and has
to be helped to some extent,” said one official. “They cannot be judged by
purely commercial aspects.” Consequently, the 1961 survey showed that two of the
smaller dailies receive almost as much public as private advertising; some rural papers probably
receive more.
Public relations people face many of the same
problems as advertising people. Materials must be translated into many languages if all
classes are to be reached. The federal and state governments and the United
States Information Service have large staffs, although none of the Americans staff in Bombay
The Hindi language papers have the advantage again
in matters of typography. The complex, many-lettered Indian alphabets require
large type sizes to be legible; twelve-point seems to be the common body type. As
a result, the English papers can put twice as many words in a standard
column as most vernaculars, and three times as many in
some instances. Typewriters and typesetting machines are available in some Indian
languages, but they are more expensive and far slower to operate. The Urdu
papers have special problems with their Arabic script, and those in Bombay
