A Dilemmatic Journalistic

One of our many projects here at ACJ includes one called “Investigative Project”. While it sounds cool and all happening, reality for us - aspiring journalists is far from what you would perceive. After a series of xenophobic attacks on North Indian migrant workers, most of us tried to cash in on the insecurity the migrants felt in ways of 500 word articles or one minute TV stories.

But for my IP project I had to closely engage with the migrants. It is an adrenaline rush as it is supposed to be, but just a gush of ‘excited’ hormones does not ensure a factually correct story.

So as my team and I started working on this project we thought of all the areas that might crop up in discussion with the migrants. We jotted down all the reasons that could cause unhappiness for the migrants who work in a very staunch South Indian city like Chennai. I am not too fond of the place, all thanks to its anti-Hindi movement that unlike a movement translates to daily life behaviour. Chennaities’ dislike of any Hindi speaking species or at least subtle eyebrow movements that emulate a typical Indian mother-in-law disapproval of her daughter in law’s actions is pretty common for us, outsiders.

So when we went to interview these migrant workers in their cramped, claustrophobic rooms, we were all ready with our mike and camera, trying to get that soundbyte when they’d tell us how difficult their life in Chennai is. What came as a surprise and in many ways as a panic alarm for me is their denial of any problems.

"Kuch nahi. Rehne ko ghar , khana thik hi mil jata hai aur ghar pe paise bhejne ko mil jaate hai, usse jyaada kya chahiye?"

(Nothing much. We have a house to stay, get decent foodand money to send back home.What more could we want?)

Their reply not only surprised us but threw our story ‘angle’ out of the window. Throw would still be a very soft word for what we felt at that point of time. Our hopes of an anti-South India story revolving around the troubles of these Bihari migrants was quashed in just one or two soundbytes. And, just to remind you, these were supposed to be our potential “oh-its-so-difficult-to-work-here-and-im-doing-it-because-i-have-no-option” soundbytes.

Needless to say, we were reminded of one journalistic lesson that somehow most of us tend to forget. Don’t assume. We assumed and hence lost the chance of probably telling a story that could bring out more than just migrants’ troubles in living in a xenophobic Chennai.

Reminds me of one very wise English professor who once told us, “Don’t assume, for you just make an of ASS of U and ME.”

*nodding in agreement with you maam*

"Guys, we need a different story angle now!!!!!"