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The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) eGyanKosh repository offers comprehensive resources on beat reporting within the Master of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communication (MJMC) programme. This block delves into specialized areas of journalism, providing in-depth insights into various beats. It comprises units authored by experienced professionals.The content is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to effectively cover specific sectors, emphasizing the nuances and challenges unique to each beat. It continues to explore additional beats, further broadening the scope of specialized reporting. While specific unit details are not provided in the available search results, the structure suggests a continuation of in-depth coverage on various reporting areas.
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Indira Gandhi National Open University (School of Journalism and New Media Studies)
Block
This block has four units and it deals with the different beats of reporting. It discusses various aspects of four reporting beats - political reporting, crime reporting, sports reporting and legal reporting. Unit 9: Political Reporting discusses how to cover political news. It talks about various aspects of political reporting. A political reporter should have complete knowledge of the country’s political system. This unit also provides brief information about India’s political system. In this unit, political newsgathering, sources and writing have also been discussed. Unit 10: Crime Reporting focuses on coverage and presentation of crime related news. Importance, types and trends of crime reporting are discussed in this unit. In addition to this, the unit also explains the sources of crime reporting and the characteristics of a good crime reporter. Unit 11: Sports Reporting discusses various aspects of sports journalism. This unit describes the reporting of sports news for various media (print, radio, TV and online) as well as discusses the writing of sports news. The skills and qualities required for a good sports reporter and the emerging trends of sports reporting are also included in this unit. Unit 12: Legal Reporting explains the important aspects of court reporting. This unit talks about the importance of legal reporting, its methods and the precautions to be taken therein. Apart from this, some important legal terms have also been discussed in this unit, which a legal reporter should be aware of. This is the third block of the course. After reading it, you will go to the fourth and last block which will discuss some more important reporting beats
Beat Reporting- 9.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this Unit, you will be able to: understand the basics of Indian political system required for good political reporting; learn various aspects of political newsgathering; and develop skills of political news writing. Activity 1 You must be reading lot of political reports in the newspapers every day. Please undertake a small exercise to understand about political news reports. You may find that the name of a local political leader has been published in the newspaper that you read. Read the news report to get the following details: Which political party does the politician belongs to? What post does he holds in the party’s District or State Unit? What statement has he made? What is the issue that he has raised? Whether he has issued a Press Release or addressed a Press Conference or written on any Social Media platform? Whether he has addressed a public meeting or led a demonstration/procession? Whether his statement/action is for the good of the people or merely a political gimmick? What is your assessment as a reader regarding the coverage given to that politician? Is it appropriate or overplayed? 9.2 THE INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM The activity given above was a small exercise to make you understand what a political report is. But, a holistic understanding of political reporting is not possible without getting into the basics of parliamentary democracy, the Indian political system and various issues of governance. So, let us first look into them. Democracies follow two forms of political systems, Parliamentary Form (Britain) and Presidential Form (US). The Indian Constitution prescribes for parliamentary form of democracy in which the Parliament/Legislature assumes a very significant status in the political system. Why? Because the Executive (the Prime Minister and his Cabinet) is drawn from the Parliament/ Parliamentarians. The executive is accountable to the parliament. This is unlike the presidential form where the Executive (President and his Cabinet) is not drawn from the Parliament/ Parliamentarians, and is not accountable to the Parliament to that extent. Like in all other democracies, the Indian Parliament (and also the State Assemblies) perform the basic function of law-making. At the initiative of the
Government (Ministers), Bills are drafted and brought to the parliament; and following parliamentary approval and presidential assent, the bills turn into Acts. The government governs with the help of these legislations and policy formulations. 9.3 PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS AND POLITICAL REPORTING As stated above, the Parliament (and also the state legislatures) occupy an important position in the political system of India. People are always interested in knowing as to how the business is being transacted in the parliament and laws are being made on issues of people’s welfare. So, it becomes obligatory on the part of newspapers and news channels to report whatever is happening inside the Parliament during its working sessions.
The Constitution of India provides for a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Lok Sabha (the House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (the Council of States). The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen through direct elections. The House, unless dissolved earlier, continues for five years from the date of its first meeting. The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is 552. The Rajya Sabha consists of maximum 250 members. The seats have been allocated to various States and Union Territories, roughly in proportion to their population. The representatives of each state are elected by members of the respective Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas) of the States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The parliament and the state legislatures become important source of news when in session. The general public is interested to know about the laws which are being deliberated in the parliament. The government has an obligation of making announcements regarding all major acts passed and activities in the parliament during the session. The debates happening within the parliament and the Political Reporting
In democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government. India has multi-party system and as per latest Election Commission (EC) data (update till 15th^ March 2019), there are seven National political parties, 59 State parties and more than two thousand registered unrecognised parties. This number is abnormally high when compared with other democracies of the world. The issue of registration and recognition of political parties is being discussed in subsequent paragraphs. The Election Commission of India(ECI) has mandated regarding the constitution of political parties stipulating that they have to have clear rules regarding organizational elections at different levels and the periodicity of such elections and terms of office of the office-bearers of the party. However, if one looks at the situation on the ground, it is observed that most of parties do not hold regular election or follow erratic and arbitrary process in the conduct of elections. Thus, inner-party democracy is found to be weak.
Every political party has to get itself registered with the Election Commission of India. For this purpose it has to submit an application to the EC along with Political Reporting
Beat Reporting-1 (^) relevant papers including the party constitution. Without registration, no political party can contest an election. Registered parties get preference in the allotment of free symbols. Registered political parties can get recognition as ‘State Party’ or ‘National Party’ subject to fulfilment of conditions prescribed by the Election Commission. If a party is recognised as a State party, it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it in the State/States in which it is so recognised; and if a party is recognised as a National party, it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it throughout India. Recognised ‘State’ and ‘National’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination. They are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost and broadcast/telecast facilities over the national broadcasters the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) during general elections. Recognized parties are consulted by the Election Commission while finalising electoral rules and regulations and fixing schedules of polling. A political party is treated as a recognised political party in a State, (A) if such party has been engaged in political activity for a continuous period of five years; has, in the last general election to the Legislative Assembly of that State, returned at least one member for every 30 members of that House or any fraction of that number from that State. (B) if the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates set by such party in the last general election in the State to the Legislative assembly is not less than six percent of the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates in such general election in the State. If a political party is treated as a recognised political party in four or more States, it is known as a ‘National Party’ throughout India, but only so long as that political party continues to fulfil thereafter the conditions for recognition in four or more States on the results of any subsequent general election either to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of any State. The status is reviewed periodically by the Election Commission.
In India, political parties fund themselves through donations. Donors include party workers, businessmen and companies/corporate entities. Through amendment in Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act 1976, the Government has allowed political parties to accept donations from foreign entities including companies with foreign shareholding. A few years back, parties were expected to file their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) containing details of donors who had made contributions above Rs 20,000. A copy of this return had to be sent to the Election Commission every year. However, the political parties used to declare most of their funds as having come from unnamed donors who donate less than Rs. 20,000 each, thereby getting away without naming the source of their donations and also enjoying tax exemptions.
Beat Reporting-1 (^) All these provide enough material to political reporters. In addition to all of the above, one peculiar Indian style of mass contact is Rath Yatra , where the political leader travels in a big vehicle along with his supporters and stops at different locations to address the people from an elevated pedestal fitted into the vehicle.
Political parties in the opposition resort to demonstration, procession, dharna , road blockade and other similar activities for lodging their protest against the policies and actions of the government. During these activities, the protesters use plaques, banners, posters and black flags. They even raise slogans in support of their demands and to condemn their political opponents. Political parties make calls for strike or bandh (like Bharat Bandh ), road blockade and other similar activities. On many occasions, these protests go ugly as the party workers turn berserk and indulge in violence. This invites police action which may involve lathi charge , shelling of tear gas or even firing. Sometimes, it may be the other way round. The police may obstruct the demonstration by using undue force, and in reaction the protesters turn violent and attack the police force. The protesters may even be seen pelting stones at the police. Contrary to this, silent processions are also taken out. Political workers are sometime found half-clad; they may even strip in protest. Effigy burning during demonstrations is also a common sight. Para-military forces or army may be deployed if the situation goes out of control and violence breaks out. For political reporters any such situation is big news; any injuries or causalities make the news even bigger.
All major political parties hold press briefings at their national headquarters in New Delhi generally every day in the afternoon/evening. This is done to update the media about the stand the party would have taken on issues of topical importance or urgent nature. These briefings are also used to level charges on the political opponents and to defend the party if charges have been levelled against its own leaders. Press briefings are organized on a day-to-day basis at a fixed time, addressed by the official spokespersons of the party. On special occasions, senior leaders of the party also address the reporters and brief them. Political reporters make it a point to attend all such briefings. Press Conferences may also be organized as and when a party feels the need to share with the political reporters on some major issue. Unlike press briefings, the date, time and venue of the press conference has to be notified to the reporters.
Every political party holds meetings at regular intervals including closed-door meetings and conferences or convention which are open to public view. The closed-door meetings include meetings of senior leaders of the party and meetings of the executive or working committee of the party. Political reporters find it
difficult to cover these meetings unless they are officially communicated by the party about the outcome of the meeting. Sometimes, a reporter may get some details of the meeting through a confidential source (may be a dissenting leader). On occasions, many political parties hold joint meetings for the formation of joint front or entering into an alliance. The opposition parties may also seek meetings with the President and the Prime Minister for submitting their representations on some issues. Most political parties also organize their annual conventions. Periodic conferences are also organized. Political reporters are given full or limited access to these conventions and conferences. This makes the coverage of these conventions and conferences convenient to the political reporter to access information.
Press releases issued by political parties provide significant input to political reporters. However, press releases are not released on a routine basis. Political parties use social media platform as well for reaching out the people. Political reporters need to keep a track on such postings, as these may turn into important news stories. Political parties also publish their mouthpieces, like Kamal Sandesh of BJP and Congress Sandesh of the Congress. The reports and articles carried in these publications provide news material for political reporters. Check Your Progress 2 Note: 1) Use the space given below for your answer
The Election Commission is empowered to conduct free and fair polls. It has powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner, while the enacted laws make sufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election. Structure of EC : Originally, the Election Commission had only one Commissioner, designated as the Chief Election Commissioner. Two additional commissioners were appointed to the Commission for the first time in October 1989, but they had a very short tenure, ending in January 1990. In 1993 the Commission become a multi-member body. The concept of a three-member Commission has been in operation since then, with the decisions being made by a majority vote. Functions of EC : The basic function of the Election Commission is to conduct the elections. This involves the following activities: preparation of electoral lists, their revision and updating; issuing Voter Identity Cards to voters; registration and recognition of political parties; allotment of election symbols to political parties; notification of election schedule and polling dates; acquiring and maintaining the Electronic Voting Machines; deployment of staff for the conduct of polls; supervising the filing and scrutiny of nomination papers; preparation of ballot papers for polling; planning and setting up polling stations and booths; ensuring security arrangements during polls; providing opportunity to all eligible voters to cast vote; monitoring the counting of votes following polling; and declaration of results after polling and counting. Powers of the EC: Though the Election Commission appears not having enough powers, but it acquires enormous powers during elections. The administrative machinery comes directly under the Election Commission as soon as the election schedule is notified in a state. The DM/Collector of a district assumes the role of District Election Officer during the election period. The police Chief of the district also report to the EC during this period. As per requirement of the Election Commission, the security forces are made available for election duties by the Central Government. Regarding preparation and revision of electoral lists, the job is performed by the assigned employees of the concerned State Government. Legal/Ethical Issues: The Election Commission has limited legal powers. It can reject nomination papers during scrutiny in case of inconsistency with rules. It can even disqualify a candidate for three years if details of election expenses are not submitted as stipulated by the Election Commission. Political Reporting
Beat Reporting-1 (^) The Election Commission issues a Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates during the election period. This code comes into effect with the announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission. However, there have been instances of violation of the code by various political parties with complaints being received for misuse of official machinery by the candidates.
Indian Parliament has two houses, Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The term of Lok Sabha is five years, and General Election takes place before the expiry of this term. Every State has a Legislative Assembly called Vidhan Sabha (House of the People). Election to this House takes places exactly on the lines of Lok Sabha. Demarcation of constituencies: Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. The election Commission demarcates parliamentary constituencies all across the country, and one member is declared elected from each constituency. The demarcation of a constituency depends upon the population of that geographical region, and the process is undertaken by constituting a Delimitation Commission. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 Census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002. Notwithstanding the above, the Constitution of India was specifically amended in 2002 not to have delimitation of constituencies till the first Census after 2026. Thus, the present Constituencies carved out on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026. Indirect Election: Indirect election takes place for Rajya Sabha. This upper house has a maximum strength of 250 members, of these 238 members are to be elected for a six-year term, with one-third retiring every two years. 12 members are to be nominated by the President of India. The members are indirectly elected, this being achieved by the votes of legislators in the State(s) and Union Territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. The twelve nominated members are usually an eclectic mix of eminent artists (including actors), scientists, jurists, sportspersons, journalists and social workers. Some States in India have bicameral legislature. The other house is named as Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council). Members to this house are also chosen through proportional representation system by means of single transferable vote. The President of India is also elected indirectly. Members of Parliament and members of State Legislatures cast their votes in this election under the system of proportional representation. Local Elections: State Election Commissions have been set up for conducting elections to local bodies as per Article 243K of the Constitution. This provision has been made through Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, passed in 1992, and implemented in 1993. Local bodies include Nagar Nigam, Nagar Mahapalika, Nagar Palika, ZilaParishad, District Panchayat, Gram Panchayat etc.
Beat Reporting-1 (^) 3) Who casts the vote for electing members to Rajya Sabha? ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................
In newspapers, the reporting network comprises reporting broadly at three levels; City, State Capital and National Capital. Here, the city reporting or local reporting is referred to reporting from the city from where the newspaper edition is published. It is substituted by metro reporting in the case of reporting from metropolitan cities (if the newspaper is published from a metropolitan area). Every newspaper (from whichever city it is published) has a reporting set up in the state capital and the national capital. This reporting set up is called bureau.
There are different beats distributed to reporters in the City Reporting Room, the State Bureau and the National Bureau. However, political beat is common at all the three levels, though the range of coverage differs. A political reporter in the local reporting room covers political activities happening in that particular city; while a reporter in the State Bureau covers political activities having wider reach including affairs related to the State Government. A reporter in the National Bureau covers national and international level politics including affairs related to the Central Government. Let us have a look what is covered by a political reporter in a city: District and City level units of political parties: meetings, programmes and political activities on the street. Politicians, MLAs and MPs : activities and statements of local politicians that includes politicians who would have been elected to the State Legislature and the Parliament. Senior leaders and ministers: visits of the city by state and national level leaders of political parties, ministers of State/Central Government, Chief Minister, Prime Minister and President. Political reporter posted in the State Bureau covers the following activities: State Units of political parties : meetings, programmes and other political activities either in the state capital or all across the state State Legislature : Sessions of Legislative Assembly/Council; activities of MLAs/ MLCs State Government: functioning of the State Government, Chief Minister and Governor Central Government Ministers: visits of the State capital by the Prime Minister, other Ministers and the President Political reporter posted in the National Bureau covers the following activities: National Units of political parties : meetings, programmes and other political activities either in the national capital or all across the country Parliament: sessions of Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha, and the activities of MPs inside or outside Parliament Central Government: functioning of the Central Government, Prime Minister and the President Political Reporting
All speeches, whether formal addresses on special occasions or impromptu remarks during an unstructured gathering, are handled very much alike. The reporter must consider the following three elements: The speaker The audience The speech A fourth consideration is the possible interpretation that any of the three elements may need. The proportion of the story to be devoted to each element varies with the comparative importance of each, but no story is complete without all three. The speaker should be properly identified in the lead. Sometime this can be done with a title or a short sentence. The reader needs to know who the speaker is and why his or her statements are worth quoting. Even a description of the speaker’s distinctive characteristics and manner of emphasizing certain points is sometimes woven into the story to give it more colour. The audience should also be described. How many people were there? Who were they? Why did they meet? The reporter needs to answer these questions in the news report. The names of persons in the audience need not be given unless it would be of interest to the reader to know the names of a few of the more prominent ones; but the reporter should tell whether they are bankers, teachers, doctors, engineers, farmers or party workers. Audience reaction is also worth noting. A speech is the most important of the three elements. What was the most important thing said by the speaker should be the first question that a reporter should ask himself while sitting down to write the story. However, two reporters, covering the same speech may not agree on what was the most important thing said. That is why the news reports on the same speech is published with different emphasis in different newspapers. In press conferences and interviews, only two elements, the speaker and the speech are considered important. Mostly, a political reporter writes the story in his/her own language and expression while taking care that the meaning of the statements made by the speaker does not change. Wherever required, the reporter decides to keep the statements in quotes. Though direct quotations tend to add emphasis, the reporter should avoid quoting routine, obvious or minor points from the speech or statements made by the speaker. Meetings and special events: News stories based on meetings, conferences, conventions and other political events form a major chunk of political reporting. There are so many meetings held by political parties every other day, but all of them are not worth reporting. There is no news value in the simple fact that a meeting or event has happened. A reporter should cover and write a story only when s/he is certain that the readers are interested in knowing about that meeting. While writing a news report based on a meeting or an event, the reporter has to provide answers to readers on the following questions: Political Reporting
Beat Reporting-1 (^) Who attended the meeting? Whether prominent leaders of the party showed up or not? What was the outcome of the meeting? Whether the decisions taken in the meeting will make some impact or not? Types of Meeting Stories: By now you would have understood that merely writing a news report based on a political meeting is not enough. A political reporter should also look into two more aspects of a meeting report i.e. Advance and Follow up Most political parties rely on newspapers for publicizing their meetings through a news report published in advance. The information required for writing such a news story includes the name of the party (if it is breakaway faction), the agenda of the meeting, names of leaders addressing or attending the meeting, time, date and place of the meeting. The more the reporter knows about the party and its leaders and the recent developments, the easier it will be for him to write an informative and interesting advance story. The job of a political reporter does not finish after a meeting would have taken place and it has been reported in newspapers. The reporter has to keep a track on the developments, if any, after the details/outcome/decisions of the meeting have been made public through news reports. The outcome of a meeting might be having far reaching consequences, and hence, a political reporter should always be vigilant on this count. Check Your Progress 4 Note: 1) Use the space given below for your answer
