How to create news?

Seemingly an easy question, you’d expect answers like “Do something novel”, “Find something interesting”. A mediocre reporter might say “Just pick an old tale and report all over”. Its not uncommon to find many ‘newspapers’ publishing opinions while you’d actually expect an unbiased representation of facts. However, it is increasingly common these days to find a news item that seems entirely made-up!!

Today’s Times of India reported that Kashmir terrorists were given a pay hike! The source of the article simply said Times News Network. This particular item was really well written quoting average salaries before the hike and the current pay to terrorists, their funding agency from Pakistan, and even the number of terrorists (of about 700) in this pay-roll! Neat piece of information, but how much of it is actually true?

If the story has been made-up, it makes an interesting read, and apart from that it kills any other newspaper that actually try to report facts that don’t catch the eye. Even worse it makes the reader feel that they don’t get pay hikes such as the 60% to 80% hike the terrorists got (I never got such hikes despite being in the financial sector during booming times). I think the average army man is likely to feel the worst hit when he reads that his opponents are being paid such hikes. The lack of similar reward would make him feel contemptuous against his own government.

The consequences seem even more appalling if the news were to be true. It means the Indian army and hence the government has full information of the terrorists and still does not act upon it (I don’t even know the salary hike in my own department!!). The news item also reports that the increase in hike is to increase the amount of violence which has recently fallen significantly. I can’t seem to think up any possible way in which this is likely to be a hard fact to be reported as news. Can a leading newspaper be allowed to publish such speculation?

I could equally speculate that TOI has terrorist links and publishes such items to demoralize the Indian troops and they’re abusing their freedom of press to systematically change the public opinion making them immune against action to any news!! Wonder who’ll publish my speculation as news?