Opportunities and challenges
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Moazzem Hossain
To-day's anniversary issue of the FE, marking its stepping into the 16th year of publication, is a befitting occasion for making a brief review of the state of economic/business journalism in Bangladesh. The coverage of financial, business, economic and development-related news and issues by the country's print and electronic media, has increased over the last one and a half decades or more. This is a welcome development.
As a financial daily, the FE takes a positive note of it. The focus on economic/financial news, from local national, regional and international perspectives, can facilitate the making of concerted efforts for accelerated national development. Informed decisions -- conscious actions through weighing of policy options by economic operators at different levels on the basis of free-flow of information with objectivity thereof not being compromised by any subjective biases -- are sine qua non for achieving the 'desired' outcomes.
In this context, a few observations on the state of economic or business journalism in Bangladesh, will be relevant here. Economic or financial journalists in this country, as in other developing ones, face professional problems of communicating economic intelligence to a largely lay public. This is a challenging mediatory task between decision-makers, business operators and economic experts, on one hand, and the general public, on the other. Performing this task competently needs skill.
In countries like Bangladesh, economic journalists have a much wider-range of preoccupation than their opposite numbers, particularly in the developed world. They cannot ignore the economies of the developed and other high performing developing countries. Furthermore, the problems of the low-income countries (LICs) like that of Bangladesh are more in the nature of political economy than of pure economics. This adds yet another dimension to the professional concerns of, and challenges for, the economic journalists in such countries. This makes economic journalism in a LIC an exacting calling. It demands an exceptional range of interest, industry and application on the part of its practitioners.
It will be worthwhile at this stage to note that the general election that takes place tomorrow (Monday, December 29) for electing the ninth parliament, has provided an opportunity for economic journalists in Bangladesh to file reports about, or cover, economic programmes of the contesting political parties and to make reviews and analyses thereof. On their part, such parties have provided enough inputs in their respective election manifestos for the purpose. This is otherwise a challenging time, nationally and internationally, too. The nation looks forward to pragmatic actions by its political leadership to cope with its main development challenges to economic growth and poverty alleviation, in a situation where the global economy is in a deep turmoil. The domino effect of the financial crisis that is being experienced by most developed countries has swiftly swamped many economies. It threatens to reach new shores. Though its immediate impact has left Bangladesh yet unscathed, its ultimate knock-on effects on the country's foreign trade, availability of external aid, remittance flows, investment activities, public finance, business activities, incomes and jobs, real economic sectors etc., cannot be ruled out.
If the crisis becomes wide-engulfing, Bangladesh will have hardly any cushion to absorb the effects thereof. Our capacity to take counter-measures is very limited. Given this scenario, the country's media in general, in all frankness, has not yet been able to prove its worth by way of befittingly focussing on the inter-related challenges through, what may be called, proper journalistic lenses.
Most aspirants to a career in journalism in Bangladesh do still prefer the "thrills" of political journalism. This is easier to practise, at least at its routine levels. In political journalism, it is more often than not a case of reporting or covering surface events and even retailing and recycling "gossips". Political reports and news make more interesting reading or presentation to an ordinary reader or a listener or a viewer. This is explicable in terms of the relatively simple categories of his or her everyday experience. So political news is readily understood, though it is less demanding on one's attention span.
But even at its most elementary level, economic or business journalism is more demanding in terms of understanding of facts, ideas, trends, developments and skills of communication. Economic or business news -- such news is often the news behind the news and news in the making -- is rarely dramatic. It is more concerned with processes than events. Economic news is, in general, considered "dull" in our country, like in many others. It is somewhat remote from one's experience. This is more so when it is presented in its aggregated "macro" forms.
But economics, in final analysis, is about bread and butter issues of everyday life, about "getting and spending" and about trying to match the real value of one's income with changes in prices. No economic journalist can afford to lose sight of such issues. Also there are also larger issues at local, national, regional and global levels. Such issues cannot be ignored because they do also determine various "micro" predicaments. Not only such predicaments and related issues are intrinsically complicated but also the same are difficult to be simplified at times and, thus, involve risks of distortion. Some exceptional difficulties or challenges are, thus, created for the communicator. He or she has to find the right idiom that his or her reader/viewer/listener will understand.
The nature and content of economic or business news are also changing all the time. In recent times, such changes are taking place at a mind-boggling pace. New media of exchange, store of value and financial assets have created entirely new ball games in international trade, finance and capital markets. The terminology of economic discourse has, thus, witnessed a greater variety than ever before. All such developments call for continuing education on the part of economic or business journalists -- and that too on a scale rarely demanded of other kinds of reporting.
Notwithstanding such intimidating demands on intellectual resilience and toughness, economic journalism can be a continually stimulating vocation. There is also a scarcity value for its practitioners. Once the skills of communication are mastered, these can be professionally rewarding in every sense of the term.
Conceptualising an economic report/analysis/story is one of the priority challenges facing an economic journalist. For meeting this challenge, one has to develop a framework of policy and other related issues against which every new development could be set. When this frame is available, conceptualisation of one's story or report becomes easier.
Media reporters and commentators, unlike academics and policy makers, do not have all the time in the world. There are the nightmares of the deadline and also the compulsions of "instant wisdom" by way of editorial comment. This makes it imperative that the essential points of a new announcement or development are quickly grasped and presented in an understandable way to the reader, viewer/listener.
"Conceptualising" an economic story is really a case of contextualisation rather than isolating the core idea of the story. An event, a situation or announcement of any policy has to be presented or, at least, visualised in one's own mind, as part of an on-going development. This has to be fitted into its past and its possible future. Otherwise, the details will overwhelm the economic journalists; they will then hardly get a 'line.' An important aspect of conceptualisation and contextualization is a lively awareness of the "biases" and "angles" of the creators and disseminators of economic or business news. Otherwise, objectivity -- the most prized asset of the media for the purpose of credibility -- will be compromised.
So far, so good. As a financial daily, the FE reiterates, on the occasion of the publication of its 15th anniversary issue, its commitment to promoting and upholding the objectives of economic journalism for building a better and more prosperous Bangladesh. It will continue to make its endeavours, within its capacity and resources, for disseminating objective business and economic news, with its independent voice. Such news, as was stated at the outset, is important for making informed decisions. Such decisions can undeniably make a critical difference to our national efforts in pursuit of the common objective: to help Bangladesh move forward steadily onto the road of shared prosperity for its teeming millions on a strong institutional footing, without the trappings of "cronyism".
To-day's anniversary issue of the FE, marking its stepping into the 16th year of publication, is a befitting occasion for making a brief review of the state of economic/business journalism in Bangladesh. The coverage of financial, business, economic and development-related news and issues by the country's print and electronic media, has increased over the last one and a half decades or more. This is a welcome development.
As a financial daily, the FE takes a positive note of it. The focus on economic/financial news, from local national, regional and international perspectives, can facilitate the making of concerted efforts for accelerated national development. Informed decisions -- conscious actions through weighing of policy options by economic operators at different levels on the basis of free-flow of information with objectivity thereof not being compromised by any subjective biases -- are sine qua non for achieving the 'desired' outcomes.
In this context, a few observations on the state of economic or business journalism in Bangladesh, will be relevant here. Economic or financial journalists in this country, as in other developing ones, face professional problems of communicating economic intelligence to a largely lay public. This is a challenging mediatory task between decision-makers, business operators and economic experts, on one hand, and the general public, on the other. Performing this task competently needs skill.
In countries like Bangladesh, economic journalists have a much wider-range of preoccupation than their opposite numbers, particularly in the developed world. They cannot ignore the economies of the developed and other high performing developing countries. Furthermore, the problems of the low-income countries (LICs) like that of Bangladesh are more in the nature of political economy than of pure economics. This adds yet another dimension to the professional concerns of, and challenges for, the economic journalists in such countries. This makes economic journalism in a LIC an exacting calling. It demands an exceptional range of interest, industry and application on the part of its practitioners.
It will be worthwhile at this stage to note that the general election that takes place tomorrow (Monday, December 29) for electing the ninth parliament, has provided an opportunity for economic journalists in Bangladesh to file reports about, or cover, economic programmes of the contesting political parties and to make reviews and analyses thereof. On their part, such parties have provided enough inputs in their respective election manifestos for the purpose. This is otherwise a challenging time, nationally and internationally, too. The nation looks forward to pragmatic actions by its political leadership to cope with its main development challenges to economic growth and poverty alleviation, in a situation where the global economy is in a deep turmoil. The domino effect of the financial crisis that is being experienced by most developed countries has swiftly swamped many economies. It threatens to reach new shores. Though its immediate impact has left Bangladesh yet unscathed, its ultimate knock-on effects on the country's foreign trade, availability of external aid, remittance flows, investment activities, public finance, business activities, incomes and jobs, real economic sectors etc., cannot be ruled out.
If the crisis becomes wide-engulfing, Bangladesh will have hardly any cushion to absorb the effects thereof. Our capacity to take counter-measures is very limited. Given this scenario, the country's media in general, in all frankness, has not yet been able to prove its worth by way of befittingly focussing on the inter-related challenges through, what may be called, proper journalistic lenses.
Most aspirants to a career in journalism in Bangladesh do still prefer the "thrills" of political journalism. This is easier to practise, at least at its routine levels. In political journalism, it is more often than not a case of reporting or covering surface events and even retailing and recycling "gossips". Political reports and news make more interesting reading or presentation to an ordinary reader or a listener or a viewer. This is explicable in terms of the relatively simple categories of his or her everyday experience. So political news is readily understood, though it is less demanding on one's attention span.
But even at its most elementary level, economic or business journalism is more demanding in terms of understanding of facts, ideas, trends, developments and skills of communication. Economic or business news -- such news is often the news behind the news and news in the making -- is rarely dramatic. It is more concerned with processes than events. Economic news is, in general, considered "dull" in our country, like in many others. It is somewhat remote from one's experience. This is more so when it is presented in its aggregated "macro" forms.
But economics, in final analysis, is about bread and butter issues of everyday life, about "getting and spending" and about trying to match the real value of one's income with changes in prices. No economic journalist can afford to lose sight of such issues. Also there are also larger issues at local, national, regional and global levels. Such issues cannot be ignored because they do also determine various "micro" predicaments. Not only such predicaments and related issues are intrinsically complicated but also the same are difficult to be simplified at times and, thus, involve risks of distortion. Some exceptional difficulties or challenges are, thus, created for the communicator. He or she has to find the right idiom that his or her reader/viewer/listener will understand.
The nature and content of economic or business news are also changing all the time. In recent times, such changes are taking place at a mind-boggling pace. New media of exchange, store of value and financial assets have created entirely new ball games in international trade, finance and capital markets. The terminology of economic discourse has, thus, witnessed a greater variety than ever before. All such developments call for continuing education on the part of economic or business journalists -- and that too on a scale rarely demanded of other kinds of reporting.
Notwithstanding such intimidating demands on intellectual resilience and toughness, economic journalism can be a continually stimulating vocation. There is also a scarcity value for its practitioners. Once the skills of communication are mastered, these can be professionally rewarding in every sense of the term.
Conceptualising an economic report/analysis/story is one of the priority challenges facing an economic journalist. For meeting this challenge, one has to develop a framework of policy and other related issues against which every new development could be set. When this frame is available, conceptualisation of one's story or report becomes easier.
Media reporters and commentators, unlike academics and policy makers, do not have all the time in the world. There are the nightmares of the deadline and also the compulsions of "instant wisdom" by way of editorial comment. This makes it imperative that the essential points of a new announcement or development are quickly grasped and presented in an understandable way to the reader, viewer/listener.
"Conceptualising" an economic story is really a case of contextualisation rather than isolating the core idea of the story. An event, a situation or announcement of any policy has to be presented or, at least, visualised in one's own mind, as part of an on-going development. This has to be fitted into its past and its possible future. Otherwise, the details will overwhelm the economic journalists; they will then hardly get a 'line.' An important aspect of conceptualisation and contextualization is a lively awareness of the "biases" and "angles" of the creators and disseminators of economic or business news. Otherwise, objectivity -- the most prized asset of the media for the purpose of credibility -- will be compromised.
So far, so good. As a financial daily, the FE reiterates, on the occasion of the publication of its 15th anniversary issue, its commitment to promoting and upholding the objectives of economic journalism for building a better and more prosperous Bangladesh. It will continue to make its endeavours, within its capacity and resources, for disseminating objective business and economic news, with its independent voice. Such news, as was stated at the outset, is important for making informed decisions. Such decisions can undeniably make a critical difference to our national efforts in pursuit of the common objective: to help Bangladesh move forward steadily onto the road of shared prosperity for its teeming millions on a strong institutional footing, without the trappings of "cronyism".