survey-july-aug2011

INFOCUS | COVER STORY | MEDIA | SURVEY

Media on both sides

Doomsday Conspirators Co-operation rather than conflict should have been the leitmotif of their rise as global economic powers, but both China and India have failed to dispel the mutual suspicion that blights bilateral ties. And the media must shoulder a lot of the blame.

PD Kaushik

I

n a democracy, media is the fourth estate, comprising both print and electronic medium. It is more powerful than the legislature, executive and judiciary because of its reach and impact on public opinion. It is a common feeling that media on both sides of the border has not played a constructive role in improving relations between the two countries. For instance, media in India and China have downplayed positive achievements, but negative incidents have been blown out of proportions. Such coverage and reporting have adversely impacted public opinion in both countries. Is the media to be blamed for such sensational coverage merely to catch eyeballs or are there other issues which dictate media coverage. A nationwide survey on such perceptions, however, contradicts the myth of negative reporting.

The overall sample of the survey comprised 20 per cent respondents from the Indian media and 10 per cent from the Chinese media. In fact, it is interesting to note that media on both sides of the border suffers from lots of misconceptions about each other.

Indian journalists felt India was not even on the radar of the Chinese media because more newsworthy actions are taking place in other parts of the world.

Chinese journalists however felt that

the Indian media ape the West and frequently indulges in China-bashing.

Individual opinion is the key for any policy initiative. The results so far reveal that media is perhaps the only category of respondents who had emphatically responded in either a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’, unlike other categories where the percentage of ‘Undecided’ was considerably high. For instance, almost one out of every four respondent was undecided in China. In the development of a concrete action plan, a clear ‘Yes’ or a clear ‘No’ is of immense help. Both countries must strive through public policy intervention to convert the ‘No’ into ‘Yes’ for everlasting peace and economic cooperation in the region.

Threat Perception How do the media look at the threat perception? Almost 63 per cent media persons in India view China as a threat to India. The most common reason for such an opinion can be attributed to strong China-Pakistan ties. Likewise, almost 60 per cent media persons in China also feel that “India is a threat to China.” The issue of Tibet and growing closeness of India with the United States were some of the reasons for such a perception.

Such kind of threat perception existing in the minds of media persons on both sides of the border is understandable. Since media keeps a continuous watch on the actions of the government, any inconsistency in government’s public posturing sows the seeds of suspicion in the minds.

China’s equivocal stand on the issue of Pak-supported terrorist outfits and insurgency activities in Kashmir, clandestine military and technological aid to Pakistan, etc., raise the suspicions of the Indian media on the bonafide intentions of China for peaceful and strong relations with India. Likewise, the existence of the Government of Tibet in exile in Dharamshala in India and India’s official position on Tibet is viewed as inconsistent and contradictory by the Chinese media.

Thus, media persons on both sides of the border rate the opposite side as a looming threat.

The threat perception in the media also seems to have a regional variation.

China Response: By Occupation Others 17%

32% 9%

Media 29%

13%

Academics Business Government

India Response: By Occupation Others 21%

19% 20%

Media 20%

20%

Academics Business Government

Almost 63 per cent media persons in India view China as a threat to India.

The most common reason for such an opinion can be attributed to strong China-Pakistan ties.

Likewise, almost 60 per cent media persons in China also feel that “India is a threat to China.”

Almost 60 per cent in the Indian media located in the North, South and West suffer from a higher threat perception. But a minority in the East and Central region viewed China as a

threat. Perhaps the Central region has a lower threat perception due to its location and its level of development, both social and economic. But the low threat perception in the East was quite unexpected. A majority of the news reporting incursions by the Chinese army comes from the eastern side. So could it be construed that more than 30 years of uninterrupted Left rule in the East has somewhat influenced the media favourably towards China?

Except for political reasons, one cannot attribute the rationale for such a response.

Thus, it can be safely concluded that awareness levels about the issues between India and China are high in the media, as compared with other occupation categories. Besides, political, economic and social development has a strong bearing on perception of the media.

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INFOCUS | COVER STORY | MEDIA | SURVEY

Improving Ties On improved and peaceful relations, 92 per cent Indians and 75 per cent Chinese want improved relations between India and China.

Around 5 per cent Indians and 19 per cent Chinese opted for “Undecided.”

This response may be indicative of a general lack of awareness about India among the Chinese or vice-versa.

It is interesting to note there is still an insignificant minority view in both countries, who exactly feel the opposite. Around 3 per cent Indians and 7 per cent Chinese do not want improved relations between the two countries. Even though a minority, but still it is imperative to understand the background of the respondents to formulate a coherent view on their choice.

The strong preference for improved relations in India is evenly distributed among all occupations. However, it is interesting to note that such is not in the case in China. Mainly those categorise

Threat Perception in Indian Media: Regionwise Basis Central

18%

23%

23% 14%

West

23%

East South North

under ‘Others’ and ‘Business’ exhibited a strong preference for improved relations with India. But the Chinese media was somewhat not convinced on this issue with a very low preference (almost 9 per cent) for improved ties with India. This is an interesting observation, which conclusively points

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out to the reasons for the alleged negative reporting. When the media in China has a strong threat perception from India, it is understandable that news reports would focus on issues which strengthen their commonly held belief. On the contrary, almost 18 per cent government officials and 13 per cent academics in China favoured improved relations with India. In other words, such a response was on expected lines because of the official position of China in respect to ties between the two countries. An overwhelmingly favourable response was received for improvement of ties by all occupations in India. However, 3 per cent did not favour the proposition. Among these, almost 63 per cent represented the media. In no uncertain terms, the same reasons as observed in China could be attributed to the Indian response.

The analysis of undecided responses gives an interesting insight about the perception of people on both sides of the border. The ‘Media’ clocked the lowest in the undecided category in both countries on this issue. In other words, the media on both sides of the border have very strong views on this subject whether favourable or unfavourable. However, in the ‘Business’ category, almost 39 per cent in India and 30 per cent in China remained undecided on the issue of improved relations between the two countries. A widely held apprehension among Indian manufacturers is about the excessive inflow of Chinese goods once relations between India and

Improved Relations 100 80 60

Indians

40

Chinese

20 0 Yes

No

Regional Distribution: Undecided on Improved Relations

60 50 40 30

India

20

China

10 0

North

West

China improve, and vice-versa. The Western region in China and Eastern region in India have conflicting views on strengthening India-China ties, which reflect on the large majority of respondents from these respective regions being ‘Undecided.’ Doing Business Unresolved border

disputes

South

East

Central

considerably downplayed the business interest of the Chinese business community. Only 22 per cent respondents from China felt safe to do business with India. Around 31 per cent Chinese felt unsafe to do business with India under the prevalent circumstances while 46 per cent were undecided.

On the other side, business interests ruled the Indian perception against

unresolved border disputes. Almost 71 per cent Indians felt safe to do business with China despite border disputes.

Media, once again on both sides of the border, exhibited its suspicions in favour of the proposition.

In India, the media preferred a resolution of border disputes before any close business engagement. In other words, the media was a majority,

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INFOCUS | COVER STORY | MEDIA | SURVEY

Business Interest Despite Unresolved Border Issues 80 70 60 50 40 30

Indians

20

Chinese

10 0

Yes

No

Can’t Say almost 49 per cent, among those who were opposed to doing business despite the unresolved border dispute. A similar response was received from the Chinese media, comprising almost 54 per cent among those who felt unsafe to do business with India.

Largely, the Indian perception was uniformly distributed across occupation and region in favour of doing business despite the unresolved border dispute. Respondents were of the view that resolving the borderrelated dispute was a major challenge for both countries but it that it would not be beneficial to both countries if business interests were clubbed with border related disputes. Politics and economics must be kept apart for safeguarding national interest. In fact, this view was held by a majority of youth in the 19-30 and 31-40 age groups (almost 60 per cent).

On the Chinese side, the perception exhibited suspicion and caution. The media exhibited serious reservations on the issue. Only 11 per cent respondents from academics and 12 per cent from

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Occupation Distribution: Chinese Favouring on Business despiteUnresolved Border Disputes Academic 11%

Others 27%

Business 32%

Media 12% Government 18%

Occupation Distribution: Chinese Undecided on Doing Business despite Unresolved Border Disputes Academic 13%

Others 33%

Media 8%

Business 17%

Government 29%

the media felt it was safe to do business with India despite unresolved border disputes. One view was influenced by the threat perception, but the other view was more dismissive on account of security of business interest, especially in the light of terrorist threat and civil unrest in India.

All those who felt that the border dispute needed to be resolved first were mainly from the ‘Others’ category (34 per cent). But on this proposition, there was a large majority of undecided respondents (46 per cent) in China.

Mostly respondents from the ‘Others’ category (33 per cent) were undecided,

followed by Government (29 per cent).

It is evident that a lack of awareness about India has left many Chinese undecided on the proposition, especially lawyers, doctors, consultants, etc. It is also understandable for the respondents from the government to take up a cautious approach because of the unresolved border issues. The media on both sides of the border remained lowest in the ‘Undecided’ category.

Thus, it can be safely concluded that the opinion makers have become highly opinionated. It is imperative to understand that the media is not indulging in negative reporting by choice in their pursuit for sensationalism. In fact, the government’s vacillating stand and equivocal talk puts the Fourth Estate in a highly confusing situation and make them more suspicious.

The belief of such a threat pushes the media to report the information which confirms their belief and ignore the information which belies their perception. Therefore, it will be wrong to blame the media for negative reporting.

This observation leads to a suggestion that government interventions and stand should be unequivocal and transparent to instill a confidence in the media and change their overall perceptions. The government’s action should be directed at changing the threat perception which lurks in the minds of journalists on both sides of the border. When both governments conduct confidence building measures, it is imperative to allow the media to interact with the interlocutors so that their general awareness is raised and there is a perceptible change in their beliefs. This change of perception in the media will ensure that some of the negative issues are downplayed and positive issues get wider publicity for the larger public interest. 

PD Kaushik is Associate Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies.

His views in this article are personal)

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