| The question used to be asked some
years ago: Was a centralised agency needed for the
Press? No longer does this question arise and
trouble the minds of today’s media. They know their
powers as much as limitations and generally are not
hedgy about what they require to facilitate their
work.
The reason mainly is that in this age of fast moving
media there is no time for asking and debating
issues which have, in any case, acquired an academic
interest. In fact, most media are thankful for the
existence of a centralised agency.
In any case, there is a crying need for an agency to
inform and interpret the policies and actions of the
Government to the people who are the ultimate
masters. In the absence of a better agency, the
Press Information Bureau (PIB), is the best suited
to perform that task through the media. One cannot
visualise a better link than the PIB between the
Government and the media.
How did the word Bureau come into being? In the old
British days, the organisation came into being as
the Bureau of Public Information (BPI). The name was
a little inappropriate inasmuch as the Bureau was
not conceived as an office where the public could
get information on the doings of a foreign
government. The colonial rulers were often secretive
but some high-minded persons who manned the set- up
in the earlier days were bold enough to think of
serving the Press in a proper manner.
The BPI, no doubt, performed its task under the
colonial rule well. Then came Independence and the
Government of free India saw quickly the value of a
centralised agency to service the Press. In those
days only the print media mattered. But soon the
radio effectively voiced the feelings of a newly
independent people and the definition of the Press
went on changing. Role
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) gradually
expanded and sought to serve the regional Press
which was growing almost by leaps and bounds. An
airbag service was introduced as soon as such
facilities were in position and the teleprinter was
pressed into service simultaneously. Now PIB has 39
regional and branch offices throughout the country.
Eight of them are regional offices and now computers
link most of them.
But Delhi is the hub of all political and,
therefore, media activities and it is in Delhi that
the headquarters of the PIB are situated. Some 1,400
accredited correspondents work out of Delhi,
including a number of foreign journalists, TV
cameramen and women, photographers and
photojournalists.
Most of them also cover the two Houses of Parliament
which, however, have their own set -up for
accreditation. For the PIB a committee of
journalists scrutinises every fresh application,
lays down rules and generally oversees the functions
of the PIB in the matter of accreditation.
The correspondents are provided with facilities to
cover the activities of the different ministries and
departments of the Central Government, visits of
foreign dignitaries – the most important of which
was the US President’s visit in March this year,
conducted tours and the like. The holder of a PIB
accreditation card is also entitled to attend
government press conferences open to the media.
Facilitation of the correspondents’ work is thus one
of the principal functions of the Press Information
Bureau. The facilities are always limited. There is
a system of pooling of facilities in several
countries which shows that the problem exists
elswhere abroad as well.
But the evolution of the PIB has ensured that these
limited facilities are more or less evenly
distributed although complaints are made that
preference is shown to important media among which,
naturally, those operating in English figure.
Attempt is, however, made to take note of the
presence of correspondents of outstation media who
are specially deputed by their principals to cover
events in Delhi.
The regional and branch offices of the PIB cater to
the Indian language print media as well as the local
Press in English and Hindi to the extent possible.
Naturally, the offices have to work in coordination
with the offices of the respective State
governments. Often there is a healthy competition
between the two which is all to the good because the
regional Press is thus served better. Functioning
The PIB has Assistant Information Officers,
Information Officers, Deputy Principal Information
Officers, Directors of Information and Additional
Principal Information Officers who visit their
respective Ministries in the early part of the day
and acquaint themselves with the likely news
developments and then are available to the
accredited correspondents, generally after the
lunch, for answering their queries and for making
available publicity material to them. This is put
out in different forms like press notes, official
and unofficial handouts, backgrounders and so on.
The Principal Information Officer (PIO) who heads
the Bureau, has onerous responsibilities of running
the set-up as well as briefing the correspondents
about important stories like Cabinet meetings. When
major stories break, the PIO comes into the picture
for he or she has to organise a briefing on the
issue. The PIO and other Bureau officers have also
to be alerted when the two Houses of Parliament are
in session because more often than not important
stories break there and the presence of the officers
is helpful in providing them useful material and
background.
If such duties are efficiently performed the
correspondents are often full of gratitude. The
effectiveness of an officer is known when he has
ready answers to the many queries the media have or
is able to get such answers quickly, whether the
matter pertains to Parliament or otherwise.
The PIB officers have another responsibility also.
They have to provide the feedback on their
ministries’ policies and programmes to their
Ministers and officers in the Ministries. If such
feedback is effectively provided, the doubts and
suspicions of the media are soon cleared and a
factual and favourable image of the concerned
Ministry is projected. The officers have also to
make arrangements for scheduled and hastily called
media conference of their Ministries. They have to
brief their Ministries and get them ready to answer
questions which agitate the minds of the
mediapersons.
The PIB has yet another duty to perform. Features
are prepared by the concerned PIB officer and are
commissioned from noted writers and subject
specialists. These are made available to the media,
often in the languages in which they appear. These
are generally well received by various sections of
the print media and even the TV and other electronic
media who use the material for padding up their
stories. It is essential that the features are well
written and contain enough substance.
Photo service is yet another special service
regularly provided by the Bureau to the media. The
PIB has an extensive photo library and it is
estimated that some one million photos, some of them
of rare historical value, exist in the albums. Every
year hundreds of thousands of photographs are given
away free, apart from the regular service of
providing photographs of the day’s events. These are
made available to newspapers throughout the country,
by the regional and branch offices and the head
office, by the airbag system and through the latest
technique of telephoto. Ebonoid blocks are also
supplied to newspapers which do not have facilities
for using photographs straightaway. To each
according to its need is supposed to be the motto.
Growth
Over the years the PIB has expanded enormously and
there could be deficiencies in its services.The
human elements could also fail. The responsibility
of the PIO and the offices has increased in
proportion to the expansion and the expectations of
the media have also grown. They are also in search
of what is known as the scoop and for that they have
to depend generally on their own resources. The
media have also to show awareness of their social
responsibility and their credibility and
truthfulness.
So far as the future is concerned, there does not
seem to be any possibility of individual ministry
having its own set-up and India is destined to have
the present system of a centralised media facilities
pattern which the PIB signifies. The PIB officers
have to realise the great potential of the present
facilities which the institution offers and have to
use them as effectively as possible. |
