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Monday, February 21, 2005
Embedded journalism in Mumbai
There are few better ways of getting insight into a story than making yourself a part of it. Mid Day does this marvellously well. Consider this story they have run today: "Mid Day reporter turns watchman for you". What the newspaper wanted to highlight was how easy it is to become a watchman of a building without any kind of background check being done on you. Other newspapers would perhaps have interviewed a watchman or two and got some quotes from the head of a security agency. But the Mid Day reporter on the story, Prasad Patil, actually went and got the job of a watchman, and acted as a watchman for a couple of days.
His account of how he got the job, and the pictures with it, give the story instant weight and credibility. This brand of embedded journalism is a Mid Day speciality, and they often surprise us with such wonderful stories. A month ago, for example, seven of their reporters became hawkers for a day. And some years ago, in order to highlight how difficult it is for disabled people to get around a city, Annie Zaidi travelled around for a day in a wheelchair. You can't argue with argue with stories like these, and are forced to notice them.
His account of how he got the job, and the pictures with it, give the story instant weight and credibility. This brand of embedded journalism is a Mid Day speciality, and they often surprise us with such wonderful stories. A month ago, for example, seven of their reporters became hawkers for a day. And some years ago, in order to highlight how difficult it is for disabled people to get around a city, Annie Zaidi travelled around for a day in a wheelchair. You can't argue with argue with stories like these, and are forced to notice them.
