NEWS REPORTING CHALLENGES

                     

                   News Reporting and Its Challenges 

Media is an interesting and thrilling field. And what makes it more interesting is News Reporting. Well, news reporting is a short account of news and is usually live (on air).Many journalist find it interesting and many hard, they feel like there is gun on your head one thing wrong and you are dead. News reporting is of same style all over the world, reporter goes to location and report about the happening and scenario of that place on air. It seems that easy but is not! This particular job has its own challenges. These challenges are same for all reporters even in Pakistan or USA things are same but on different scale and that could be due to geological, cultural or economical difference among different countries.

Following are some challenges that come along with news reporting:

1.  HARASSMENT:

Even though world is getting more and more educated but this issue is all over the world. Placing it on top is because it happens everywhere, mostly with the female reporters. People have knowledge but are not civilized. While reporting in such situation where this is crowd or more people there are 99% chances of harassment, harasser finds it amusing to do such stuff but it comes out as the challenge to the reporter as they have to manage the situation if the are reporting putting their embarrassment behind. Many prominent cases come in front while talking about it BBC reporters while reporting in china festival or political campaign, and when we are talking about it how could we forget Indian reporter being harassed while giving the coverage of gang rape on April 14,2014.So, this issue is growing more and more while reporting.

2.  COMPETITION:

While working in the media, you will feel a lot of competition. As the world has become globalized people are more connected they want to know what happened NOW! not what happened yesterday. Through social sites even a teenager can report their area issues. For this reason reporter have to more efficient and had to get the news reported before it is on social media sites like twitter, facebook, YouTube because news channels need rating and people need fresh news if your late and any other channel or site broadcast the news before you than your report is dead news and is of no use anymore. In Pakistan we commonly see this open competition, if there is a bomb blast news the channel who give its coverage before will highlight its work that we are the ones who break this news first to you so while working as a reporter you always have to be ready and headstrong.

3.  SELF-RESPECT AND CONSCIENCE ON STAKE:

This is the inner challenge that a journalist face. It’s like fighting with your own self. Journalist have the power of manipulation and mind setting .if he want he can make a lie into truth and truth into a lie and this is the thing that people with higher authority, politician, corrupt people know. The job of the reporter is to seek truth and always stand for it. But every person has its price, so reporter conscience is always on stake. Mostly corrupt people think that reporter are thing to buy, they believe if they have one of their person in the media they could just hide their dirt by their weasel words. They can bribe reporter to report something that is not real. Self respect is the most important thing to a person but reporters have to give up on it because when news reporting they can come across such situation where they can be verbally or physically abused. If we look around in the world, we often find ourselves asking this question that news reporter don’t have that much salary than how are the affording luxurious lifestyle. In turkey, Iran, India and even in Pakistan reporters have to face it more than other reporters all over the world. For example if we talk about Pakistan, Hamid Mir, Talat Husain, Kamran khan these are the bigger names but they are also called agents of India and America who are working with propaganda. They have to face criticism which maybe they don’t deserve.

4.  Family:

When it comes to family I guess everyone have a soft corner. No matter how stubborn any person is but gives up when it comes to family. If a reporter finds something that could be small but with larger impact about some politician, agencies, or someone influential they first thing before praise he will get family threat. These threats include kidnapping, assault etc. This is the thing that almost every journalist face if he is loyal to his job. It is mostly with the investigative reporter. There are many examples all over the world about reporter being threat in Pakistan Martyr geo news reporter MUSA KHAN KHEL family is still in danger, Najam sethi is also threaten by family threats.

5.  Life threats:

This is the most important of all. Everything goes with life. If you are not alive than all of it does not mean anything. Reporter’s life is always on risk. Specially on war zones. It is the most difficult yet thrilling reporting when you have to risk your life to cover the war zone story. Many journalist lost their life’s in war sometimes they crossed the border and went wrong way, sometimes get lost and caught by the army. Latest reports say almost 65 journalist have been killed in Syria since the war broke there. Terry Lloyd a famous BBC reporter was also killed in Iran wars .many reporters are also killed while trying to negotiate with the terrorist. If we talk about Taliban’s they are pretty much famous for keeping journalist as hostage and then killing them. If reporter is not on war zone than he received death threats from others and in the end either they are fired or they have to quit their job for example Germany's Der Spiegel magazine has withdrawn its Turkey reporter Hasnain Kazim after he received death threats over reports covering the deadly disaster at the Soma coal mine that killed 301 miners. This thing has no ending to it

CONCLUSION:

In the end, we all are human and commit mistakes but we have a right to speak and seek truth and it is as well a job of the reporter. These challenges are hard and is going to come in your way up but a reporter should not give and face the storm without being scared because you cannot quit till the end because the moment you quit that moment you become coward. It is better to die brave than being a coward.