Maybe ratings should now have a credibility quotient

Media owners and consumers are not the only ones watching the unfolding Murdoch saga with keen interest. It has set media planners and advertisers too thinking about the credibility factor of the media they use as a platform for their brands.

While the Indian media hasn’t experienced anything like the institutionalised malpractices seen in the News of the World, there are telltale signs, such as the ‘paid news’ in certain pockets, irresponsible coverage by news channels during the 26/11 attacks, and more recently, a national daily’s baseless story on doctors converting girls to boys surgically in Indore.

The temptation to sensationalise events stems from the fact that the media industry is almost wholly dependent on ad revenues, and advertisers are mostly guided by readership numbers or TRPs.

Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director of Madison World, makes no bones about it. “Advertisers do not take decisions based on editorial policy. They decide based on readership and the price they have to pay for the space. You cannot expect advertisers to take a moral stand when society itself is giving a green signal (to a news outlet by subscribing to it).”

At the same time, if the pressure to grab eyeballs starts affecting the respectability of a paper or channel, marketers will notice this eventually, says Dilip Cherian, founding partner of Perfect Relations, adding that there is a value beyond numbers that advertisers will attach to a media unit that enjoys a high degree of credibility among consumers.

A media planner who did not want to be named put it in plainer terms: “Communicating through a credible media not only makes customers believe in the brand’s messages, but also increases brand equity. I think it’s high time that a credibility quotient of the media is measured by every advertiser before advertising.”
Should the acceptance of ‘paid news’, for example, be factored into the credibility quotient? Rishi Darda, Joint MD & Editorial Director of Lokmat Media Ltd., feels the key is to ensure transparency. “Circulation revenues in newspapers are a small percentage of the total income. Majority of the revenue comes from advertisement. I don’t see anything wrong in giving value-added services to clients. Media has to be careful, though, that the audience is not misinformed,” he says.

Perhaps the biggest lesson from the Murdoch scandal for all stake-holders in media and advertising is that if you keep crossing the line, one day you will have your come-uppance, however big you are. Arvind Sharma, chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett India, draws a parallel with the financial sector to sound a note of caution. “Banking crossed a line in 2008 and one of the most revered banks shut down because of that. In the media too, you can’t compromise on ethics,” he says.

According to Cherian, credibility is fragile, and can also take a hit from the choices editors make. “You have to decide whether you want to make an effort to present a credible story, or go with the lazy option of selling a story that needs no effort — such as the typical Bollywood masala stories.”

Still, many believe that the Indian media has not yet fallen as low as the notorious British tabloid press. Ashwani Singla, MD and CEO, South Asia, Penn Schoen Berland, believes that the media here have inherent strengths that need to be nurtured. “After 26/11, the amount of soul-searching that was done cannot be compared to any other media in the world. Media is an important part of our civil society,” he said.