on books by kaleem butt

Not a single book written on the subject!

Kaleem Butt


How would you feel, hearing the words: “there is not a single book written on the subject!” from your teacher who is standing before you and lecturing you in class of a subject in which you are doing your “Masters.”
This means that one won’t find an authentic reference about the subject as books are the most authentic source. As a student of journalism; we have learnt that journalists are men of words, but hearing that “there is not a single book written on Rural Journalism” was astonishing as though journalists have lost their words on the subject.

Especially the people of sub-continent, who mostly depend on our rural life, are also silent on that when we claim that media by every passing minute is going towards advancement. Journalism is changing and the changes are resulting the introduction of technology. A number of journalists are using computers in place of typewriters, pencils, pens and papers, with journalists they have become printers also.

And know what, amongst 30 volumes of the great Encyclopedia Britannica, you’d be amazed knowing that there is not a single reference about rural journalism. It speaks about journalism as:

“The profession of gathering, writing, and editing
the news. As observers, reporters and commen-
tators on the rest of the society, journalists enjoy
a unique status that amply justifies their occasional
designation as the “Fourth Estate.” The importance
of journalist’s function in a free society, his potentials
for influencing the history by reporting the news, has
only gradually recognized in 20th century.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, vol: V, p: 617).

And on and on. It speaks about the development in journalism with its history, development in press, photojournalism, yellow journalism, and techniques used in journalism, but it is quite on Rural Journalism.

Rural society as described by Encyclopedia Britannica is: “generic term for societies in which the predominant human activities are those involved in the production of food, fiber, minerals and raw materials. Rural societies differ from urban societies, also in kind of relationships found amongst their members.”

If the rural society differs from urban society; surely then, its life must be different, the problems including, social, economic and political must be different and to solve their problems, we need different techniques and different expertise, and to solve their problems their voice must be carried to people sitting far away from them. As a journalist is a mirror of the society; he/she must also notice the voice of rural society.

But as a professional journalist who has spent his/her entire life in urban areas, don’t know about the living standards and traditions culture and their problems and don’t know the techniques to perform journalistic activities in rural areas, how will he/she be their voice, how will their problems be solved? What he/she will present?

In that a condition a natural thing for any journalist would be to follow the tradinational methodology of journalism carried on especially in our country; he/she will carry on to blackmail the landlords, the police working there, the government and non-government sector and even the common people whose life is already in hell.

The news stories and reports will be sold out for high rates, as it is going, truth will be sold openly, after all a journalist has to live, he/she has to earn his/her bread and survive in the world.

It would be great to hear from anyone, who knows an appropriate book on the subject of “Rural Journalism.”