There are celebrities who claim that journalists are their representatives. Whether they are or not, the column reveals the truth
There is a notion in society and even it is often said in many circles that journalists are the representatives of the celebrities when it comes to their role of providing the news to the masses. There is no denying in mentioning that journalists act as a bridge between the celebrities and common people and this is because they endow the people with the news about the celebrities. Since celebrities are public properties, thus whatever happens in their lives particularly in their official lives need to be covered to convey to the masses. Yes, to some extent, one might coin the term ‘representation’ of the celebs for the journalists, but calling them actual ‘representative’ is simply wrong. Since the journalists, by performing their duties, take the factual news from the celebrities and convey them to the masses for their information, thus in this regard, it could be termed ‘representation’. But on the other hand, if it is stated that they transmit the news to the people according to what a celebrity dictates or narrates to them to publish, it is plainly ‘no’. If it is done, ‘yes’, it is called a ‘representation’ then. I clearly admit that yellow journalism exists in our surroundings.
There are journalists whose bread and butter or their extra income sources come from ‘gutter journalism’ (I term it ‘gutter journalism’, as it is simply a dirty act that unfortunately prevails in this profession with whom I am also associated) and they can openly be called ‘the representatives of celebrities’. But in general, I can amenably say that ‘we, the journalists are NOT the representatives of the luminaries – we are out there in the field to find the truth and grab the news using our trustworthy sources.
Few years back, I was watching a talk show on an Indian television where the host had invited both the celebrities from Bollywood and entertainment journalists on the show. The topic of the show was the same on which I am writing this column. I do not want to name the celebrities and the journalists but all of them were high profiles. The celebs were of the view that the journalists were their representatives as they convey to the people whatever we did and endowed them with. According to them, the journalists took the center position between them and their fans (common people) and because of them, their lives and work were conveyed to the people. On the contrary, the group of journalists kept denying the celebrities’ claims. I agree, the journalists do take the central position and because of their role, the news about the luminaries reach out to the people, but calling them ‘representative’ is a wrong terminology and this was what being churned out by the bunch of journalists on the show.
Well, if I am not wrong – the actual representatives of the celebrities are their public relation managers, as they represent them in the media by providing them the stories and press releases about their works. To cut it short, a true journalist is the one who finds factual stories and publishes it without bias. Representation is another job not journalism.
