Harivansh, Editor and CEO, Prabhat Khabar

‘Not a newspaper but a movement’. We have been following, what I would call, civil society journalism. The paper has always given voice to the people. We have managed to stay in touch with our readers through initiatives like Aap ke Dwar (At your doorstep) and Pathak Manch (Readers’ Forum). Over the years, ever since I took over as editor 15 years ago, people have come to associate Prabhat Khabar as a newspaper giving information about their surroundings. We have a loyal readership base.

He has managed to achieve a seemingly impossible objective – successfully running an independent newspaper without compromising on the traditional values of journalism in a state notorious for rampant corruption, crime and volatile politics. He is Harivansh, the gutsy Editor and CEO of ‘Prabhat Khabar’. The veteran journalist almost singlehandedly resuscitated this newspaper, which was all but dead.

Idealistic, astute, man of principles and definitely a knack for withstanding any kind of pressure, Harivansh belongs to that old school of journalism that propagated disseminating news with a social angle to spread awareness. In a freewheeling conversation with exchange4media’s Shanta Saikia, the veteran journalist speaks about his long and difficult journey, ethics and journalism, and the workings of the vernacular dailies.

Q. When did your journey in journalism begin?

I come from a small village in Uttar Pradesh, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan also belonged to the same village. Influenced by his philosophies, I dropped my surname, preferring to be known by just my first name. I joined The Times of India as a trainee journalist in 1977. I even got to cover the turbulent times during the Assam agitation in 1980.

After the training period I moved to ‘Dharamyug’ in Mumbai and stayed there for five years. Then I took a break from journalism altogether. Took the banking services exam and joined Bank of India as an officer. I was posted in Hyderabad and later on came to Patna. But my career as a banker didn’t continue for long. The call of journalism was too strong.

So, when I got an offer to join the Anand Bazar Partika publication Ravivar, I joined. In fact, just before I joined Ravivar, I was given an appointment with the Reserve Bank of India.

Q. What exactly helped you get ahead of the other players in the field?

Our primary content is local news, issues, causes, aspirations and problems. People want to know what was happening in their neighbourhood, their state, instead of what socialites are up to in Page 3 parties or where the latest strikes in Iraq have taken place. True, we cover international news to keep our readers well informed, but it is global news with a local viewpoint.

Moreover, Prabhat Khabar has always been doing investigative reports. We were the first paper to expose the fodder scam in Bihar way back in 1993, while the rest of India became aware of the scam only in 1996, a good three years later. We carried more than 70 investigative reports on the scam. We also carried the pictures of the Bhagalpur blindings, which created quite a furore. We also carried numerous articles pushing for a separate state of Jharkhand. Prabhat Khabar also broke the news of starvation deaths in Palamau.

We always ask ourselves the question – is this news article going to impact the socio-economic life of the people? People now see Prabhat Khabar as a newspaper that is not afraid to speak the truth, so there is an emotional bonding with the paper. There is no compromise whatsoever on truth and quality of reporting.

Q. What is Prabhat Khabar’s USP?

I would say our slogan ‘Not a newspaper but a movement’. We have been following, what I would call, civil society journalism. The paper has always given voice to the people. We have managed to stay in touch with our readers through initiatives like Aap ke Dwar (At your doorstep) and Pathak Manch (Readers’ Forum). Over the years, ever since I took over as editor 15 years ago, people have come to associate Prabhat Khabar as a newspaper giving information about their surroundings. We have a loyal readership base. We raise the readers’ awareness levels through a series of informative articles. For instance, we are going to launch a series on the upcoming Bihar polls. We will provide information on the candidates, their past record, their assets, etc.

Q. What is the future direction for Prabhat Khabar, given all these challenges?

We have earned the readers’ loyalty over the years through our news coverage and content. New entrants in Jharkhand like Hindustan and Jagran have come in with deep pockets. For instance, Hindustan has pumped in nearly Rs 400 crore since 2000, but have not achieved the desired results. The big media houses come to small towns with all the arrogance of being a big fish in a small pond. They feel people are going to read whatever they feed them. But that’s not the case always. People want a paper that they can identify with, which talks to them in their own language.

But all said and done, we have to be commercially viable too. So, we have invested a great deal on infrastructure and the workforce. But I have asked the journalists not to take their salaries for granted. They should be prepared to face the market.

Prabhat Khabar’s circulation in July-December 2004 stood at 218,380, while advertising revenues are expected to touch Rs 25 crore in 2006. Truly, we have come a long way.

Q. When and how did your association with Prabhat Khabar begin?

Prabhat Khabar was started in 1984 in Ranchi by then Congress MP Gyan Ranjan, who was close to Indira Gandhi. By 1989, it was in dire straits, a failed venture with a print run of just around 600. The printing press was outdated, there were hardly any experienced journalists nor was the news coverage any good.

Around that time the Usha Martin Group was scouting for a newspaper that it could buy. They decided on Prabhat Khabar, which they bought. At that time I was an Assistant Editor with a Hindi weekly ‘Ravivar’ in Kolkata. I was not happy with the news coverage there, it was big city journalism, and I was looking for a change, for a chance to work in the sphere of social journalism. So when I got the Prabhat Khabar offer, I grabbed it. And since then, there has been no looking back.

Q. How did you manage to turn around Prabhat Khabar from the brink of closure?

When I arrived at Prabhat Khabar’s Ranchi office after accepting to join the newspaper as its editor, what I saw there left me in a state of shock. The office was in a rundown condition, the printing press was woefully outdated and churned out bad quality black and white eight pages, the staff was dejected, a resigned lot.

But thanks to Usha Martin, which pumped in Rs 6 crore between 1989 and 1994, the cash crunch was taken care of to a large extent. Now it was up to me to build up a motivated team of journalists and totally revamp the content of the newspaper. In 1989, the major dailies in the market were Ranchi Express, Aaj, Udit Bani, Awaaz and Hindustan.

It took everyone involved several long, difficult hours to put the paper back in track. Prabhat Khabar encouraged local talent conducted workshops to train local people to do some reporting. We were the first paper to encourage women to join journalism.

We founded a team comprising experienced journalists and young talented people. I also managed to convince some of my former colleagues in Kolkata to join me. No matter what we did, we never compromised on the quality of the news covered. We surged ahead with pro-people journalism.

Apart from the team the other major investment was on infrastructure. New printing press was acquired, which drastically improved the quality of the printed matter. Great attention was given to the layout, design, news reporting, writing and editing.

People gradually noticed the change.

Q. Doing explosive stories like the fodder scam exposè must have definitely ruffled a lot of feathers. How do you counter threats from politicians, criminals and the like?

At first I used to get a bit intimidated by the threats and pressures put on me, but now I have come to accept them as part of the job. As long as I know that truth is on my side and what I am doing is right and for the good of all, I am not concerned. I will never compromise on the truth. There are nearly 30 cases filed against me. Moreover, I have no personal interest neither any political affiliations.

Q. What are the challenges faced by the vernacular media today?

Firstly, vernacular media has become deeply influenced by the English dailies, the flighty Page 3 journalism. Barring papers like The Hindu and Indian Express, issues like governance, development, gender discrimination, and civil society are hardly addressed any more.

Gossipy news, spreading sensation, frivolous reports are on the rise, while quality readership is on the decline. Readership preferences is also changing, earlier readers preferred long analytical stories, now it has to be more compact, to the point and easily digestible.

Moreover, the Hindi intelligencia is failing.