Suman Chattopadhyay, Executive Editor, Anandabazar Patrika

Venturing into journalism way back in 1981, Suman Chattopadhyay has traversed a long way – from a cub reporter at Aaj Kaal to Executive Editor of Anandabazar Patrika. As a reporter, he extensively covered civil wars, elections, terrorism in India and Sri Lanka, World Economic Forums, geo-political interests of Islamabad and lots more.

Nearing 25 years at ABP, Chattopadhyay has played a key role in the success of Anandabazar Patrika in accomplishing new heights. As an ardent follower of credible, transparent and true-to-the-fact content, Chattopadhyay believes an ideal journalist cannot be a patriot and must be able to judge every issue or event based on facts.

An author of seven books on politics and contemporary affairs, Chattopadhyay is also a researcher on communalism and diplomacy with papers presented to international universities like Harvard, Fletcher and Boston. Over a conversation with Kumar Chatterjee of exchange4media, the veteran journalist shares how Anandabazar Patrika emerged as an institution over the decades and how successfully the daily manages its content to keep up the trust and confidence of its readers. Excerpts:

Q. Anandabazar Patrika is synonymous with the modern renaissance of Bengal. How has the newspaper survived as the only testimony to movements in Bengal over the ages?

Historically, renaissance in Bengal dates back to the eighteenth century – far ahead of the birth of Anandabazar Patrika. But, of course, the publication has reflected the intellectual development of the state since the days of the British Raj.

The main editorial contribution of the newspaper to the socio-political movement of Bengal and of India at large began immediately after Mahatma Gandhi’s return from South Africa. Taking a look at the gradual evolution of the newspaper, you would get to see that till the 1940s, ABP was largely a vehicle of nationalism. There were several occasions when ABP faced the fury of the Raj. Journalists were jailed, the publication was clamped and there was endless suffering in different ways.

However, a common misperception of people about ABP is that was pro-Subhash Chandra Bose. On the contrary, actually ABP supported Gandhi till the time Bose fell victim to Gandhian conspiracy and was removed from the seat of the Congress president. This marks a historical turn for the publication as ABP started emerging as the voice of Bengal. And, it has remained so even today.

Q. How has ABP played a role in the evolving the socio-political and economic fabric of Bengal?

ABP has always maintained an adversarial relationship with the Left, and has suffered the Left onslaught. At the time of Emergency, two of the most prominent ABP journalists – Gour Kishore Ghosh and Barun Sengupta -- were taken in police custody. In 1984, the publication was stalled for 54 days.

Today, we can boast of a glorious history in always facing the wrath of the predominant ruling political power and yet standing firm by our convictions. We have always kept alive the spirit of not buckling under pressure; we would never sign on the dotted line.

With such strong commitment to fight against evil forces, despite all odds, ABP has developed equity as an institution. Only a few enjoy such an equity vis-à-vis the entire diaspora. There may be many regional players posing a higher circulation figure compared to us but we always maintained the bottom-line – credibility, authenticity and trustworthiness – the three parameters that ABP is reckoned with.

Q. Where does ABP stand in the Indian newspaper market?

When the language press at large is looked at, only ABP stands out. It is the unique exception to the rule. With a circulation figure hovering above 10 lakh, we are vying with the rest of the press and our success is reflected in the pattern of readership. In fact, Kolkata is the only place as per NRS, where one language press records above all English publications put together.

With The Telegraph in English and Anandabazar Patrika in Bengali and other periodicals – we have a complete bouquet that’s ready to take on the world and stand against any kind of threat that’s unfair to society.

Q. How would you describe ABP from the point of view of content philosophy?

We are an ideology-driven newspaper – unlike most of the rest. ABP stands for certain principles. We may be in favour of a capitalist economy. But we are strongly pro-secular. We believe in the rights of the individual over the collective. This is what we have been advocating over the ages and have remained loyal to our ideology

Q. Kolkata could well be called a city where there is a red under every bed. Despite a long-standing left rule, Kolkata is politically bustling with activity. In such a political milieu, do you claim to have maintained a politically unbiased content over the years?

I would strongly maintain that we have always remained politically unbiased and we would continue to be so. We have never restrained from praising the good – be it the Left or the Congress. In the same way, we fought against the evil.

Editorially, we have always raised our voice in favour of financial reforms and criticised the last government for its conservative attitude. But when we found the Left turning right under the reign of the new chief, we were among the earliest ones to extend support to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Through our content, we have favoured every positive move of the new government.

We’ve achieved a position where we can safely claim that ABP sets the agenda for Bengal. And, in the entire mission, our stronghold has been the editorial wing. Leave apart the bulk of the Bengali-speaking community for whom the daily is a part and parcel of everyday life, even the ones who are strongly against us, cannot afford to put down the paper for a single day.

Q. You call it the ‘power of words’. What is the source of this power? What goes into being editorially strong? How do you judge talent when it comes to recruitment? Is there any specific benchmark for doing so?

We have no benchmark with other languages. We stick to a simple philosophy – journalism at its best. We never throw up any empty slogan to prove our stand. The foundation is made of people. We are extremely selective when it comes to adding people to our squad. To ensure the best quality of professionals, we have a sound human resource cell. With the best of HR policies and maintaining stringent recruitment norms, we ensure proper selection. We normally don’t recruit journalists without a first-class degree. The final selection is done after a written examination and several rounds of interviews. There are so many employees who have topped in their university or board exams. We have colleagues with doctorate degrees from Harvard and Cambridge.

Q. Print journalism is increasingly becoming a PR-dominated profession and newspapers are often seen skewed towards corporate houses. Do you think ABP has refrained from patronising corporates or for that matter, political parties?

Given the current business scenario, there’re certainly some changes in the content. But I don’t fully agree with the statement since one can surely maintain a neutral stand. We at ABP strictly maintain our stand keeping intact the objective and ideology. We never allowed external forces to influence us over the decades – be it the corporate sector or the political sphere. The most interesting proof for our unbiased content is reflected in the fact that no Bengali across the world says no to Anandabazar Patrika. Even the Left, which has always criticised us and taken the stand of an adversary, cannot afford to put down the newspaper. I’m sure no other vernacular newspaper of India is pegged with this kind of awe and respect among readers from all sections of the society.

Q. How do you think Indian journalism has evolved over the years? Print journalism is often considered to be yellow-tinted. What’s your take on this perception?

Journalism is evolving in leaps and bounds across the world. The scenario in India is no different. Indian journalism started taking an internally competitive shape since the post-Emergency era. With the coming of TV and Internet, the profession has managed to gain a sharper edge. There’s more focus on details. And, in today’s market, given the increasing competition, credibility of content is the most important aspect to ensure survival. Unlike earlier, journalism is attracting the best and brightest professionals. Overall, I must mention that it’s been a great positive change.

As far as the second part of the question is concerned, here again I have a different argument. There’s always criticism but I would never accept that transparent and credible journalism is not there. As I said, credibility of content is the most important tool for any news media house to ensure its survival. And, considering the amount of exposure that’s offered to Indian readers and viewers, there’s hardly any room for yellow journalism or extraneous journalism for that matter. One would be simply caught for offering half-truths.

Q. Editorial planning has evolved a lot in recent years, with business and technology claiming more news space. How do you manage the content to keep pace with the change?

Call it the virtue of such a long association with the Bengali community or our constant vigil in tracking readers’ psyche, we are always in the process of re-innovating our content. Kolkata or largely the East is on an upswing. There’s a lot that’s happening across the business and economic spectrum in the region. To cater to the changing needs of our readers, we are constantly evolving our content. We have sufficient emphasis on the business section, giving coverage on the capital market, real estate, industrial developments, and of course, the lifestyle segment, which is actually throbbing in this part of the country. There’s equal thrust on technology. But, as you know, a vernacular paper is always more focused on the political, civic and other facets of life than on business.

Q. Local content is the buzzword in today’s print industry. How do you ensure leadership in local content?

Our stronghold is our news gathering network. We have a highly equipped network manned by highly talented reporters and stringers spread across the region, in all major cities of the country and in several global destinations.

. As far as managing local content is concerned, we keep a close watch on the developments across the entire region. Thanks to our network, we rarely miss out on any relevant happenings that take place in West Bengal or the North-East.

Q. Anandabazar Patrika is believed to be more into analysis than hardcore news or speculation. As an editor, what is your take on this?

Yes, we are analytical because our credible and transparent analyses have formed the basis of our recognition among readers. Simultaneously, we offer true-to-the-fact hardcore news but speculation has no seat in our content. In ABP, we never allow speculative stories to get flashed. I personally believe that accountability to truth is the most important aspect when it comes to presenting news.

Q. Spellings are an interesting part of your content. Anandabazar Patrika is often seen not following the usual spellings of names. Why this deviation?

Well, when it comes to names of persons or places, we try to stick to the etymology of the word and accordingly design our style sheet. In case of Indian names, we stick to the Devnagri scripts and the same stands true in most cases, even when it is a foreign name; for instance, in spelling a Dutch name, we try to catch the Dutch pronunciation.