Donkey, monkey, stupid, idiot…the words still ring and sting many years after they were hurled routinely by a bellicose boss at a room full of cowering colleagues as I myself cringed in a corner, wondering how would I react if the distasteful diatribe was to be directed at me.
Having endured and survived the ordeal in a newsroom that at best was borderline abusive, my sympathies squarely lie with fellow journalists – the many reporters and sub-editors – who currently are venting out their anger against bullying at their respective workplaces.
Social media in the past few weeks have been particularly awash with an outpouring of such angst, triggered by the unfortunate and untimely death of a Mumbai journalist. Led by his widow, and amplified by some press organisations, allegations of bullying and consistent harassment have been levelled against the local editor of the prominent newspaper where the journalist worked. The accusations imply that the stress caused by the toxic newsroom that the editor headed ultimately precipitated a fatal heart attack in the journalist.
Though very grave in nature, the accusations remain just accusations. For that matter, there have been more allegations now, with the widow of another journalist levelling almost similar charges against the same editor who otherwise enjoyed the reputation of being a stellar journalist. However, none has approached any legal authority with the requisite wherewithal to determine the veracity of the accusations, and in absence of any fair investigation, a closure is elusive – both for the accusers and the editor they have squarely put in the dock.
But irrespective of which side the truth lies, there is no denying that much like toxic workplaces across other businesses and industry, news floors of many media houses also reek of abuse and heavy-handedness. When #MeToo happened, many a skeleton tumbled out and took a few significant scalps in the media fraternity. But the ingrained bullying that journalists face on a daily basis at their newsrooms largely went unnoticed and unchecked, despite the many occasional red flags.
While it is okay to be demanding, a boss should never overstep and be toxic. It’s a red line that should never be crossed. But going by the many social media posts of recent weeks, the malaise is rampant. Good journalists who otherwise are nice gentle persons more often morph into monsters once they move into a position of authority. And the bullying begins, just as it did some years ago when an editor, new to his job, famously announced to bewildered staff that to watch him at work was akin to witnessing Beethoven composing music.
Almost delusional and nurturing a disproportionate sense of self-importance, many journalists cease to value and respect other journalists once they become editors. Perhaps, they do so because they themselves were subjected to it once. In any case, many find it far easier and more effective to stamp their authority by talking down to their junior colleagues. So, the references to donkeys and monkeys.
Only last year, internal emails of two staff members of a news magazine went viral on social media, cataloging what they claimed they could no more cope with, forcing them to resign. Friends and colleagues employed elsewhere talk in hushed tones of the daily indignities they suffer – from being shouted at to being publicly dismissed as no good. A former colleague recounted recently a particularly nasty boss at an online portal making life difficult, even after he had resigned. The boss wouldn’t give him his relieving letter by the time he needed to join his new job.
But do editors have to be necessarily unkind and unpleasant? No, going by my brief experience as the chief editor of a publication group. My stint was eventful and short, marked by the high of a cover that stoked a countrywide controversy. But to me, the high-point of my editorship was and will always be the five months during the COVID-19 pandemic when we could not pay salaries. Yet, the journalists came to work and bore their forced penury stoically, feasting on roadside pakodas that we could still afford. Attrition was few and far between.
Why don’t bosses realise that decency doesn’t cost much, bemoaned a young woman journalist in a recent post on X in the aftermath of the Mumbai episode. Till that realisation dawns, those in the newsrooms would do well to put their heads down and soldier on. Unless robust redressal systems are in place within the news organisations, their complaints are unlikely to be heard. The next best thing to do under the circumstances would be to wait for better days, when a nice pleasant boss will replace a bad boss. Don’t lose heart. Change is constant. And bosses will change too.
Ruben Banerjee is the former editor-in-chief of Outlook and the author of the book Naveen Patnaik.
