Media Watch: WSH is hostile to media in Delhi

Those who mooted, and is executing, the successfully ongoing World Series Hockey in India taught, in the process, many lessons to both Hockey India and FIH, but here is one area the WSH people have to be student-like and take lessons from these two organizations.

That pertains to perception of media.

Hockey India, in particular, had successfully organized two international test series and then jointly with FIH, the Hero FIH Road to London, in the recent past.

Creating a separate media section within its organizational structure, Hockey India served the cause of media with a sense of purpose, and of course like never before.

There was a genuine concern, professionalism and even generosity in HI’s media approach, which was need based, certainly not rigid.

Firstly, sensing the South African Test series for men and Azerbaijan for Women will not entail national press, HI treated the media as such. Though they were given an accreditation on quick note, their movements were not restricted, unlike being monitored here!

Once the match was over, handful of journalists, both print and visual, reached the turf and interacted with the players and officials, as has been normally happening in Delhi ever since I know this city. If am correct, even videos were allowed during the matches.

However, whenever FIH organizes an event in India, they go overboard with rules and regulations, and it is a different matter.

There were some restrictions for the Olympic qualifier, but nothing was intimidating or interfering in the media’s work. There were knowledgeable, and also smiling, faces of young volunteers to help you out; those volunteers are mostly hockey fans, followers and enthusiasts. This created a healthy atmosphere against stony faced and clue less pros we encounter in Delhi WSH.

Further, there was professionalism when HI’s media officer send out training schedules in particular on time, and took pains to call you in person in case of minor changes. Every genuine need of the media was anticipated and attended to.

Never before media handled an international tournament as easily and efficiently as was the case with the Delhi Qualifier. Remember there were around 120 media persons were there to cover for about 9 days.

Against the backdrop comes this WSH shocker.

First, the organizers failed to understand the WSH is a local, domestic tournament, India had already had similar one, Premier Hockey League. The media has fair idea of their job, and will never go overboard. Though wider in approach, bigger in scale, WSH cannot be equated to an international event and expect national media in each centre.

However, it is disheartening to see so many barricades for media; even going to that extent of preventing media from interacting with players, and then belatedly coming out with what they call mixed zone, a new thing since the 2010 World Cup.

World Cup or Qualifier attracted national media, and restrictions of some kind are a must. It is absurd to equate WSH to those events. Denying media even their basic right to interact with players after the match is over, defies logic.

Restrictions for the semifinal and final, where good number of media is expected, is understandable and welcome, but the scale of restrictions in Delhi is simply bad in taste.

In my long career I have never seen, of all the persons, bouncers to manage media.

Wizcraft, a company that deals with film stars and related glamour events, may have them at their disposal, but that does not mean their services are wanted for hockey, not at least to protect the likes of Shakeel Abbasis and Raj Pal Singhs, whom we interact in every other day in India and abroad.

I don’t think media needs WSH, the fact is otherwise.

This is simply ridiculous and also a negative development insofar as an amateur sport like hockey is concerned. Stars are here, but they are humane, simple and never show off.

‘Bouncers’ is over-reaction, a wrong and undesirable thing, to say the least.

There are eight WSH centres. I have no idea of what happens in other places, but what is happening in Delhi is, distasteful. I don’t know how a big ticket event like WSH will keep its tempo for long without big time media support? Or, purchasing space and inserting column is what the WSH is satisfied with?

Its is really unprofessional for a television company that spends a fortune on its baby to promote, and then treat media the way they do in Delhi, and then expecting good coverage?

There were about 40 odd journalists on the first day of WSH in Delhi, and hardly half a dozen make it regularly now. Do you still need bouncers to manage them?

There is a huge groundswell of support for WSH among the media, as it feels the WSH is a boon for playing community. But the media did not get its rightful share in the joy as the WSH over-estimate istelf, act over-enthusiastically to curb media; behave like government babus.

Media management seem to be a blemish in an otherwise a grand spectacle called WSH.