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Resolve the GMOA strike

The United National Front Government continues to vacillate, something it is now famous for, while the public continue to suffer severe pain and hardship due to the current strike by the Government Medical Officers Association.

The crux of the problem is that the Government, without dealing with the salary anomalies as a whole, has been allowing it to fester.

Each time the G.M.O.A. has made a noise, some ad hoc, piece meal solution has been trotted out to buy time. But as in the case of a pain killer injection, when the effects wear off, the pain returns, often more severe.

This is the case with the salaries anomalies of the Government doctors. It is time the Government thought less of its pride and more of the long suffering people of this country, the silent majority. We stress that the GMOA, too, must always bear in mind that they are bound by the oath of Hippocrates.

We are also aware that salary anomalies in the health sector represent a tangled web which needs to be patiently and perceptively disentangled. It admits of no quick fixes and no other entity but the Government should take on itself the task of unravelling this conundrum which has hitherto defied resolution.

While, ideally, the medical officers need to remind themselves that they are making a mockery of their vocational duties by precipitiously wielding the strike weapon, the Government cannot, like Nero of old, fiddle unconcernedly while Rome relentlessly burns.

Although the present Government functions in a caretaker capacity, it, nevertheless, is duty-bound to govern and that too, effectively. However, the rash of strikes which is assailing us on a number of fronts prompts the question whether misgovernance is being winked at and anarchy encouraged. All this invokes the spectre of a country in a shambles.

It is our conviction that regardless of what the people's ruling would be in a few days time - that is April 2 - the Government is duty bound, by virtue of the fact that it remains the ruling entity - to resolve the GMOA strike before it takes a turn for the worse.

It is unfortunate that the rulers have a tendency to remain placidly until a crisis of this nature deteriorates further. Such was the case with the Railway strike which was allowed to drag on until the common people were put through a spell of deep torment. Some other strikes were resolved, ironically, not by the Government but the opposition - the CWE crisis being a case in point.

The point we wish to emphasise is that a Government cannot pass the buck on to other parties when a serious crisis assails the country. A Government cannot play politics - it has to govern or step down.

Testing times for media

Traditional news media are experiencing changes and challenges as they face competition from new media and entertainment options. Newspapers, magazines and television networks are losing audiences amid what experts call "an epochal transformation", according to a study released in the United States on Tuesday.

The report titled "The State of the News Media 2004" also noted a major expansion over the past decade of online media and specialised news outlets. "The answer we arrive at in 2004 is that journalism is in the midst of a transformation, as momentous probably as the invention of the telegraph or television," said the study compiled by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, of the Columbia University.

Although the study concentrated on the North American media scene, its conclusions are broadly applicable to other continents as well. Newspaper sales have declined in most countries as people look for 'instant' news on 24/7 satellite television. The proliferation of such satellite and cable channels has affected traditional television stations.

Most people leading busy lives have little time to read heavy articles in newspapers, which are increasingly turning to soft 'lifestyle and celebrity' content to hold on to their readership. Dwindling credibility is another factor - even prestigious newspapers such as the New York Times had to admit that star reporters made up some stories.

Moreover, high cover prices have driven readers away from newspapers in many regions where the cost of living is rising. Newspapers are often the first in the firing line as a 'non-essential' commodity that can be abandoned in favour of essential items. The reading habit itself is under threat in many countries as people go in for 'soft' entertainment that do not require any exercising of grey matter.

Faced with reduced circulation, many newspapers around the world have made cutbacks in newsroom staff and expenditure. This in turn reduces their ability to do justice to unfolding events.

The rise of the Internet has been a challenge as well as a blessing to newspapers. There are several Web-only news portals accessed by millions of online readers. They have the advantage of being up-to-the-minute, unlike print newspapers.

On the other hand, traditional newspapers have found a worldwide audience thanks to the Internet. It is too early to predict the possible demise of print media, but they will have to face a future with fluctuating fortunes.

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