Ergonomic Perspective to Media Occupation: Reference Northeast

Abstract

Occupational hazards are a mix of physical as well as mental pressures and it aggravates when freedom of work and expression is challenged with constraints. This reflexes adversely through various physiological characteristics. Working with mental satisfaction motivates towards perfection of tasks and productive performance. Media today has become such an occupation where two challenges are imposed upon the working journalists, one being the physical work environment and the other is being in constant pressure to sell their media content. Reference Northeast, though a known fact is the working conditions for journalists in the region are very harsh and safety measures are equally less. There is a constant pressure for the journalists to focus and highlight on stories of violence and unrest. These have become a popular media perception and culture of the state and outside. The mental pressure to thrive negative portrayal is also very high. Every individual journalist when confronted regrets the state in which the region is being and has been projected in the media for the people to know it as an unrest and violent place, unliveable. But in practice everyone follows the unsaid practice of following the popular culture reinforcing the prejudices and stereotypes about the region. This metal stress and anxiety off course, as opined, affects the working and productivity of the journalists in long run. This paper highlights need for ergonomics intervention, in terms of physical and cognitive workload of different nature in this field that has been transparent during a PhD thesis field survey on the practicing media personalities working in Northeast India.