I remember as a kid we being taught in school that a vigilant media as a cornerstone of healthy democracy. As an impartial and vigilant watch-dog, the media is vital to maintain the accountability of the system, by reporting and highlighting the wrong-doings. As a true democracy, we had also pride ourselves on the fact of having an independent media setup which is ‘supposedly’ beyond the influence/control of the government.
I had also been very delighted the day, when the setup was opened for the private sector thus paving way for many ‘round-the-clock’ news-channels. For back then, I was craving for 24x7 feeds regarding the happening around the world rather than the bland 9-pm news bulletin. But retrospectively the voices of Ved Prakash, Sarla Maheshwari, Salma Sultan, Gazala Amin sounded honey over the current crop of ‘on top of the voice shouting’ journalist. At least presented in a plain-vanilla manner, we could rest assured that it was relatively authentic. There might have been no “breaking news” back then but one could trust the facts and figures.
This days, thanks to the competition or otherwise, there has been a mad rush to be first to break the news. And quiet often than none, in their pursuit for breaking news, we have been fed with faking news. Reporting exacerbated number of casualty in a tragic accident has been a common source of mis-reporting resorted by these channels. I fail to understand that whether they believe those numbers directly translate to TRP. Also the live feed of the ill famous terrorist attacks on Bombay made life worse for the NSGs who had staked their lives to save the lives of the hostages.
Another more absurd kind of journalism has been that of making news of nothing. I observe these being practiced especially by the Hindi News channel. Zee News and Aaj Tak have taken it to new levels. Such news items could be characterized by a big bold red banner which reads ‘Breaking News’ scrolling at the bottom. The naïve audience might be holding their breath only to read news like “Commisioner ki Billi Goom” or “Big B ko Bukhar chadaa”. Furthermore, it surprises me how can they stretch this topic into a full hour program. Such headlines being commonplace on these frequencies means that there must be some kind of audience existing which must been driving its TRP, however it puzzles me to predict their intellectual development.
I had also been very delighted the day, when the setup was opened for the private sector thus paving way for many ‘round-the-clock’ news-channels. For back then, I was craving for 24x7 feeds regarding the happening around the world rather than the bland 9-pm news bulletin. But retrospectively the voices of Ved Prakash, Sarla Maheshwari, Salma Sultan, Gazala Amin sounded honey over the current crop of ‘on top of the voice shouting’ journalist. At least presented in a plain-vanilla manner, we could rest assured that it was relatively authentic. There might have been no “breaking news” back then but one could trust the facts and figures.
This days, thanks to the competition or otherwise, there has been a mad rush to be first to break the news. And quiet often than none, in their pursuit for breaking news, we have been fed with faking news. Reporting exacerbated number of casualty in a tragic accident has been a common source of mis-reporting resorted by these channels. I fail to understand that whether they believe those numbers directly translate to TRP. Also the live feed of the ill famous terrorist attacks on Bombay made life worse for the NSGs who had staked their lives to save the lives of the hostages.
Another more absurd kind of journalism has been that of making news of nothing. I observe these being practiced especially by the Hindi News channel. Zee News and Aaj Tak have taken it to new levels. Such news items could be characterized by a big bold red banner which reads ‘Breaking News’ scrolling at the bottom. The naïve audience might be holding their breath only to read news like “Commisioner ki Billi Goom” or “Big B ko Bukhar chadaa”. Furthermore, it surprises me how can they stretch this topic into a full hour program. Such headlines being commonplace on these frequencies means that there must be some kind of audience existing which must been driving its TRP, however it puzzles me to predict their intellectual development.
Specifically, I haven’t been truly fond of Barkha Dutt. For me she is the most irritating, preposterous and to top it all most hyped up journalists. I despise her habit of only trying to hear from guests, what she wants to hear and then presenting it in total out-of-context manner. Especially her reporting during any sensational events is the epitome of nonsensical reporting, and I firmly believed the union should have at least gagged if not arrested her. Needless to say her involvement along with that of who’s who of the India media industry in the ‘Nira-Radia’ leaked tapes saga have cast serious aspersions over their tag of being the ‘watch-dogs’. It has clearly shown that they are much more than the newsreader that they are and their deeds are much more deep-rooted to the extent of influencing the power-centers in the government and the corporate alike. It doesn’t start or neither does it end with her. The list contains the familiar faces on TV viz: Sagarika Ghose, Prabhu Chawla etc. In fact the involvement of all the media barons irrespective of the logo they sport have helped them bury the whole issue without much malice.
Then there are other aspects of media with reports that news which isn’t reported by the majority or otherwise they cover it to the depth no other medium ever dared to wander unto. One notable example that pings my mind being ‘Tehelka’. It heralded onto the public domain with a bang thanks to the sting operation which literally caught many of the political honchos red-handed. Thanks to the alleged government apathy it soon fizzled out to a quarter of its original aura and in a totally different (read news weekly) form. They have a unique way of reporting in the sense that they touch upon previously unexplored levels of details. The extent is so widespread so as to itself raise doubts in my mind in regards to its authenticity. The minutely detailed articles almost seem to border on fiction and enough to cast aspersion in the mind of a rational reader/thinker.
Bottom-line, the unabated proliferation of media hadn’t served the actual purpose he is meant for. Their aim at putting a tab on the misdeeds of the government has been blatantly diluted for more selfish means. This so-called pillar has clearly overgrown the others which in turn has severely skewed our democratic setup. It’s high time that it’s trimmed back to its size. I don’t mean gagging of these new channels but it should be restricted till the extent of it being sensical and rational to the well-being of the society.
Then there are other aspects of media with reports that news which isn’t reported by the majority or otherwise they cover it to the depth no other medium ever dared to wander unto. One notable example that pings my mind being ‘Tehelka’. It heralded onto the public domain with a bang thanks to the sting operation which literally caught many of the political honchos red-handed. Thanks to the alleged government apathy it soon fizzled out to a quarter of its original aura and in a totally different (read news weekly) form. They have a unique way of reporting in the sense that they touch upon previously unexplored levels of details. The extent is so widespread so as to itself raise doubts in my mind in regards to its authenticity. The minutely detailed articles almost seem to border on fiction and enough to cast aspersion in the mind of a rational reader/thinker.
Bottom-line, the unabated proliferation of media hadn’t served the actual purpose he is meant for. Their aim at putting a tab on the misdeeds of the government has been blatantly diluted for more selfish means. This so-called pillar has clearly overgrown the others which in turn has severely skewed our democratic setup. It’s high time that it’s trimmed back to its size. I don’t mean gagging of these new channels but it should be restricted till the extent of it being sensical and rational to the well-being of the society.
