Notice the number of times your parents / grand-parents have told you that the Television is an 'idiot box'. I've always wondered whether it is correct to brand something so universally when it can be a source of entertainment and knowledge. But I realized how much wisdom our ancestors held when they uttered these two words, when I switched on IndiaTV and saw the following report :
Oh why not? Aliens have travelled billions of light years to drink delicious cow's milk on their long journey back!
And who can forget 'The Great Khali' - his loss became the breaking news in this (in)famous news channel. Incidently, a train got derailed that day, taking its toll of human lives and public property, and (not) surprisingly, IndiaTV chose the loss of great Khali to be their "breaking news"!
There are Bush Bloopers and then there is IndiaTV. One is harmless and humorous; the other spreads panic and fear psychosis. It thrives on the darker sides of people - fear, superstition, magic and supernatural. Being a Hindi news channel, the reach is wider as compared to other news channels. And when a "TV Channel" provides such information, people tend to believe. With a number of channels vying for TRP, there is cut-throat competition and a lot of them have gone the tabloid way. Their coverage and reportage of various news events tends to be often sensational and irresponsible.
In fact, a glance at their career section gives the following : INDIA TV, fastest growing news channel is looking for people who believe in justice and the power of truth. Who believe that every single evil existing in our society must be exposed and every single truth revealed. People who believe that there are many more battles to be fought, within our own society. Join India TV in its mission.
Bah!!! And they believe that they are 'exposing' aliens and revealing truths about ghosts on trees, tormented souls in wells and possessed witches in villages.
In fact, a glance at their career section gives the following : INDIA TV, fastest growing news channel is looking for people who believe in justice and the power of truth. Who believe that every single evil existing in our society must be exposed and every single truth revealed. People who believe that there are many more battles to be fought, within our own society. Join India TV in its mission.
Bah!!! And they believe that they are 'exposing' aliens and revealing truths about ghosts on trees, tormented souls in wells and possessed witches in villages.
And if IndiaTV takes the cake for toxic reporting, Star News (Hindi) takes the cake for frivolous reporting. Dig this...
This type of journalism is called Yellow Journalism - journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers.
In fact if these (and other) Hindi news channels are to be crucified, the English ones need not be crowned either.
Remember AbhiAsh wedding... every single news channel made this a HUGE affair - the BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING, if I may call it... I'm sure it is imperitive that every citizen knows what breed of horse did Abhi ride, what was the colour of Ash's mehendi, what kind of clothes they were wearing...
And of course, the Mumbai - Taj terror attacks. Every angle, every nook and cranny was covered by media persons - perching precariously on the roof-tops of adjacent buildings, reporting 'Live' the entry of our armed forces, the exact position of the army helicopters, the number of commandoes, the number of trapped victims rescued, which exits were unmanned, which vehicles were being used to take people to safety - the horror of it all was magnified manifold. Is it too far-fetched to think that the terrorists will use the media - television, internet - to glean information on the activities of the armed forces? Insensitive questioning by the likes of Barkha Dutt to the relatives and friends of trapped victims has come under intense criticism from all sections of society.
Our news media has become derelict in its obligation to the society to serve as a platform to voice citizen concerns and shape public opinion, and has lost its moral authority as a watchdog of the administration and establishment.
So what is the way out? The ideal solution would be regulation and censorship by the government / responsible body but this puts a serious curb on freedom of expression and could lead to interferences which are undesirable. The best way out then is self-regulation and self-censorship - a need for a complete restraint in the mindless chase of sensationalism and importance and focus on good journalism. It is, after all, one of the last and most influential and far-raching bastions of our democracy.
