Thursday, August 19, 2010
nothingsane: The Media Circus
nothingsane: The Media Circus: "Media-bashing seems to be the latest trend in town. Tune in to a news channel in a crowded pub and every table will offer an opinion about h..."
The Media Circus
Media-bashing seems to be the latest trend in town. Tune in to a news channel in a crowded pub and every table will offer an opinion about how the media is just a cooking pot of sensation today. Movies like Peepli Live throw the frivolous nature of television reporting at our faces while campaigns like HT preach about how it’s time to change the way news is presented.
The overall verdict seems to be that the mighty days of the pen are a thing of the past. Today, the pen and its wielders are mere rats in the race for higher TRPs. News is packaged in a manner more appropriate for an Ekta Kapoor serial than a source of reliable information.
Granted. But here’s the crux – Do we really want True Journalism?
Remember the DD days when the reporters merely stated facts? Would any of us actually watch that?
Who watches these so called entertaining news channels? We do.
Who prefers the cartoon strips to a well written editorial? We do.
Who laps up a spicy special on the hump(ty)-dump(ty) lifestyles of the rich and famous? We do.
And that’s what my point is. It’s always easy to blame the government, the politicians, the company, the people for anything and everything in life. The media is the latest victim of the “It’s always his/her/its fault” philosophy we have. Taking responsibility to change something is simply not our thing.
Speaking of change, the media has changed perspectives in recent years. The Jessica Lal case, the demand for gay rights, the Ruchika Girhotra Case (at least the initial buzz) were all brought to the forefront by the today ostracized media.
I am no fan of the media clan, but I do believe that the anti-media stance that the country seems to have taken is a tad bit unfair. If the media is a circus, we are the ringmasters – question is will we ask them to stay or jump?
The overall verdict seems to be that the mighty days of the pen are a thing of the past. Today, the pen and its wielders are mere rats in the race for higher TRPs. News is packaged in a manner more appropriate for an Ekta Kapoor serial than a source of reliable information.
Granted. But here’s the crux – Do we really want True Journalism?
Remember the DD days when the reporters merely stated facts? Would any of us actually watch that?
Who watches these so called entertaining news channels? We do.
Who prefers the cartoon strips to a well written editorial? We do.
Who laps up a spicy special on the hump(ty)-dump(ty) lifestyles of the rich and famous? We do.
And that’s what my point is. It’s always easy to blame the government, the politicians, the company, the people for anything and everything in life. The media is the latest victim of the “It’s always his/her/its fault” philosophy we have. Taking responsibility to change something is simply not our thing.
Speaking of change, the media has changed perspectives in recent years. The Jessica Lal case, the demand for gay rights, the Ruchika Girhotra Case (at least the initial buzz) were all brought to the forefront by the today ostracized media.
I am no fan of the media clan, but I do believe that the anti-media stance that the country seems to have taken is a tad bit unfair. If the media is a circus, we are the ringmasters – question is will we ask them to stay or jump?
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