At the risk of repeating myself, I subject you readers to yet another of those rants on the current state of journalism in our country. Despite the fact that 24 x 7 news channels have burgeoned faster than breeding bunnies, the scenario is more or less like our unplanned cities: ugly and disoriented.
They have reduced themselves to entertainment shows: some even report on hour to hour basis about entertainment channels. Such utter lassitude that they'd rather just walk into the next studio room and take the interview of the sweeper of the Indian Idol studio rather than get their microphones half way across the country and cover some really pressing issues. What's more is, one channel thinks of a brilliant idea to fuel their laziness the rest of the channels will follow suit with 'exclusive' pictures of the sweeper of Indian Idol studio copied from the first channel: so much for 'new'ness in news!
Of course, all that is old hat: but this is what really ticked me off. While we are quite familiar with the pettiness of journalists who ask 'Aapko kaise Lag raha hai' to folks who lost their families and homes in earthquakes; it is quite distressing to know that despite the source of pressing news (in this case the Chinese insurgence in Arunachal Pradesh) being handed to them on a silver platter by none other than Arun Shourie, they didn't bother to get their act together and make it exclusive. They'd rather hang around at hip socialite parties happening a mile away from their cozy Delhi studio, taste some 5 star food and catch some politicos brat smoking pot or as in this case Shilpa Shetty kissing away to glory! So much for covering ground breaking realities.
Furthermore, the apathy towards reality is compounded with the political leanings of these news channels. The 'serious' news channels are not supposed to be blatantly voyeuristic or sensational. So they'd rather pick out a political angle out of a piece of information only to reiterate that they are 'serious'. They are happy supporting the party in power or at times opposing it, simply to open a can of worms, when even their weather report has nothing new!
This is the 'truth' as doled out by the news channels: the geography of India comprises only 3 cities : Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. That is where 'true India' lives, kisses, dances, drinks pot, shines and dies. Every once in a while the news channels discover obscure villages like Kumbakonam where a Tsunami hits or Kargil where the Indian Army fights insurgency. These places miraculously disappear from the map of India once the sensationally tragic yet newsworthy events cease to grab eyeballs.
Now what is so newsworthy about the Chinese army blowing up a Buddhist statue in Indian territory: a few hurt Buddhists in Arunachal Pradesh that's all! It pales in comparison to monumentally significant events like the desecration of an Ambedkar statue in Delhi or a Shivaji statue in Mumbai. They are not going to go up in arms and burn taxis and buses, besides whose taxis and buses will they burn? Chinese?
On a different note: I really wonder why some political parties are fixated with the idea of incinerating public property to express their angst. Is it to reinforce a Hindu ritual like a Yagna? Still on this 'burning' issue: I really wonder what kind of a message Mr. Thackrey's party and we as a nation of petty warriors will be sending back to China which insists on swallowing up a whole Indian state, while we are still bickering over which Indian has the right to live in an Indian state .
Now that I am far away from the obnoxious Indian news channels, I try to look up what is happening back in India once in a while. But for the rest of the time I enjoy the onion : I think it presents far more realities than any news channel would be willing to divulge. What's more, it's entertaining. I wish they'd make one of these in India!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
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10 comments:
I always reconciled myself to the fact that the media always focused on crap on the basis that viewers decided what they wanted to see: ‘If the stupid public is only interested in idle gossip about “famous celebrities”, it is hardly fair to blame the media—they do as their customers demand.&rsquo
It turns out the public is interested. It's just that we're made to believe that everybody else is a vegetative moron. From the documentary Manufacturing Consent (based on Noam Chomsky's book of the same name), I realized that the media do serve their customers, but their customers are not we. They sell us to their real customers, the corporations. In other words, their content is the advertisements (from which they make their money), but they have to package this content with gloss so that as many people as possible are watching it.
So the people, who do care and care deeply, are systematically and systemically diverted from what they should be are interested in and fed what the advertisers think is best to keep them vegetative.
Fierce and incivisive .... and so really true ... its like all our politicians ,media and even the common man ... lost their way and living the page 3 life ...
Times of India, with news of Mrs. Rai-Bachchan's first Karva Chauth on the frontpage sells more copies than The New Indian Express with Arun Shourie's exclusives on the Chinese aggression & President Patil exposes. Agree with Syrup - the papers and channels are coaxing us to buy their colourful garbage - 24 hours of crap chewed, masticated and spit at us -Leftist crap, rightist crap and every crap in between. Sadly, there are takers for them all.
Chauvinists of all sorts who'd burn down cities and states for an Ambedkar or a Shivaji, but care a hoot for the people they hurt/maime/kill..people who see non-Mumbaikar Indians as aliens but would hardly bother about illegal immigrants from across the 'national' borders northeast - 've been around and will always be. It's a shame on our part we've let them rule the roost.
It's a business, after all and sadly, above all. The consolation, if any, is that the ones who care do go that extra mile to filter out weed for the real crop. It's not a crowd there.
Good post. Do keep them coming.
Pure business and the ethics along with it dictate what has to published with what importance. The public also enjoys the frills. Issue related news can be passe. After all, if "i'am not affected, then what the hell, let us carry on with our lives" be the 'buzz' then whom are we addressing all these to. Anyway, keep logging, maybe someday. sometime. Keep it up.
sigh*
... And that is why we've stopped watching television and logged on to the internet.
- Prasanna
Hello! You're not even in India now! I am so disgusted with the media circus that I've stopped watching the news channels and stick to the newspapers. That way I can simply avoid what I don't want to read!
P.S. You have comment moderation. Why on earth do you want word verification as well!!
KK, i have a question..What are you blaming the news channels for? Aren't they run by people? They are doing what makes them money...Do you think they would continue covering the Celebs and Party stuff when they stop selling?
And what exactly qualifies "your opinion of newsworthy" worthy of being shown by the channels?
wow --- even i have the same views about the media ... am gonna write my own version about this on my blog pretty soon
Keep up the good work.
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