The offices of a prominent News Channel was attacked and vandalized this week. Doesn't it make you think Mr. Managing Director of the Channel, that in your greed for TRP ratings, you made a molehill of a man into a mountain? So why are you surprised that the illusionary mountain dared to take on you now?
Hope this is a lesson to you and your kinsmen in the media, that for your good health exercising a lot of discretion while covering certain elements would be a good idea.
14 comments:
So you think beating up people, taking law into ones own hands, being vigilantes and a law unto themselves is a great idea? There is something called Freedom of Expression and media has that freedom, if someone does not like it, one must approach lawfully. No has the right, whether the news channel was right, wrong, TRP or anything else, no one has the right to barge in and do what these Manoos right wingers did. There can be no justification for terrorism. This is a fine example of it.
Capt Anup: What I am trying to say is that before the advent of electronic media, the print media gave scant attention to these parties. They remained a two bit outfit. Now the elec media gives them wide coverage for all their activities thus emboldening them and that has seen the hydra headed growth of these factions with nephews and grandsons jumping into the fray. Discretion has been thrown to the winds for TRP. The elec media is in a way responsible for the growth, aggression and feeling of self importance of these people.
hmm the chickens have turned into vultures and come home to roost. Nice post.
@ Capt. Anup, I condemn the attacks but I still endorse the views of Ms. Silverine. Almost all the channels are into such unethical and immoral activities for increasing their ratings. We have so many examples on our hand from local and national media ranging from the ISRO Espionage scandal to the recent India-China war hoax. The media managed got away with all these thereby destroying the lives of many a people. What goes around comes around, and these channel guys may better realize that.
In Bangalore a 14 storied apartment u/c by a leading builder collapsed a few months back and a few lives were lost. One dead body was laid on the nearby Railway track to make it look he died that way. No media, visual or print reported that. Why? And didn't you hear the reports about the way the channels and newspapers sold their slots to each political party during the recent Maharashtra elections? Well, if this is the way media in our country plan to move forward then they may better gear up for more of this...
And I'm sure there will be more voices like this blog springing up in future. Not because people support violence but to instill some sense of decency in the 4th estate.
adding on... these Shiv Sena miscreants ought to be locked up and their leader also shown that he is not above the law. This is an opportunity for the Govt to take matters into their own hands instead of sitting meekly in a corner. The Thackareys have so far got away with blue murder and things will only become worse if the authorities keep on closing their eyes towards such unlawful acts...
Thanks for the clarification. I agree with your assessment. Maybe the media has created the Frankenstein that is now backfiring on them. I guess that is reality today. Channels have mushroomed to the point where there is competition for viewership. Hence their need to cover parties led by goons and those shameful chaps who beat up girls in public and got away. In this case, the media protested a bit, the politicos made appropriate sound bites, the right wingers stuck to their ground and things probably back to normal. What a circus, isn't it?
Capt Anup: No problemo. I knew that you had misunderstood the post. It is pretty vague! :) And that Frankenstein theory is absolutely correct.
Merill; Well summarized! You a journo or something? :)
scorpiogenius: Thank you! And wow that information had me seething and makes me feel that perhaps this rap on the knuckles was timely for the media. And you are right. This is an opportunity that is ripe for the picking. The govt should cash in the opportunity and put the mole hill into the slammer.
@scorpiogenius, we still do not know much about the 26/11 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus attack. Because no one from the media went there.
Good point well made!
J~
@ Prakash, the whole contingent was reporting live at the Taj for 3 days, how much more do you know about it than the CST attacks? We know how the terrorists entered CST, who were they and how many killed in the attack..How much more did we learn from the media coverage @ Taj other than watching the live war in TV?
Our knowledge about 26/11 is based on the official investigation reports and not on speculation by the media.
And this is not a discussion about the usefulness of the media but about the unfair policies adopted by them.
Thanks...
But what else will the electronic media survive on, after claiming to be 24x7 and such?
Actually this vandalism is worth it. What else can give the media more sensationalism? What else can give the dying Sena more publicity and visibility? And both parties got what they wanted. More coverage means more public images and lasting imprints on people's minds for both sides. The media and Sena will live on as they know that people will fall for these kind of incidents and they are right. We, the common people, will discuss and continue to discuss and make their lives easier. That's it.
A not entirely unrelated article:
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/22/stories/2009112250130300.htm
In accordance with the title:
The hyping of goondas, a form of celebration of crime, is a part of the century old practice of Yellow journalism. To me it is a bit surprising that the practice is not as old as the modern era newspaper itself. But I suspect it is, and only the specific term may have been coined in late 19th century.
Exaggeration is a natural human tendency. It is the source of great humour, great tragedy, and perhaps what makes life worth celebrating at all. The journalists behind newspapers and newstelevision(c) are just as human, and hence, as susceptible to the different forms of exaggeration that detract from the informational value of newspapers. Whether this is condoned or shunned by its readers is what will ultimately determine the quality of a newspaper or newstelevision. In other words, a newspaper or newstelevision is only as good as its readers. If TRP ratings go up when news channels constantly air goondaism, terrorism, and other crimes, or entertainment channels air bizarre reality shows, it is a reflection on our society, and our choices. While I agree with you wholly that it is also the responsibility of journalists to act responsibly, an intelligent public that shows refinement in sensibilities can help the process of reformation of our media.
p.s: I highly recommend the 1976 movie 'Network'.
@scorpiogenius
Unrelated but could not resist posting this when ISRO espionage case was mentioned.
Read the book
http://www.indiadefence.com/opsec.htm , the media was over reacting then on this story but some insider account on the whole investigation. I still believe there was some kind of fire behind those smoke.
Ramesh
J: Thanks mate! :)
Emmanuel: I have to disagree a bit here. The channel suffered a lot of losses and only their news feed publicized the event after the first day.
Karthik: That first link more or less puts the whole thing in perspective. Sigh. Thanks for the other reads.
Ramesh: Interesting read! Thanks!
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