Breaking News

I was watching the The News Now Overnight on Times Now. The News started at 11 pm, and now as I am typing this mail at 11:37 pm, i have heard just 5 classifications in the news:

Pak – War on Terror
Obama – I know i screwed up with my list of selected people in my team
People stranded in Borivali station because a train got cancelled
Shri Ram Sene and the fiasco on the pub on Mangalore
IPL 2nd edition mega auction

On this same day, TN went through a bandh in support of Sri Lankan Tamils.
On this same day, a quarter of a million Tamil civilians are continued to be caught up in crossfire.
On this same day, a girl fell into an abandoned borewell and rescued successfully.
On this same day, a tehsildar got arrested for trying to extort money for a land rights transfer.
On this same day, a major accident in TN killed 15/18 passengers in a pilgrimage passenger van.

The list will go on, of the actual news of the day.

This sort of takes away the interest a common man has to his immediate environment, though this is more interesting to watch than a strike in Chennai. I recollect that I haven’t seen one neutral bit of reporting in a long time. Many people who watch News for the News will know.

Sensationalism in Journalism is becoming menace increasingly in our country. A few years down the line, no one will remember what the News is meant to tell listeners.

Take the media in TN now.

Dinakaran, Sun TV, Kalaignar TV, their allied channels are owned by people aligned to the DMK – one will not see any information on anti Govt. issues
Jaya TV, Raj TV are aligned towards the ADMK – one will not see pro Govt. News
Makkal TV is PMK – you will find a mix of all things except news
Star Vijay – Neutral – No news, sadly

Media has become a dumping ground for money, power and vested interest. When one listens to the good old DD News, one is amazed at the spectrum of things one ends up digesting. Believe me; you still will get good, simple, unadulterated NEWS.

Times Now focuses on Anti Terror.
NDTV on Politics
CNN IBN on controversies and talk shows, citizen journalism and mini debates

No one actually says what happened and just that, for the viewer to frame his own perception of the justifications and morals.

I saw a viewer SMS poll on a News Channel a few days back – “Do you think Pakistan will reject India’s 26/11 Terror Dossier? SMS Yes or No.” And the News program featuring the round up of the day featured the result “80% Yes, 15% No and 5% Neutral”.

Now anyone who is not in his sixth round of whisky will be able to tell what this poll is trying to do. How can a common man – of the classic, bully Mob – judge what Pakistan will do? Does he know what India has sent? If so, they are provable, with judicial, forensic efficacy?

The thing that this poll did was to polarize the common man a bit more against Pakistan, with covert influence on a religion, its culture and its practitioners.

I don’t mean to say that these channels mean harm to the nation. They are number driven like a Tata, DLF or an Airtel. People must be made to watch the program. Incentives, motivations and a little tweak here and there, does it for them.

If there is one social evil that needs to be addressed with urgency, it is in the media. This evil will make our people ignorant, complacent and more worried of Barak Obama than a political murder or a robbery in your very own locality.

News need not be told by so many channels, in so many fancy ways. Truth is just the Truth and ideally every version of it must mean and intend the same. But alas.....

Will our people stop activism against politicians and start it against the Indian media? Good media coverage and not TRP can screw social evil, corruption, flesh trade, drugs forever.

Politicians are spoiling our today and the News our future generations.