This is an issue that really has been irking me over the past few months. There's no doubt that over the past 7-8 years, the rate at which 24x7 news channels have sprung up on our television screens has really taken the media scene in India by storm. Politicians, celebrities, sportspersons...everyone is under scrutiny like never before. There's hardly ever a moment in a day when u dont see the phrase "Breaking News"/"News Flash"/"Taaza Khabar" blazing across your TV screen, causing you to stare with rapt attention at the alphanumeric characters rolling across the bottom of the screen and interpret what the latest the world has to offer u is.
But for quite some time now, certain news channels have caught my eye for all the wrong reasons. I must admit, I love watching news channels almost as much as I love watching football...and whenever I switch on the TV, as a routine, a brief scan of the available sports channels is immediately followed by a skim of all the news channels for the latest happenings around us. But the sight that really irritates me during this process is that of some channels, particularly Hindi news channels, showing absolute rubbish which they proclaim proudly as "Taaza Khabar!!". I apologize for being biased in this regard, but one cannot argue the fact that such stories can only be seen on a group of channels, and all these channels happen to be Hindi channels. Let me give you an example. One of the news stories that I came across on a couple of these channels was that of "The Great Khali", an Indian wrestler in the famous WWE (formerly known as WWF). This guy is a monster, standing at more than 7 ft. tall and weighing 400 odd pounds. He seems to be making a huge impact among the wrestling audience in the US, and the news channels here have used the huge popularity of the WWE in India for advancing their "TRPs", so to speak. They carried a huge exclusive on the guy, proudly calling him "an ambassador of our nation" and describing how he is a prime example of Indians achieving success abroad. Now, I do not refute the fact that he is successful and that he has achieved a lot in the WWE. But, really, is this the best example they could garner? A WWE wrestler who is where he is just because he is "genetically unique", and not because of his Indian origin?? I can name a hundred other Indians who deserve that time and space on the screen for their achievements abroad. There are far more inspiring success stories out there than a guy who screams gibberish into the microphone and leads everyone into believing he's speaking Hindi!
This is just one example....one keeps seeing more and more such stories cropping up day-by-day and hogging our screens. How can I forget the infamous Kareena-Shahid kissing episode that was shown so distastefully on a particular news channel that it made me sick to my stomach. People, did it never occur to you that you don't have to show an ID card and prove you are 18 to watch television?? Do you not realize that news stories do not carry PG certificates with them?? I shudder to think what would have happened if a cute little kid was channel surfing that day, and came across these graphic pictures. Then he calls his mother and asks her in the most innocent of tones, "Mummy mummy, yeh log kya kar rahe hai???" How could that mother respond?? Imagine her dismay!
This is a sincere appeal to the media, not just in our country, but all over the world....stop behaving like a greedy business house and realize your role in society. Try not to take advantage of the weaknesses of certain sections of the audience, and show them what they should be shown, and not necessarily what they want to be shown. You guys are responsible for making us responsible citizens, please do not digress from that endeavour!
Until the next...
-Ari B
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1 comment:
I wanted to take up this topic, nonetheless a good post by Arvind.
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