THE NATION DOESN’T WANT TO KNOW!

Good news for UPSC aspirants reading this. I have made some valuable notes of current affairs of August after following the News from television this past month.

1. Amitabh Bachchan had fried eggs with orange juice for breakfast on 3 August.

2. ‘Rhea ye tune kya kiya’ said sorry Babu to Sushant. [Very Important]

3. Salman Khan launches his sanitizer brand . [ Because why not]

Media for the past many centuries, since its inception has powered people with relevant information. In the age where people blindly believed in prophecies and myths , the media was the torch bearer for Renaissance around the world. Especially in India, when the Brits were maiming the Indians, media in the form of magazines such as Yugantar, Young India, Abhinav Bharat paved the way for enlightenment and progressive ideas. Media had given the power to the common man to think rationally, to form free opinions and to question the wrong. Also known as the fourth pillar of democracy, it has a rich history of emancipating people from darkness of slavery, misinformation and what not.

Contrary to the rich traditions and power of the media, the levels it has stooped down to in the contemporary world is an utter shame. News anchors believe in advocating their own agenda and circumlocuting on irrelevant topics. These anchors vilify whimsical news which the nation “doesn’t want to know”. Media houses need to ruminate on this issue as it has been observed that political influence has been juxtaposed with media outlets. Wanna hear pro BJP? Switch to Republic TV. Wanna hear pro Congress? Switch to NDTV. Young children know these media houses by their political inclination, not by quality journalism. Sycophancy and adulation of political parties have given birth to terms like Godi Media and Lutyens Media. If you follow the media, you are misinformed, if you don’t follow the media, you are not informed.

Rumours, fake news, political stunts, misinformation have become synonymous with the media.

News channels have become anchor centric rather than issue centric. Recent interview by an eminent journalist, Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai of Rhea Chakrobory, the prime suspect in SSR’s case was a clear example how news houses are TRP hungry. A person facing charges of abetment of suicide and drug consumption has been summoned by the news agencies, there is no point running a slander against the opposite party and clean the image of the suspect. Similarly, the Big Bully of Journalism , Mr Arnab Goswami, has no news except his pro BJP, pro Kangana, pro Sambit Patra news.

Problem is arising because of the 24 hour broadcast of news. This has driven news to be more opinion specific rather than issue specific. Not all news is covered and sometimes there isn’t any significant news , that’s why media houses beat around the bush. But now beating around the bush has become a trademark of anchors. To be honest I had never heard about CBD Oil MDMA before but thanks to the news I even know how to consume them

Another important underlying issue is the lack of reporters in various parts of India. How often do we hear news of our brothers and sisters in the Northeast? We must pay heed to improve this problem.

The profanity prevailing in these shows taints the image of the media further. Thanks to them , memers don’t have to search much for content . You know there is some problem when we have shows like Aap Ki Adalat where celebrities are called and the host acts as an advocate asking questions like “gaadi konsi chlate ho”? Using unparliamentary language, hurling acerbic remarks, rancorous debates all are synonymous with media. Media cameramen are worse than the wedding photographers who click your pictures while you relish your food in weddings. Close shots of relatives and friends of the dead and injured torn by grief and howling in sorrow, is also an intrusion in the privacy to which every individual as a human is entitled to, more so in a democracy. Media needs to inculcate ethics.

Revamping the media is the need of the hour. Just to gain TRP, anchors should not heckle celebrities without respecting their position. Media should have an eye for what is in the public interest and welfare before deciding to expose the private doings of public figures or intruding into the sacrosanct moments of private grief. Secondly, I feel there is a need for a subscription mode of media. Usually media houses are dependent on advertisements for revenues or through political funding*wink*. Subscription based media would emancipate themselves from the clutches of ads , revenue shortage etc. All these could act as the panacea for the ailing media.

This isn’t the journalism which is ethically doing any justice to journalism.