Breaking News !!!

The last few years have seen a surge in the number of News Channels in India. A free press and an independent, unbiased media augur well for a prospering economy and a vibrant democracy like India. But with the increasing competition in the sector and the race to be the fastest to report, there are some things that one can’t help noticing. It seems to be a case of quantity with very little quality.
In a nation having more pressing issues like poverty, illiteracy and unemployment there needs to be balance of how much air time a wardrobe malfunction, a celebrity wedding or for that matter hospitalization of some actor, gets. The shooting of a politician leader by his sibling no doubt requires coverage, but isn’t it taking it too far, when you have ‘panel discussions’ on whether sibling rivalry is damaging the family culture n ethos of the Indian Society!!!
A lot of News channels seem to be doing everything but serious issue based news reporting. Hour-long crime Bulletins with dramatization, at times seemingly pointless discussions on cricket matches ..where are we going ??? The so-called cases of investigative journalism are flashed over and over for a couple of days but we never know what happens after some time. This at times raises suspicion on the true intentions behind these exposés. Would be interesting to see how many channels have programs to follow up their own exposes.
We do have some responsible channels but again how many times does farmer suicides, or success stories of some initiatives at grass root level find mention on the prime time slot. Although there a few responsible channels with excellent programs, the viewers deserve a lot better.

There could be an argument that the audience needs a different packaging or the Channels need stuff to pack in those 24 hours. But it is hard to believe that we either do not have enough meaningful material or the viewers prefer sensationalism. And even if it’s the choice of a viewer to switch over channels, it’s really for the media fraternity to have a reality check. The media has a tremendous reach and impact and can be a more effective tool for some social change.
A more transparent and exhaustive mechanism to evaluate TRP ratings might give the media houses a feedback on where they need to change. The day they get a run for their money in terms of Adv-spending, we should expect some improvement. It would be a good idea to have some kind of a watchdog or regulating body like Press club of India to address excesses by the electronic media. (There is a talk about some new law for censorship on electronic media, but from whatever’s been reported about the draft, its seems to give too much control to the government babus)
Irrespective of the political leanings of a particular media house / Channel (which are anyways well known), it’s only fair to expect basic responsible behavior when it comes to matters of certain social issues and matters of governance. Hopefully competition would bring improvement in the future and we would be spared of the race for the breaking news!!!

What can I do ?

A son of a widowed mother, husband of 9 months pregnant lady, a fatherly figure for a younger brother there he was lying on the hospital bed with a broken leg and stitches on the head, the face --- And as I stood there besides him that Saturday evening , the seriousness of it all struck me. Talking to him, I could make out that he was very lucky - a miraculous escape considering the fact that he was in one of those 7 compartments! Things could have easily been very very different and far more tragic. I shuddered at the thought of how many families and friends have lost their sons, brothers, and father.

It filled me with anger and frustration -- anger at what wrong have all these innocent people done. why do they have to suffer and frustration at not being able to contribute something worthwhile to help out (or rather not being able to figure out what to do)

Then there's a talk about the Spirit of Mumbai. No doubt it was wonderful to see people helping out strangers in this moment of crisis. But to say that the city is so resilient that it got back to action the next day looks like glorification/ romanticism. Its more about the lack of choice - people have to work to earn the daily bread, the hawker, the businessman , auto-driver cannot afford not going to work and the trains are still the fastest way of commuting. This talk about Spirit of Mumbai, might just shift the focus from those who need to be held accountable and answerable - the government, the intelligence agency, and the police. How are the families who lost the sole bread winner going to cope up? The monetary compensation might help in the short run, but the vacuum which is created by the loss of a near and dear one is impossible to fill!!

Although I strongly feel that each one of us can contribute to make things better, I still have no clue ..where to start ...I am still thinking....

The Second beginning

It's almost a year since I joined the bloggers club.....and the second post hasn't' come through.
Quite a few topics on which I started writing, scribbled ...but never keyed them down, infact I could write something on "Things I'd like to blog about". Meanwhile, at office one my colleagues came up with an idea of a Team Magazine - Darpan ,it's in a Powerpoint format with team-members contributing write-ups, book/movie reviews, photographs and other trivia. I was an active (was I ?) member of the team and did pen down some things. I'll prolly re-produce some of those here .....but for the second beginning...something which I happened to write after the Mumbai Serial Train Blasts - unfortunately one of my college buddies, one year senior to me, was travelling on one of the ill-fated trains !