Boxes And Arrows : The Design Behind the Design

Article Idea:

Where jouralism has gone

suggested by Neeraj Jha on 2007/09/05

I was watching television the other day and I was shocked, appalled, shaken with the all the negative connotation that you can put on it. It was not long before when I used to think that ‘Daily Soap operas’ are the worst thing that ever happened to the idiot-box. But no, how pathetically was I wrong. Today’s “Hindi” news channels are way ahead in grossness to these glamorous looking, ugly dumb serials. Gone are days when journalism was treated as an ethical profession with a sole purpose of highlighting the truth to the society. Today‘s journalism is guided with Target Rating Points commonly known as ‘TRP’ rather than facts. Media people are running frenetically to gain TRP. The outcome is that we have pounded with numbers of sleazy news channel with a sole purpose to seduce the viewers. If sex sells then why only in cinema, why not in reporting, retorts media people.

It‘s not very long that private news channel got hold on the Indian television industry. Thanks to the government liberalized policy. However, things got bad to worse. Earlier you got biased’ Doordarsan’ which showed what government wanted to show. Now after privatization it’s the other way round, you see what you want to see (read between the lines, it means mostly sex or gossips). One thing which always suffers for sure is journalism, the poor journalism. What people tend to forget that one of the fundamental axioms of journalism, which is “freedom along with responsibility”. As a journalist this is equally important as what to show or report and what not to report. How does your prime time coverage of “whether Aishwarya Rai is pregnant or not” fits the bill of a progressive and responsible journalism. Freedom to journalism comes with immense responsibility and if your work focus on freedom sans responsibility, you should be better off none.

The problem is not that serious that it cannot be rectified. Beyond doubt the news channel has done some good things also. But do not overdo it. As an Indian we always overdo things. We make Sachin GOD when he plays well, and then paint him black and burns his effigies if he does the opposite. And for god’s sake please do not call your sleazy intentions to lure viewers as an’ Investigative Journalism’. Journalism invariably reflects a society and a country as whole. Please be little more conscious of what you are doing, a little awareness in you can reap rich dividends to the society.