Media Mess
Posted : May 2, 2009 at 5:42 am [IST]
TV is today the most influencing of the media. Particularly the one that is live, and not recorded. It is difficult to change your version, unlike the news as heard or read. I wonder why Election Commission had to depend on the CD to verify Varun’s speech. It can put all the candidates under its own digital scanner during election time.
I have been watching NDTV both Hindi as well as English for long. For news, I hardly switch over to other channels. I love its debates- ‘The Big Fight’ and ‘We, The People’. However, sometimes, it pains me when I find something below the journalistic standard.
Recently I found NDTV promoter and a pretty well connected person such as Dr. Prannoy Roy repeating the news regarding BJP declaring Modi as the next Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP again and again. I don’t know why his reporters covering the press conference of Arun Shourie covering the press conference of Arun Shourie made it hot news. Dr. Roy would have seen the clip himself and firmed up his opinion.
Arun Shourie’s remark was very casual. He was in Ahmedabad and trying to impress the local Gujarati people. He had said, “You can make a PM from Gujarat by electing Advani. Moreover, if you wish even the next PM may be from Gujarat.” He wanted to excite the people and workers for making the win of Advani more secure. There is no doubt that Modi is one of the candidates. However, the party system will have to elect him out of all the equally good candidates for the post.
Why the media make fuss out of it? Why they should keep on giving views that the party is humiliating Advani by naming Modi as the next PM during election campaign. With Advani at 81, it is necessary that the party start tossing the names of the next possible PM candidate to get the feel of the nation and its allied parties so that the final decision is done smoothly. The right of a free press should not go for character assassination or damaging the career of an individual in public life. He may be destined to play a bigger role for the people and the nation, much bigger than a media man. Why should the press convict Modi? Let the court do it. Let the people do it. Interestingly, in an online poll by Times of India for a Dream Cabinet, Modi appears at number one as defence minister, at number four (just after Bajpai) as prime minister, at number three as home minister, and at number two as commerce minister just below Chidambaram.
The second instance of the NDTV’s excess was in the case of an interview of Barkha Dutt that was with Nitish Kumar, the JD (U) chief minister of Bihar. The question to Nitish was if he saw any possibility of his party shifting to any other front or Congress-led UPA if the post election situation demanded. Nitish was forth right, we have a pre-election alliance and I don’t think there is any reason to shift alliance. Barkha kept on trying to put a short sentence, ‘kal ko kaun dekha hai’ on Nitish lips. Nitish was smart enough. He never said anything rather he praised Advani a lot. I was surprised when he praised the statement of Advani about Jinnah for which Advani had to suffer a lot from his partymen. Why should a journalist of Barkha standing do that? Why should NDTV keep on speculating and making Nitish a politician of the order of Laloo who shifted from Congress fold to keep the door of possibilities open? The journalists may justify all these endeavours to come out with a hot headline; but it is in poor taste for any sensible man.
I fail to understand if NDTV showing the clips of 1984 or 2002 riots again and again serves any good purpose. Is it not the misuse of freedom of the press? Is it not a slow divisive poisoning of the illiterate public?
I wish the media avoid creating bias and mess.
- Indra
Category: Uncategorized, Industry/Management |
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