Wasn’t it enough of a torture to spend first few weeks of my US visit in a business hotel, amid north jersey woods, that I had to punish myself watching American news channels? Or only paid channels are worth watching? With no paid services, I was left with Casey Anthony ( CA) . While the extent of child murder case in the United States came as a shock, the news readers’ demeanor left me in a paralyzing dismay. Their frequent quizzical gazes followed by their loud personal opinions while streaming the gradual progression of the trial was a pain to watch. What overwhelmed me the most, was the unwarranted advocacy journalism, which clearly reflected from the news presenter’s report. Spitting fire at the accused, Casey, who was yet to be declared a convict by the court, the news presenter affectedly, imposed her verdict on the viewers. Before the viewers could perceive the news and draw a conclusion themselves, which is their right, they have been fed with a bias. Not only that; to substantiate her idea, the news presenter brought in co- presenters to pitch a chat on their take at the story.
How overt can distortion get, than this? Passing off bloated news as objective reporting, the media infracts and modifies the potential of the news content. Who wants to know what a Fox News reporter thinks about a court order. Doesn’t his/her job end with the delivery of news without fear or favor? Or does it? Or sensational journalism has pervaded the television news room so deeply that they have started to believe that the common view of the world held by them is the only truth which prevails.
The western breeze has strewn thick the Indian airtime with similar code of media content. The result is a flared up story-telling business. The scene here is similar for Indian news channels which are solely driven by quantitative outcome rather than a qualitative one. With the liberalization in the 90s, Indian economy saw a boost in consumerism. The capitalistic economy infused fierce competition among satellite news channels. This along with other socio-economic changes also fostered the transition of Indian news-reading style and content, from what used to be a straight-faced and unbiased news delivery to current sensational and banal sermonizing. When asked, the news channels deemed this change worthy, claiming their existence reciprocal to the advertisements they get, which thrives on TRP. On the other hand, advertising agencies contest the claim by stating that the channels can restore their character and yet yield to the viewers.
It seems we have come too far to change anything. The social service aspect of media has faded out. The paradigm has shifted from delivering what matters to what’s happening. And news channels are no more confined to the job of delivering social, political and economic news. It has extended its borders to deliver entertainment packages for both young and old along with serious, non-serious issues dipped in their ready-to-serve sensational potion.
We see what is shown to us. We empathize with issues which the media deems critical to national democracy. We participate in talk shows which are media-orchestrated. We react to incidents which the media patronizes as national news. Recently the news of Anna Hazare’s protest against corruption was telecasted 24 x 7 in almost all the Indian news channels. The media profited from the impact of the crusade which followed for days. However, it’s a pity that stories like these are fluff in a pan unless the media decides to follow it. Such is the forgotten story of Irom Sharmila of Manipur, the woman who created a wave by fasting over a decade in a protest, demanding the shunning of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which delegates the army and paramilitary forces of Assam to force, shoot and arrest anyone under suspicion. One might argue about the impact of this protest, which is restrained to the North-East, compared to Anna’s nation-wide impact but the intensity of her protest surpasses any protests so far in independent India. She appeared in news like a flash and disappeared in the cauldron of such other crusade stories.
While pursuing my bachelor’s program, the journalistic guidelines enshrined in the books talked about objective reporting: most important criterion of a news report. Reporting news was about accuracy and fairness without any personal views. The purpose was to let the viewer decide. The grass is always greener on the other side. Unfortunately my stint with a national news channel taught me the basics of modern day journalism. Cover only what sells or sell in an attractive covering. The rule is to break all rules. Probably it was too much for me as a fresh graduate to gulp, so I quit and sought to question the mastermind instead.
