Recent times have seen the progressive degradation of the kind of news that is published every morning, noon and night. The headlines in the major papers in the city have become the various escapades of Shilpa Shetty, the Abhi-Ash wedding, the performance of Indian cricket team, the sensational news like Nithari case, the Jessica Lall case, and the Nitish Katara case and so on. This is not to minimize the contribution of the media to bringing justice to the deserving. But the questions is that is this the only kind of news that a common Indian is interested in?
The media has gone the bollywood way. Most of the news is more becoming more and more sensational and promoting fantasy. One of the most common justifications heard is that the ‘we give the people what they want’. I would like to counteract this by saying that we would ‘start’ wanting whatever is fed to us. Yes, we have the option of changing the channel but almost all the news channels are showing the same kind of news again and again and all over again.
The Indian masses and classes have demonstrated that we are very easily impressed by bollywood and the television entertainment media. The impressive impact of this media needs no mention. It’s very apparent. The parents take pride in their children imitating the ‘superstars’. The ‘watching movie in the theatre’ is back with the bang, the quality of cinema has changed. We are not only impressed by what goes on the screen but we also show active interest in the lives of the ‘superstars’ but we like them as only Page 3 or the entertainment section. Is it really healthy news to impinge into the privacy of the rich and famous? Does it not promote actions on the part of the superstars like the one at Tirupati where the devotees made to stand for hours because the Bacchan family was media is much appreciated not only in India but they are also made good impact on abroad too. Serials like the Laughter Challenge, Antakshri, Indian Idol, Boogie Woogie are platforms for the common man to show their talent and are much appreciated too.
The masses and the classes have grown and the Media should wake up to the fact that the news that is being published will finally govern the entire thinking patterns of the classes and more so the masses. The education of the masses of India is more important in a country like India which is growing and developing. The ‘superstars’ are the creation of the print media. Take the Sunday Times of May 13, 2007 for example. Today being the mother's day all you can find are the faces of celebrity mothers staring out at you. There is an entire column on how celebrity mom's think is the best way to inculcate Indian value in children. Aren’t we just promoting the fact those celebrities know the best? Wouldn't it have been better to have printed the views of a child psychologist, taken the views of a mother who has dealt with situations like death of their husbands in the prime of their lives and their trials and triumphs and the success of motherhood?
In the more recent times the media has applied the right kind of pressure to bring justice to the now famous judicial cases. It is commonly believed that Rang De Basanti prompted the first public outcry in the Jessica Lall case. And the print media took over from there and the masses and classes moved in step. Despite the fact that the print media is a very strong media, perhaps what is lacking is perhaps a proper direction, a lack of drawing lines and adhering to those lines. Channels like NDTV have discusses these issues very effectively. So hopefully the print media would recognize their strength and make true the saying – ‘Padhega India, Badhega India’. Can we hope that the Print Media will take over the reigns over from The Entertainment Media to shape the thought patterns of the Young India?
Here I would like to pose a question to the common man whether it can prompt the print media to deliver news which they want to see and hear? Are we also not responsible for the kind of turn that the print media has taken?
The media has gone the bollywood way. Most of the news is more becoming more and more sensational and promoting fantasy. One of the most common justifications heard is that the ‘we give the people what they want’. I would like to counteract this by saying that we would ‘start’ wanting whatever is fed to us. Yes, we have the option of changing the channel but almost all the news channels are showing the same kind of news again and again and all over again.
The Indian masses and classes have demonstrated that we are very easily impressed by bollywood and the television entertainment media. The impressive impact of this media needs no mention. It’s very apparent. The parents take pride in their children imitating the ‘superstars’. The ‘watching movie in the theatre’ is back with the bang, the quality of cinema has changed. We are not only impressed by what goes on the screen but we also show active interest in the lives of the ‘superstars’ but we like them as only Page 3 or the entertainment section. Is it really healthy news to impinge into the privacy of the rich and famous? Does it not promote actions on the part of the superstars like the one at Tirupati where the devotees made to stand for hours because the Bacchan family was media is much appreciated not only in India but they are also made good impact on abroad too. Serials like the Laughter Challenge, Antakshri, Indian Idol, Boogie Woogie are platforms for the common man to show their talent and are much appreciated too.
The masses and the classes have grown and the Media should wake up to the fact that the news that is being published will finally govern the entire thinking patterns of the classes and more so the masses. The education of the masses of India is more important in a country like India which is growing and developing. The ‘superstars’ are the creation of the print media. Take the Sunday Times of May 13, 2007 for example. Today being the mother's day all you can find are the faces of celebrity mothers staring out at you. There is an entire column on how celebrity mom's think is the best way to inculcate Indian value in children. Aren’t we just promoting the fact those celebrities know the best? Wouldn't it have been better to have printed the views of a child psychologist, taken the views of a mother who has dealt with situations like death of their husbands in the prime of their lives and their trials and triumphs and the success of motherhood?
In the more recent times the media has applied the right kind of pressure to bring justice to the now famous judicial cases. It is commonly believed that Rang De Basanti prompted the first public outcry in the Jessica Lall case. And the print media took over from there and the masses and classes moved in step. Despite the fact that the print media is a very strong media, perhaps what is lacking is perhaps a proper direction, a lack of drawing lines and adhering to those lines. Channels like NDTV have discusses these issues very effectively. So hopefully the print media would recognize their strength and make true the saying – ‘Padhega India, Badhega India’. Can we hope that the Print Media will take over the reigns over from The Entertainment Media to shape the thought patterns of the Young India?
Here I would like to pose a question to the common man whether it can prompt the print media to deliver news which they want to see and hear? Are we also not responsible for the kind of turn that the print media has taken?
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