One of the first things that they teach you in a journalism school is to be objective. News is meant to be reported, and not coloured with opinions. While in today’s world it is very difficult to present a news item without an opinion, a journalist is expected to try his best to present the most objective form of a particular news item. They also teach you to get it right, report the facts and offer balance. But in the quest for TRPs and sponsors, journalists – not just in India, but all over the world – are forsaking these principles.
India is the world’s largest democracy. And like in any democracy, the most important factor is an informed electorate. The people in a democracy are supposed to be aware of what’s happening around them, what their elected representatives are doing in the parliament, what are the policies that are being discussed and debated and how is all that going to impact their lives. It is the media’s job to keep us informed about all that and more. Media is often called the fourth pillar of democracy, and is possibly the strongest pillar. It has the power to increase awareness about various issues in a country and sometimes even influence a generation.The last few days however, have been the nadir of Indian journalism. We’ve had the Goswamis and the Sardesais falling down and resorting to yellow journalism.
A host of issues had been in focus recently. Let’s look at each one of them. Starting with the much covered ‘Jasleen Kaur – Sarvajeet Singh’ saga. I am not going to take positions on who is right and who is wrong, because I am not qualified to do so, and neither is the media, at least not without any concrete facts in hand. By calling the guy a pervert and shaming him on national TV, the media has mocked the whole judicial system. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? If the courts declare Sarvajeet Singh innocent, he should go ahead and file a defamation case against Times Now and Arnab Goswami.
The second incident was that of Indrani Mukerjea case. It was a classic case of a murder within a famous family with all the twists-and-turns that seemed to have attracted the media’s attention. In fact the media seems to be obsessed with the issue, running it 24×7 while ignoring other important issues. Arnab Goswami these days has dedicated his show ‘The Newshour’ to decipher the case and question the interrogation process. He doesn’t realize that the police officers, the detectives and the lawyers involved in the case are much more capable than him in handling it.
It’s not that these two cases shouldn’t be/have been reported. They certainly should be, but just not the way they were reported. In the first case, a media house has no right whatsoever to indulge in character assassination of an individual without first ascertaining that the person is indeed guilt. A craving for TRPs should not push these journalists to strip a person on the national television and destroy his entire life. In the second case, how’s the issue of national relevance? And does it deserve the attention it’s getting? Does finding out why or how Sheena Bora was killed make any difference to my life? Will it make me think about and alter my choices which I will be making in the next elections? No.
Journalists of these main stream media houses present themselves as honourable men doing a great service to this nation. They seem like the most rational people on the face of this earth. Yet they indulge in petty issues and jumping the gun. Most of all, they consider us to be dumb people whose opinions are so malleable that they can beat it anyway they want. They also think they can keep us engaged with all the trivial details of a murder. They are insulting us by not discussing many important issues instead, such as the OROP bill or informing us about the advantages & drawbacks of the GST bill, or what the government is doing and should be doing to reduce crimes against women.
The current form of media is certainly not what this great nation of ours deserves. It is time for a revolution in the Indian media, and it needs to happen now.
