CHANGED EQUATIONS OF THE GAME
Do you know the profession which can get you the maximum focus in the country today? Well, let me tell you that it is not one of those traditional favourites viz. bureaucrats, doctors, engineers etc. Times have changed and in the sixty plus years of this independent country's journey, apart from the three major pillars of the government i.e., the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the fourth pillar seems to have grown by leaps and bounds. From the one and only Doordarshan to limitless news channels today, this fourth pillar "MEDIA" has assumed such humongous position that the power equations have undergone massive changes. If you have got it by now, the job of a Television Journalist is, in fact, the one which can shower you with unimaginable light and vision.
It is true that with the advent of 24*7 media, the awareness levels among the masses have seen enormous jumps. Accountability has assumed new dimensions today. But, as every positive action is inadvertently followed by a negative one, media too perhaps has crossed its contours. Although, today, Parliament does not function as per the norms laid out in the constitution, we have pseudo-Parliaments located in the studios of these news channels. Funnily enough, the people who are supposed to debate it out in the Parliament make the most of these designed opportunities. What is interesting to note here is the insurmountable role of the presenter in the discussions. Lights, camera, action...and the camera invariably focuses its gaze on the most important object, the presenter who predominantly starts the discussion with a preconceived notion surrounding the concerned burning issue (It's an irony though that every other news item is now either breaking or burning). For the next half an hour or so, the anchor takes recourse to paraphrasing the same thing over and over again. Further,
He decides who speaks, who does not...He decides who speaks for how long and in what order...he decides whose words to cut short and when...he decides what conclusions to draw from each of the so-called panelist's words, he decides what the eventual verdict of the jury is....He is the new bond- the JANK Bond.
The discussions are orchestrated in such a manner that screaming, howling, bawling, bellowing, screeching are bound to find their designated places. From the role of the presenter, he swaps his role to that of an adjudicator (the only thing missing from his kit is the hammer used by judges to maintain decorum in the house...with times to come, the hammer might also figure in his paraphernalia ). At the end of it all, what happens is nothing but irrational glorification of the all-knowledgeable presenter. These bizarre discussions are not a matter of a day or two. Rather, this is the daily scheme of things. The keen and the vigil viewer is left wanting for more. He tunes on to these channels every other day with a hope that things might change. But alas, not all hopes are realized.
The question is-
Do these presenters undertake sufficient homework for the cacophonous war of words?
Do they truly deserve the light and attention nestled on them?
Is it time to strip these chancellors of their contrived feathers?
Do you know the profession which can get you the maximum focus in the country today? Well, let me tell you that it is not one of those traditional favourites viz. bureaucrats, doctors, engineers etc. Times have changed and in the sixty plus years of this independent country's journey, apart from the three major pillars of the government i.e., the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the fourth pillar seems to have grown by leaps and bounds. From the one and only Doordarshan to limitless news channels today, this fourth pillar "MEDIA" has assumed such humongous position that the power equations have undergone massive changes. If you have got it by now, the job of a Television Journalist is, in fact, the one which can shower you with unimaginable light and vision.
It is true that with the advent of 24*7 media, the awareness levels among the masses have seen enormous jumps. Accountability has assumed new dimensions today. But, as every positive action is inadvertently followed by a negative one, media too perhaps has crossed its contours. Although, today, Parliament does not function as per the norms laid out in the constitution, we have pseudo-Parliaments located in the studios of these news channels. Funnily enough, the people who are supposed to debate it out in the Parliament make the most of these designed opportunities. What is interesting to note here is the insurmountable role of the presenter in the discussions. Lights, camera, action...and the camera invariably focuses its gaze on the most important object, the presenter who predominantly starts the discussion with a preconceived notion surrounding the concerned burning issue (It's an irony though that every other news item is now either breaking or burning). For the next half an hour or so, the anchor takes recourse to paraphrasing the same thing over and over again. Further,
He decides who speaks, who does not...He decides who speaks for how long and in what order...he decides whose words to cut short and when...he decides what conclusions to draw from each of the so-called panelist's words, he decides what the eventual verdict of the jury is....He is the new bond- the JANK Bond.
The discussions are orchestrated in such a manner that screaming, howling, bawling, bellowing, screeching are bound to find their designated places. From the role of the presenter, he swaps his role to that of an adjudicator (the only thing missing from his kit is the hammer used by judges to maintain decorum in the house...with times to come, the hammer might also figure in his paraphernalia ). At the end of it all, what happens is nothing but irrational glorification of the all-knowledgeable presenter. These bizarre discussions are not a matter of a day or two. Rather, this is the daily scheme of things. The keen and the vigil viewer is left wanting for more. He tunes on to these channels every other day with a hope that things might change. But alas, not all hopes are realized.
The question is-
Do these presenters undertake sufficient homework for the cacophonous war of words?
Do they truly deserve the light and attention nestled on them?
Is it time to strip these chancellors of their contrived feathers?
Over time the desired desiderata of "MEDIA" has been suffering from the undesired but inevitable evolution of ethical shortcomings and propelled by a single market mantra of "shameless selling strategy". Negligibly small existence of exceptional expertise always resides in the penumbra of hyped foci of publicity but they still do serve the very purpose of MEDIA( Meticulous Effort to Deliver Information of Actuality).Wish them all the best.
ReplyDeleteraju