A few years back, a Ram Gopal Varma’s movie “Rann” brought a very controversial topic on to the celluloid. The movie was a flop, but it brought forward (probably for the first time on screen), the political parties and Media nexus. Now when I look back and dissect the news that is broadcast 24*7*365, I cant agree more with the subject. “Will we ever know the Truth?” is really the topic of the day. Are we made to believe what is in the better interest of the people behind these news papers and channels, who are none other than the businessmen and the politicians themselves! Though “Rann” presented an over-exaggerated version of the media-politics nexus, its not hard to miss the point, when you closely follow each of the 24*7 news channels as to what their political affiliations are!
Not too long ago, people happily relied on the DD news. It was plain and simple. Had a fixed pattern. Local news, followed by national, international, business, markets, sports and weather news. There was so much to cover in that 30 mins to 1 hour, that there was room only for plain simple news reading rather than any emotions!
There were no Barkha Dutts or Arnab Goswamis or Rajdeep Sardesais, who now seem to gain popularity not on the content of the news, but how they make the news “saleable”. They derive fan following by getting their viewers emotionally charged up! The point really is, are these high profile journalists, anchors and editors really neutral? Are the current 24*7 news channels present things in the same matter-of-factly ways as the news should ideally be presented.
With the advent of 24*7 channels, one would have expected that every thing under the sun would be covered in detail. And why not, there is so much of time to get both breadth and depth of the news covered. But is it really happening? The 4 southern states and 7 North Eastern states hardly get any coverage. It appears that the news channels are all Delhi-centric and they are cutting costs by avoiding Travel Allowances by asking reporters to pick news in and around Delhi area or at most the “Hindi-Speaking” belt! Is it worth nearly 20 channels (Hindi & English put together) showing a Maharashtra’s political Supremo’s cremation non-stop from morning 6 A.M. to night 10 P.M.? Isn’t there anything happening in the nation and world which could have been even mentioned during the non-stop funeral telecast in all these channels? Isn’t the latest GSLV launch success and Mars Mission be more important to the nation than what is happening on Delhi’s streets!
It is becoming apparent that Media chiefs are becoming more blatant in showing off their political affiliations. The “neutrality” of the media is long gone. By each passing day, these high profile anchors and editors are acting as “paid agents” of the political parties. They influence the people by showing news that they think are reflection of “people sentiments”, but it is indeed to serve a particular political party’s agenda.
Given the “connections” these high profile media people have, it would not be tough for political parties to engage them in doing the ground work for political negotiations (live on TV). What appears to be a really grueling interview of a participant by these never relenting anchors, could be just a ground work to figure out the weak points of a politician or a party for the political big-bosses to explore it further (behind the scenes). How else one can explain the anchors not being neutral on debate sessions, where they are supposed to play the role of a “moderator” rather than a participant. These anchors are also clever in setting the subject of the discussion which appears to reflect the sentiment of the day, but cleverly drawing conclusions which are quite opposite! If you don’t believe, watch them carefully, next time they grill a politician or conduct a debate.
In South, the situation is a bit better. There are news channels, who openly reflect their political affiliations. For example, Sakshi TV is owned by Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy (who was once in Congress and now heads YSRCP). The channel has been flaunting Y.S Rajashekhar Reddy’s photo in its right top corner, ever since YSR died in the helicopter crash. Whatever news they present, is very obviously presented to benefit the YSRCP (and earlier Congress). Similarly, Jaya Network, Sun Network and Kalaignar Network are self-explanatory. There is a common joke in the South that people subscribe to networks based on their political affiliations and a neutral person has to watch the same news in 2 channels or read 2 newspapers to get the complete perspective.
The Hindi and English news channels are much more subtle. They are not any different than the South channels in massaging the news to suit their political connections. They are just a bit more polished. One Google search and you can be clear on which anchor is affiliated to which party!
With the general elections coming closer, it is the need of the hour to read between the lines (or rather hear between the words). Not to take news presented on its face value; but rather understand why a particular news is being given so much more real estate in the news papers or the news time in 24*7 channels! It is required not to go by the sensationalization or over-dramatization of the news, but rather the pure simple content of the news!
Jai Hind!
(published Jan 2014)
