Wednesday, August 01, 2007

being sidelined

The 'hot' english news channels are losing their charm day by day.

Yesterday was judgement day for Sanjay Dutt. We knew it, didn't we? We also assumed that he would be put into jail for some time.

It was ten in the morning and we saw the history of the Mumbai blasts, 93'. The same probably continued all the way upto say, two in the afternoon. If i am correct, the punishment was awarded then. And again, the same story ran uptill eleven in the night.

This was termed 'breaking news' for eight-nine whole hours. After the judgement was declared, all the bulletins showed Dutt's Munnabhai, a congressman for a father, the loss of about hundred crores at bollywood, the reactions of both hindi and kannada film artistes', critics'.....

We are entitled to something else, aren't we? Sometimes i feel that the local channels cover a broad range of topics. I saw some headlines on a kannada channel. Mr. Palagummi Sainath has won the Ramon Magsaysay award for his reportage on the poor, this year. I flipped various channels hoping that i could get more on this. Apparently not a single one showcased this headline.

Coming to the point, i know, Dutt is famous, especially having done the Munnabhai series(i believe a third is in the pipeline). And we are talking about a filmstar and some ghastly attacks on civilians. It does have substance, i agree. At the same time, other issues also require attention. Mr. Sainath wasn't talked about.

Thankfully the print media is not biased. Most of us wouldn't like to see the same broadcast over and over again. There are some changes to be made, definately. It is neccesary if one wants to claim 'We are the best'.

9 comments:

Srik said...

Ah! Indian e-Media all it wants is publicity. It thrives to provide the required-stuff to the people, not the 'STUFF'!!

Especially each of the English channels thrive to be 'the' front runner in the competition...and they add all the required masala to glorify an incident, like Ash-Abhi wedding, Indian team's worldcup expedition....they seem to understand the psyche of the masses, but what they dont understand is that they are creating a psyche of Indian audience!!

Its time they come to terms with these.

Anonymous said...

ah the state of Indian media...every day there is one breaking news (full masala and hype)..and the next day that news is forgotten...you should have listened to Saira Banu's outburst even before the verdict..abba..she went on & on..on how people should forgive Sanjay Dutt for this "small mistake"...she says to the effect that to err is human it seems...so much for hiding ak rifle..imagine/ god forbid if a common man had done this "small mistake"???

mouna said...

srik,
an angry young man! lols :D

priya,
some common sense, eh? these people can just go on and on, ashte.

Anonymous said...

oh ...ya...i too saw the media craziness...and so many segments on his past and the industry loss...i was a little surprised with the jail term ...anyways...with 24/7 news it is expected...but i do agree on covering other headlines as well

Anand N. Balaji said...

A dish made by idiots and served to nincompoops. That's the media-masses formula.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I wish all had choices to view news stories of our choice.

mouna said...

anon,
24/7 alright, it is one amongst a few, but not the only one for hours, if not days together.

anand,
both sides fall under the same category. the descriptions are a little varied, ashte! :D

neela,
wishful thinking, inshallah!

The 'Ekaangi' said...

all these people who think Sanjay Dutt shud be pardoned...i'd like to ask them a question...
Wud they feel the same way if it was me in his place...i'm sure they'd want me to face the severest form of punishment,and it wouldn't take 'em long to brand me a terrorist, irrespective of what the court says. There's a difference between a professional life, and a personal life. He might be a saint in his profession, but he has committed a crime...fr which he deserves punishment. Nw they are even plannin on a signature campaign to get him freed...good heavens !!

mouna said...

suhas,
can't they think logically.. he has done mistakes in his life. if there is an opportunity to correct them, he should.