Indian Media....misusing its freedom...!!!

There is a well known saying, “With great power, comes great responsibility”. It's definitely not stated by any well known thinker, or by any influential politician. It was stated by a common man to his nephew, explaining the value of power. Shouldering power comes with the expectations of freedom, which if misused, may shatter the dreams of millions.

I would say that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The media, with it high galore of promises, right from the time of its existence, has proved to be no exception. Treated like an individual, with the power of freedom at it beck and call, the power has been misused right from the inception.

Thinking how advantageous it would be to society, it has been reduced to be a puppet in the hands of the people who have the power to manipulate the facts to their own convenience.

Many forms and many mediums later, a cat fight erupted over what do consumers like the most. The Television, aka, The Idiot Box, The newspaper (so called desh ki dhadkan) and the radio on which all you get to hear is the blaring of the RJ’s (after all that’s what they are paid for @ the end of the day).

It is said, anything in excess is not good for one’s health. In this context, the uncurbed freedom given to the media is something of a concern, as it has not affected one person in particular, but the whole nation as a whole.

Just a small hypothetical narration between a Newsperson and the common man:

Agent: This is X reporting from XYZ district…We are gathered here to witness a small child who has fallen into a well. Let’s find out what his father, Mr Y, is feeling at the moment!!
Agent to Mr Y : Apko kaisa mehsoos ho raha hai, apka beta neeche hai aur aap yaha? (how do you feel about your son being down there and you over here)
Mr Y: Ab main kya bolu…..aap logo ne(the media) madad karne ke ilawa sab kucch kar diya hai abhi tak (what can I say! The media has done everything apart from helping out here)
The media person is unaffected and continues to brag about his channel….
Agent looking into the camera again: Mat bhuliye…..live coverage dekhi aapne apne channel pe. Mr X reporting live from ABC channel. (don’t forget, you saw the live coverage on your own favourite channel.)

The above mentioned dialogue is just an insight into how insensitive the media has become over the years. They have the audacity to ask a parent how he/she is feeling, at the time when their son has fallen into a well and crying for help. This was just one of the examples.

• If the readers can recall the much talked about sting operations which were done couple of years back. Although, done with a good intention in mind, the whole episode ended up blowing right in the face of the media itself. Starting off with the idea to expose the corruption pervading in the political society, the end result turned out to be the politicians paying the media, moolah, in order to prevent them from exposing their misdeeds to the public. Another example to show where the freedom at first was utilized to expose the wrong happenings of society and eventually ended up acting as the beneficiaries for the miscreants.

• Today’s media channels lay their focus on creating news which would sensationalize the nation (its only according to them, unfortunately, no one else seems to think the news to be sensational). May it be from the audacious and outspoken Rakhi Sawant and Mika Singh, who used the much talked about kiss ka kissa to rake in the badly needed publicity and eventually ended up singing a song based on the whole event. When the event happened, the people who got to benefit the most were the general public, who were badly in need of some lip locking sessions.

• TRP TRP TRP….dedo dedo dedo!!! It sure sounds like a fish market or maybe a line said by Ekta Kapoor, the TRP Queen. But if you notice carefully, this is what the media has been reduced to as of today. Living by this motto , its like the gayatri mantra for channels of today. Ranging from serials like Bigg Boss(not to forget the Extra G in Bigg) to the Saas Bahu sagas, the news channels are kept at bay. Right from who got evicted from the Bigg Boss’s house, to which daughter in law was able to take revenge from her khadus & atyachari mother in law, the latest news are all covered by the media. With the contest being held to who’s bindi is the longest, to who’s twirls are the strongest…..all will be covered under one roof!!!

• Matters which should be of the prime most concern to the public are conveniently side tracked and instead trivial matters, are governing the front page of each and every newspaper. God forbid, some Bollywood star does any kind of show off charity event, then, be we can be assured, that event will rule the front page for days and days together

• The hunger for publicity goes unabated till date. Just to get themselves famous, the media will concoct stories and the repetition is for all to see. It would be not for many to doubt, how some poor children have actually been pushed into a well and then a hue and cry has been raised by the media, just to have a hot and juicy story to recite on their channel

The moments will be countless, and the attempts to overrule it endless. All it requires in the end is the courage to face the reality and also, the courage to face your own self. Once exposed, the media will be reduced to nothing but a vamp in a saas bahu saga and the nation being the innocent victim, being bitten time and again, and having to bear the brunt of the shortcomings of the media.

All in all, what can be said is, no matter what the medium be, the powers are in the hands of the common individual at the end of the day. After all, its all on how the power is used and the best is extracted out of it. The moment the freedom is let to rule your senses is the time when one should realize that the worst is yet to come.