Electronic Media Standards Plummet to a New Depth

The media focus on Rhea and Kangana suits no one better than the BJP led central government which would like citizens’ attention away from economy, unemployment and China!
Vipin Pubby

Vipin Pubby

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Share on linkedin

THE RECENT and continuous coverage of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and the hounding of his girl friend Rhea Chakraborty has plummeted the standards of electronic media to a new depth.

Barring one or two honourable exceptions, all TV channels are running non stop coverage of the subject over the last month and a half. A majority of them have even taken clear stands on whether it was a suicide or a murder and whether Rhea was the ‘killer’ or that she was a victim herself and that his sisters were responsible.

The coverage also appears to have split the country into two camps. One camp, a small one, feeling disgusted with the news channels for going down to such shameful depths and making personal allegations without any evidence.

mediaThe other camp, which evidently is far far bigger in size, is of the gullible public who appear to be enjoying every bit of it. They have convinced themselves that there is much more to the incident than mere suicide and conspiracy theories are being believed as gospel truths.

Some of these ardent fans have themselves turned investigators and point out the alleged ‘discrepancies’ in the case.

This writer personally knows people who have switched over to channels which are providing carpet to carpet coverage of the incident. In fact they are running the shows on a loop and you can watch these any time of day and night.

One particular channel, otherwise considered to be better than others, declared pompously a couple of days after the incident that it was unlike other channels and won’t give the kind of prominence as others were giving to the Shushant Singh case.

mediaHowever from the very next day of the claim, this channel took up the issue as its first lead for several days to come. It not only ran an ‘exclusive’ two hour interview with the main accused in an FIR, Rhea Chakraborty, the channel ran that interview for nearly a week in its prime slot!

Clearly these channels, and I would like to include over 90 per cent of news channels in this category, don’t think that anything else significant is happening in the country. For them the serious crisis on the India China border in Ladakh region is a minor issue.

For them the critical stage of our economy is a non issue. And so is the rising unemployment and even the Covid pandemic which has claimed 74,000 lives and has affected over 45 lakh citizens.

mediaAs a nation we need to seriously think of our priorities and what we are being fed. Neither such TV channels nor those who watch these so closely are doing any service to the nation. All talk of self regulation is proving meaningless.

Fortunately for the country, a vast majority of the print media has proved to be much more responsible and restrained. There may have been aberrations but the mainstream media has acted much more responsibly than the electronic media.

Though the electronic media has a regulator called the Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India. However this too has proved to be totally ineffective. Perhaps the main reason for its poor show is the kind of persons who are appointed to monitor the media and take action against the erring channels. Also it needs to be given more teeth.

mediaIt is obviously that this vicious circle of dishing out more masala for higher TRPs in the electronic media is responsible for this mess leading to loss of and wastage of crores of man hours in inane debates. The TRP ratings influence the advertisers and that’s where the malady lays.

It is essential that the system of TRPs, which is known to encourage favouritism and corruption, must be reformed. For that the government must step in and reform the system. But will it step in when the current state of electronic media suits it the most and keeps people diverted from the real issues facing the nation?

 

_______________

Watch video:

 

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Share on linkedin
Vipin Pubby

Vipin Pubby

The author, a freelance journalist, is a former Resident Editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh, and reported on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern India, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in his long, illustrious career.

Disclaimer : PunjabTodayTV.com and other platforms of the Punjab Today group strive to include views and opinions from across the entire spectrum, but by no means do we agree with everything we publish. Our efforts and editorial choices consistently underscore our authors’ right to the freedom of speech. However, it should be clear to all readers that individual authors are responsible for the information, ideas or opinions in their articles, and very often, these do not reflect the views of PunjabTodayTV.com or other platforms of the group. Punjab Today does not assume any responsibility or liability for the views of authors whose work appears here.

Punjab Today believes in serious, engaging, narrative journalism at a time when mainstream media houses seem to have given up on long-form writing and news television has blurred or altogether erased the lines between news and slapstick entertainment. We at Punjab Today believe that readers such as yourself appreciate cerebral journalism, and would like you to hold us against the best international industry standards. Brickbats are welcome even more than bouquets, though an occasional pat on the back is always encouraging. Good journalism can be a lifeline in these uncertain times worldwide. You can support us in myriad ways. To begin with, by spreading word about us and forwarding this reportage. Stay engaged.

— Team PT

Author Related Post
Related Post

Copyright © Punjab Today TV : All right Reserve 2016 - 2024