Author: Prajjwal RT
It is 2020 and broadcast journalism in India has stooped down to all levels of mediocrity. The prime time discussions and newsroom debates have no scaffolding and are merely preaching about assumptions and deviations. Broadcast journalism is a powerful tool to unleash the reforms and changes we wish to happen in our DEMOCRATIC nation. Yet, it is perplexing to learn about the brutal reality as we unravel the dark secrets behind the lens.
However, people fall prey to a few of their half-baked stories, which bolsters no facts and evidence, thus misleading the public to believe it to be the Gospel truth. Ironically, they do help in scrutinizing the amendments and keeping a check on the government’s bureaucracy, yet fail to correct their own facts they present. The mainstream media today focuses only on curating the contents accordingly, which attracts a broader audience. Thus, one out of several other reports is chosen to be broadcasted, while they shut eyes on stories they think are ‘not intriguing.’
Although it is exceptionally strenuous to report from ground zero where there is no access to reporters, they make matters worse when they have the urge to live telecast sensitive issues. For example, the live streaming of the 26/11 terror attacks was a huge privilege for the terrorists to plan their response. It is not surprising, how eventually everything cognates to respective channels boasting about themselves for breaking the headlines first. No wonder they even scavenge on the grief and mourning of people during unprecedented situations.
They have mastered the prowess of smear campaigns and making a mountain out of a molehill.
They hold an ingenious knack of creation and destruction of opinions, facts, and sentimentality. The game becomes eerier when the government plays the media accordingly when elections are just around the corner. Sadly there is more room for ads and promotions than cases that require utmost heed and support.
It is so surprising to witness the news channel pronouncing a eulogy of a person/government who once had criticized and condemned the same subject. They become mere puppets when tempted with copious notes under the table. Debates no longer hold sense, as the journalist interrupts the panelists relentlessly. It is then that ‘the nation wouldn’t want to know’ the idiocy of a jingoistic journalist turning every instance into heated filthy arguments. Sometimes even the usage of their terminologies too has no nexus with ongoing topics.
Newsroom is a stage where a journalist plays his part. And when the play isn’t going according to the director’s choice, they do have a well equipped back-up system to cover up the mess. Checkmate! The journalist has to venture out on a new way to earn his bread and butter while the banality stays within the four walls of the stage. Anyone who goes against the media too has to face the repercussions.
It is indeed distressing to see the fall of an empire, which once held a very high proficiency and originality. The ripples of broadcast news channels and media, demands stringent actions to shun the politics and fallacies involved in the field. Apparently, the news is turning to become a marketplace which guides us in a direction except for REALITY.
