Reject the biased media
Neither a legal solution nor self-regulation, only commercial failure can put an end to the biased media outlets in this country.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~Terry Pratchett
The failure of the mainstream media to handle criticism or introspect has been in the spotlight last week. For a few years now, many right-thinking Indians have been disillusioned by tabloidisation of the Indian news media. The frustration is compounded due to the power wielded by the media in influencing public thinking. The malaise of hyperbole, inaccurate reporting, hyperventilation, opinions mixed with facts and undisclosed political leanings run deeper in the electronic media and the Hindi news channels; they may be less cruder in their approach but the English language news channels and the print media are not far behind either. It is not the bad media that one should be unduly worried about, but the biased media which portends greater dangers to the nation.
What is the real danger? That ultimately, the nation and its society could end up in a situation where a chosen few, aka the mainstream news media, control the public’s thinking and actions. It is in a far more insidious manner than the one in which the elite controlled people before democracy took roots in this country. Most journalists believe themselves to be fairer than and superior to the feudal elites of a bygone era, with a mistaken belief of being crusaders of public service.
However, the singular driving purpose of all media houses today is to garner an audience, not to convey unbiased and relevant information. Eyeballs or circulation figures, not accuracy or fairness, thus forms the basis of news selection and writing. Mainstream media has become a profit centre focused on revenues instead of a public service. This has given rise to the situation today where the hyperventilating journalists can attract more attention often because they have no accountability for telling the truth. Thoughtful voices have been elbowed out by shrieking journalists who cover stories that can grab more audience by ignoring accuracy or fairness.
It has increasingly became fashionable for these star journalists to offer opinion mixed with news stories. This is easily achieved by undertaking as much interpretation of what someone is saying as much as of what was actually said. The interpretation by these big name journalists — who are then aped by newer journalists — moves the attention from the subject to the journalist. The journalist assumes the public wants, nah needs, his or her comments more than the quoted person’s. There exists no legal mechanism to check this distortion of news stories by these journalists and media houses to support their political beliefs or other pecuniary interests.
A legal diktat, perhaps, is not an ideal solution to the problem of media controlling the nation’s thinking. But a free run to the slanted media, which is indulging in distorted news reporting in the name of the freedom of the press, is creating a great risk for the society and the nation.
The solution, fortunately, lies in the hands of the public. The average reader and viewer can set the anomaly right by rejecting these revenue driven enterprises in a free market economy. Putting these media houses and starry journalists out of business is the only way to save this nation from the scourge of biased journalism in India.
[...] While NDTV continues to maintain an enigmatic silence on the Kunte affair, Pragmatic lays out the bigger issue at stake here, What is the real danger? That ultimately, the nation and its society could end up in a situation where a chosen few, aka the mainstream news media, control the public’s thinking and actions. It is in a far more insidious manner than the one in which the elite controlled people before democracy took roots in this country. Most journalists believe themselves to be fairer than and superior to the feudal elites of a bygone era, with a mistaken belief of being crusaders of public service.[link] [...]
I don’t think just hoping for communal socialist media to disappear is a smart strategy.
I agree with your prescription, but it cannot happen unless we have a viable alternative in form of accurate/truthful reporting. I think even having a right of center media would be enough of a check on these communal socialists to put them in line.
You saw how NDTV felt threatened by a single blogger. Similarly, we need to create an alternative viable media. Running a media business is a very challenging operation. So, one solution is to use the power of Internet to reach out to larger and larger number of people.
For example, why can’t nationalinterest.in take all the e-mail addresses from people who have commented on this website and start sending them an e-mail newsletter on weekly basis of all the posts on this blog network … Overnight you will have an audience larger than many of the newspapers!
I find media is very biased. often only distorted versions published in a glorified manner. only social boy cot can bring in distrous results. often i find different views expressed in same news papers published to satisfy regional political aspirations. The Hindu Has Forgotten Bofors Issue. Overnight Sonia And Cotiere Have Become Heroes . Lallu Prasad Who Swindled So Much Public Money No Conviction Yet. Not A Single Politician Is Convicted. Even Judiciary Is Failing. If CEC Has Brought Out Facts Only Questining The Timing Of His Revealations Are Projected Instead Of Taking The Same To Its Logoical Conclusion. When Our President Was Appointed Many Of Wrondg Doings Came up In Public Domain.But Nothing Happened Because She Was Selected By Sonia Gandhi. Terrorism Mumbai Is Totaly Forgotten Which Has No Religion.It Must Be Whole Heartedly Eliminated From Our Peace Loving Country.Even Look At The Talk Shows Which Are Stage Managed
And Often Preconceived Glorified Panel Wasting Time Misleading And SMs Voting System And Projecting As National Preference. 100 Creor Plus Population Is Just Handled Like A Puppet By The Media. Now Women Freedom Issues Vs Male . Where Is The Logic. In India We Have PM Held By Ladies. The Twice Convicted Terrorist In Parliament Attack Yet To Be Executed The Sentence By Govt -Only Reason His Religion And Vote Bank Politics. I Dont Have Any Affiliation To Religion And Party, But A Nationalistic Person Strong Belief To Preserve Our Heritage And Culture. I Donot Believe In Rituals In Any Religion. When We3 Say Secularist, Why Should Govt Control Hindu Religious Establishment Finances And Kitty And Redistribute To Ptpmotre Trips To Rome, Mecca Or Recognising Overnight Madrasas As Equivalent To CBSE .Reservation Has Reached Highest In Thw World Done In All Levels Day In And Day Out By All Parties In Their Own Region In Addition To Wrong Doses By Central Government. The Annual Republic Day Award Has Become A Farse. The Politicians Who Have Not Gone To Elementary Schools Are Roaming Around In Public Funded Cars With Honoury DOctors Degree Conferred On Them By Various Universities. Schools Have No Teachers, No Proper Roof, No Black Board, Benches Or Seating Arrangements, But Doles In The Form Of Gas Stoves, Rice Distribution at 1Re When Market Price Is 15-20Rs A Kilo, Dhoti, Saree ,Colour TV Distribution At Cost Of Tax Payers. Is This Not A Perpetuating Corruption Inducing Each And Every Party To Come Out With More Attractive Sops. Recently TN Govt Has Come Out With One Crore People Poor To Be Covered For Health Insurance Free. Where Was The Necessity When Government Hospitals Are Any Way Supposed To Provide Free To All. Bulod More Government Hospitals. You Will Be Surprised Slum Clearance Board HO Is Posh Building Fully Air Conditioned. Where Was The Necessity. Take Security For Politicians. Why Government Should Provide At Tax Payers Money. All Parties Should Be Asked To Provide. I Know None Of The Media Will Take Up Such Issues As They Depend On Government Support For Revenue. Another Brand Created- Safronised To One Set Of Peoplle Always. Freedom Of Expression. Why Ban
Sitanic Verse Or Cartoon From Denmark Or Similar Things. Our Comrade Friends See What Is Happening In Kerala-Scandals After Scandals. They Are The Richest In India. They All Travel In Benz Cars, Business Or Executive Class In Planes Preaching About Lenism/markism when whole world has Forgotten Them. Another Evil Going Around Is Dynastic Politics, To Protect Illgotten Wealth Amassed By Them. No Uniform Civilcode Though Provided In Constitutioon Still Not In Force As Many Politicians Have Three Or Four Wives All Protected By Government. Same Journalist, Media Or Women Liberators Will Not Raise Their Voice. It Is Very Unfortunate We All Have Become Silent Spectators.
Rs
@Sajeev/ RS:
I have no issue with journalists flaunting their political affiliations and doing the stories — a Chandan Mitra or a Rajiv Shukla. The problem is when people run their *hidden* political agendas through their
*independent* media outlets. Although the same problem existed to a lesser degree during the NDA rule [align with the King syndrome is part of our social culture], it has been more pronounced in the UPA rule. While Barkha is in the limelight today, we have to be careful of undisclosed political leanings on both sides of the political spectrum. India needs a neutral, unbiased, unopinionated media that gives unadulterated, factual news. Views should be restricted to op-ed pages.
The bad media will wind up and eventually go away for commercial reasons. Even Ambanis could not sustain a failing newspaper commercially. It is the biased media, which bats insidiously for politicians — a Lalu or a Modi — that we need to reject.
How we miss The Editor, and I am not talking about Vinod Mehta’s pet. A good, unbiased and upright editor; whether in print media or electronic media is a rare species. Gone are the days of an Illustrated Weekly or Hindustan Times. Each and every media house is solely controlled by commercial interests. The most striking has been the transformation of TOI from a sort of balanced newspaper to a “Semi Porn Frontpage” newspaper that spawned the page 3 culture. Recent additions like DNA and HT are nothing more but advertising revenue garnering mechanisms hoping to alter govt opinion for issues that affect them directly.
Electronic media started with a feel good factor of pioneering work by Prannoy Roy and Madhu Trehan. “India This Week” was a path breaking programming effort as far as Indian electronic media was concerned. Emergence of NDTV as an entity and ageing of Prannoy Roy has turned NDTV and all other channels; who have honchos drawn from NDTV clan of the yore; into sheer cacophony. “Hyperventilating Reporter” is the apt description for the modern media reporter. The more you are out of breath, the more it feels that you have done a great national service by culling out a report on how salman’s dog isn’t feeling well.
The way out, is really difficult. A newspaper service as suggested by Sajeev will stay novel only till the time advertising revenue doesn’t become lucrative. Customized news delivery as demanded by a consumer is the way out instead of a 24X7 service where news expands to fill time. How I miss those 15 minutes news bulletins or even a “dheemi gati ka samachar”
for giving news without any bias and leaving you to form your conclusions.
I don’t think rejecting the biased media is an effective response to this issue.
After having looked at the outpourings on the Dutt-Kunte issue by countless bloggers, I have wondered how come no one has suggested the possibility of using Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to tackle this issue.
Now I don’t know much about PILs and hence I did some googling. I did some google search to see if someone else has suggested/done something like this and I came across the following link wherein this guy has taken steps to convert the public anger against the 26/11 media coverage into a petition and put up the same to the Mumbai High Court asking it to be considered as a writ in the public interest.
http://smallchange.in/the-petition/
Maybe something similar can be done in the case of the Dutt-Kunte freedom of expression issue.
“Power without responsibility – the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.”
– Rudyard Kipling (1931) in an attack on Daily Express (UK)
I have believed for long that the power of media to do good is equally matched by their power to do gross mischief as ultimately these are untested men and women, in a race to get ahead.
Long ago, in mid 1980s, when I read ‘The Almighty’ by Irving Wallace, the first signs of a weakened central government together with an opinionating media were becoming visible in India. This was not necessarily a bad thing but since then, in the past so many years, I’ve been receiving a bunch of returned “letters to the Editor” as none of the mainstream newspapers accepts criticism of their own and ‘ as a matter of principle
‘, they would not publish views counter to the articles published even in their rival publications.
IMHO, the issue being raised by pragmatic is so timely and important that this should be taken to its logical end by the well meaning intellectual. An unbridled race horse is a recipe to disaster. And Dutt, Sardesai et al, are mere ’shaadi ka ghodas’.
It is at moments of a weak central authority, do the other players start opening their cards. Don’t bank too much on the power of vote as in this country, a vast no of people can be swayed by free TV sets. And Media Barons have deep- deep coffers.
Mind It.
Don’t watch TV.
(a) In lieu visit this site courtesy PE
(b) Keep an Aquarium instead. At Rs 5000/- per pair Blue
Discus will keep ones’ attention focussed on deeper matters.
Even Red Cap Oranda at Rs 600 per pair will do. Marine
clown fish @ Rs 10,000. Buy in SN Market or Daryaganj.
[...] boycotting anything work? Pragmatic tells us that such the public actually has more power in getting this done than a legal solution or self-regulation (by the media) [via]. Blogging is a mix between opinion [...]
Do the following:
Dont buy the products that are advertised on NDTV, IBN etc; *do* go to the shopkeeper/showroom, and make sure the salesman hears you say this: “I would have bought this product, but I wont now, since that would ony be indirectly supporting NDTV/IBN, which I hate.”
Do this even if you had no intention of buying the product in the first place; make the salesman feel his shop has lost a sale because of NDTV/IBN.
This will soon get legs of its own, and shops will call their suppliers, and suppliers will call NDTV/IBN.
It works!!
I’ve been saying that since the very day. People have immense power which they fail to realize and use. Be it in voting or boycotting. Money works, and junta need to learn to understand it. Link
[...] BlogBharti, Binu Karunakaran, Mad Momma, Subaltern Media, Aditya Mhatre, Veena, Boycott NDTV, Pragmatic, Churimuri, Sandeep, Gaurav Sabnis, [...]
Jack Dawes on the media:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/police-use-cs-spray-to-halt-commons-fight-1658161.html