Where journalism has gone?

Neeraj — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:34:13 +0000

I was watching television the other day and I was shocked, appalled, shaken with the all the negative connotation that you can put on it. It was not long before when I used to think that ‘Daily Soap operas’ are the worst thing that ever happened to the idiot-box. But no, how pathetically was I wrong. Today’s ‘Hindi’ news channels are way ahead in grossness to these glamorous looking, ugly dumb serials. Gone are days when journalism was treated as an ethical profession with a sole purpose of highlighting the truth to the society. Today’s journalism is guided with Target Rating Points commonly known as ‘TRP’ rather than facts. Media people are running frenetically to gain TRP. The outcome is that we have pounded with numbers of sleazy news channel with a sole purpose to seduce the viewers. If sex sells then why only in cinema, why not in reporting, retorts media people.

It’s not very long that private news channel got hold on the Indian television industry. Thanks to the government liberalized policy. However, things got bad to worse. Earlier you got biased’ Doordarsan’ which showed what government wanted to show. Now after privatization it’s the other way round, you see what you want to see (read between the lines, it means mostly sex or gossips). One thing which always suffers for sure is journalism, the poor journalism. What people tend to forget that one of the fundamental axioms of journalism, which is ‘freedom along with responsibility’. As a journalist this is equally important as what to show or report and what not to report. How does your prime time coverage of ‘whether Aishwarya Rai is pregnant or not’ fits the bill of a progressive and responsible journalism. Freedom to journalism comes with immense responsibility and if your work focus on freedom sans responsibility, you should be better off none.

The problem is not that serious that it cannot be rectified. Beyond doubt the news channel has done some good things also. But do not overdo it. As an Indian we always overdo things. We make Sachin GOD when he plays well, and then paint him black and burns his effigies if he does the opposite. And for god’s sake please do not call your sleazy intentions to lure viewers as an’ Investigative Journalism’. Journalism invariably reflects a society and a country as whole. Please be little more conscious of what you are doing, a little awareness in you can reap rich dividends to the society.

Conversation with a Madman

Neeraj — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:27:25 +0000

Oh! What will people think of me? What would they say about me? Or would they laugh at me? Is n’t this what we all think? At least this was what this madman used to think all his life before he broke down and changed for better (that’s what he think). People are still wary of him but he seems to be enjoying and having fun. I went up to him one day and asked what happened to you; you were always mad that I know but what amazes me now is that I have never seen such a poised mad man in my life. He smiled and said, this was very simple and in fact he never did anything for it, it just happened to him. I was little confused as always, and said please do not confuse me any further and convey your point in little simpler way. He said that he could not have explained this in a much simpler language than this, however, now that he had got my problem and reason for me to not understand his point so he would try explaining in my language of knowledge and verbosity. He added, his point could be best explained by Mirza Galib’s one simple line that said ‘ Musibate itni padi humpe ki aasaan ho gayi’ ( So much pain inflicted unto me that it became comfort....sorry Galib for even trying translating your golden words in such a despicable manner). Galib was probably the only man who could have explained such an insight in such little words. No wonder, it is said words are the crudest form of expression. When you have nothing to lose, all you are left is to gain and this is exactly what happened to him. He wondered here, he wondered there, never to be reached anywhere because he was searching at the wrong place. He was seeking help outside, he was seeking GOD outside which was never to be found. He blamed his parents, he blamed GOD, he blamed his friends and he blamed the whole world and they all blamed him back, rightly. He became a madman, aptly.

I said, I pity on you madman, for having faced such an awful situation of condemnation and humiliation. He said, no please don’t pity on him or on anybody for that matter as we ourselves are the root cause of all pain. Rejection and failure was part of his life and he accepts it wholeheartedly for his growth, as he accepts success and appreciation. However, these things hardly affect him now. The day he was tired of rejection from outside and nowhere to go, he went inside, within. He went there as his last option as he was still alive. He used to lose two hairs for one bad comment that people made on him. He was more interested in what people say about him than his girlfriend’s boyfriends. He laughed and said but it all changed now and probably the best thing that ever happened to him. After that he was free in real sense and he became more individual. I was amazed by his insight but still wanted to ask so many questions but then I stopped as my ego did not permit me to ask any further. I decided to sort this out myself.

I came back home confused, as always, thinking who was the madman here. What he said seemed to be correct but not practical, at least not for successful people. This could work for failure or loser madman like him but not for us. What do you think?

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Where journalism has gone?

Conversation with a Madman