“It is the best of times, it is the worst of times”, Charles Dickens wrote that in the past tense, in his classic novel, “A Tale of Two Cities”. Here we are literally living in these very times, interesting and intriguing at the same time. In the last week we have been bombarded by the news channels and social media about the ghastly murder of Raja by his wily wife Sonam, the gory details being shared as though each one of us was the investigating officer and also the judge. Oblivious to the happenings in the world, we were in our cocoon till two incidents shook the world, which was just about recovering from the India-Pak skirmish. Israel went ahead and bombed the nuclear facilities of its nemesis Iran and the Air India AI-171 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashing within minutes of its take off in a Medical College Hostel premises in Ahmedabad killing 272 passengers and several doctors and the staff there.
While we are still numb with the shock, the electronic media vultures are out to make a killing. Like a mob, they swarm to the accident sites and start their non-stop coverage which does not help the rescue operations at all, instead becomes the greatest hindrance. Air Force Pilots are in “Cockpit readiness”, as the highest degree of alert in operational situations or sometimes they even have a ‘Combat Air Patrol’ flying in the area to address any adverse situation within seconds. Our media personnel are giving these fly-boys a complex as before one can say Jack Robinson they are at the site with the microphones being thrust in the face of victims asking inane questions and repeating ad-nauseam, that they are the first to break the news and theirs is an exclusive report. I am sure they have their own terms for this high level of alert, my guess is they must be calling them, “OB Van Readiness”, “Media Patrol” and may be even ‘Media Ambush’, where they target hapless officials and survivors and launch their barrage of questions without even a breather.
The race for TRPs has degenerated the level of reporting to such an extent that even social media appears more responsible in comparison. We have seen our media going overboard countless number of times, I think it began with Kargil when a certain media celebrity gave away our defensive location, inviting enemy shelling within minutes causing casualties to own troops and jeopardising our operations. It got even worse during the Mumbai 26/11 attack, when our media in their exuberance helped the terrorist handlers in Pakistan guide Kasab and his ilk towards those areas in the Hotel, where guests had taken refuge, getting them killed in the bargain.
Unfortunately our electronic media has refused to learn any lessons which was evident in their conduct and coverage during recent Operation Sindoor. The fact that their credibility is at an all time low does not bother them one bit, all that matters is that they have something supposedly exclusive. With the advent of AI, their imagination too has run wild, now anything and everything can be peddled as truth and beamed. Our media has been running a campaign where they have declared the Third World War ever since the Russia-Ukraine conflict which commenced three years ago. If it was upto them we would have had a nuclear holocaust many times by now, and POK captured couple of years ago.
Most of us have given up watching any news whatsoever, as even Western Media have their pronounced biases, so there is no objective reporting at all. Print media still retains some sanity, as their credibility still matters, plus they are not the minute to minute warriors unlike their electronic media friends. It is high time the government reins in these channels and issues guidelines on ethical reporting and penalise the erring ones. I know we will be treading a dangerous course here as media will be up in arms about their freedom being in peril, but when it comes to national security matters, we ought to be more responsible. As was demonstrated by the All Party Delegations which had gone around the world recently, a similar Audit Committee could be constituted with representation from not only major political parties, senior retired bureaucrats and defence officials who could take a call when there are reports about media misreporting facts. By no means am I advocating any kind of censorship but even an audit post the event could penalise the defaulters to the extent of barring them from covering such events or even revoking their licences in case of grave misdemeanors endangering national security. The Press Council of India acts as the Ombudsman for print media, but there is no such body for electronic media whatsoever, high time the government gets its act together as responsible news reporting and coverage helps the people as also their representatives. The nation does need to know the Facts, after all.
15 thoughts on “The Nation needs to Know”
True. Irresponsible and trp chasing vultures exploiting the pain and helplessness of victims. Have no decorum or respect. Our news channels are a joke. Crazy and frenzied anchors with equally biased and morally bankrupt panelists going ballistic by bombarding the viewers with nonsense. Actually, it’s a business model. Same panelist jokers becoming experts on all subjects on earth and in the bargain earning money. I have stopped watching the TV except for Doordarshan, Wion and Vantage by Palki Sharma Upadhyay (more for looks than news I guess), that too for a few minutes. No wonder it’s called the Idiot Box.
Dear Sir,
A Scathing Critique of Media…
Your article is a well-reasoned critique of the media’s sensationalism and lack of responsibility. You’ve highlighted the dangers of TRP-driven reporting, citing examples like Kargil and 26/11, where media coverage compromised national security. Your call for guidelines and accountability is timely, given the current media landscape.
Your writing stands out for its clarity and conviction. You’ve made a strong case for responsible reporting, emphasizing the need for an Audit Committee to oversee media coverage of sensitive topics. Your commentary is thought-provoking and relevant, offering valuable insights into the media’s role in shaping public discourse.
With Warm Regards..
Very nice Suyash.
👍
One feels like vomit when you listen to some of these channels.
Wonderful, very well compiled writeup on the state of media and the vultures. High time that the government brings in suitable legislation to chain the fake reporting by the electronic media.
Be it top line or bottom line, you are always top of the line. Let it keep coming. ✨️
Truer lines have never been spoken sir!
I have always wondered that what answers do these journalist expect when they ask someone stuck in a tragedy as to how they are feeling. What possible answers to that question may be!
A very well written blog as usual sir, kudos.
Regards
Extremely sad and absolutely repulsive reporting! Why blame only the media; it’s the people who watch such nonsense that is fuelling this kind of reportage. The day they realise that such kind of news has no takers, they will automatically change. That moment is slowly but surely coming! One sincerely hopes that moment comes soon
Yes, Suyash. True.
Its a dog eat dog world for those in the media, who are constantly running on the treadmill to remain ahead in the TRP game!
Our feelings have been brought out in words very nicely by you.
You are right, Suyash ji, unlike the print media which has a watchdog called the Oress Council of India headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, there is no such body to to monitor the unprofessional doings of the electronic media.
Even though the Press Council also has no teeth to punish the erroring print entities, it just censures the offenders as a moral watchdog.
When I was Media Advisor in the ministry of Information and Broadcasting, I put up a Draft Model Code for the electrinic nedia and a watchdog on the lines of the Press Council.
The moment they got the wind of the move, they were up against tge Ministry. The then Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad called the electronic media reps for talks. They vehemently opposed the move as they said any body set up by the goverment woll be against the freedom of press.
They agreed to prepare their own Code of Conduct to be enforced by their own watchdog to redress the complaints against the media entities.
That Self Code of watchdog is still to be forned even after over 22 years.
I don’t think any government would have the guts to antagonise the powerful media mughals.
The civil society, intelligencia and intellectual, we are bund to suffer this army of mafia vultures.
Regards
Very true, nicely expressed, govt. should think something on this aspect.
Media vultures with no morals but claiming high morals. For TRP they will sell their souls. Some of the experts, who come on this channels share an equal blame. Suyesh hope the govt is listening.
Nicely written which expresses the feelings of an average viewer.