First of all, I would like to say heartfelt thanks to all the readers who went through my last blog-post and shared their feedbacks. It meant a lot to me and would like all of you to keep sharing your thoughts on my future posts too.
Now, coming to this week’s topic, I am going to discuss something which I feel very disturbed by personally – The constant decline in Indian Journalism Standards.
Talking about recent days, we open our television boxes, switch to news channels in the morning and we see just one face showcased everywhere, we all know who that is, right? Most of us have started to take these news channels as gossip hubs, why? Because it serves us false facts. Unfortunately, most peoples’ judgements and opinions in India are tampered by these News Channels and all other “righteous” media.
For some of us who aren’t really moved by what they show, and know and sense the reality. For us, Indian Journalism is nothing but entertainment.
So, what if it’s used up with all the useless news, if the Journalists are not presenting us the true facts? What if they’re not journalists, they are puppets? What if they’re marketing and not doing what they’re supposed to do? What if they’re biased? What if they’re restricted to confine themselves to a script? The issue demands a discussion.
Journalism is what keeps a democracy going in the right direction becoming its pillar of strength. Journalism is supposed to give us a window to look at the world. Telling us facts and news so that we’re aware and can have better judgement.
History reveals that the more democratic a society, the more news, and information it tends to have. So, the purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments. It is that mode of communication which provides just the right information to make us aware.
The time has come when some introspection by the Indian media is required. Many people, not only those in authority but even ordinary people, have started saying that the media have become irresponsible and wayward, and need to be reined in.
There are two ways to treat the rot, i.e, the Indian Media. One is the democratic way, that is, through discussions, consultations and persuasion — which is the method I prefer. The other way is by using harsh measures against the media, for example, by imposing heavy fines on defaulters, stopping government advertisements to them, suspending their licences, and so on.
In a democracy, we should first try the first method to rectify the defects through the democratic method, rather than this being done by some government authority or external agency.
Trust me when I say this, most of us know what’s happening but right now, we are just helpless. I hope the Arnab Goswami’s and the Rajdeep Sardesai’s just stop talking about who killed whom, building a Mosque or a temple and start talking about the healthcare crisis this country is going through right now, the economic devastation of this country and the bleak employment scenario of this country. I hope when we look at news channels or read our newspapers in the morning, we see the news which is actually the truth and not the truth “they” want us to see and believe.