We live in times when news channels across the globe and especially in India are concerned with everything else but news. They give us drama, suspense, thrill, comedy and, occasionally, news. ‘Breaking news’ for almost every news channel is nothing but a direct source of TRP. It doesn’t matter how important that news is to anyone, but if it gives an adrenaline rush, it’s definitely breaking news. Sushant Singh’s suicide was breaking news on almost every news channel for months, and when Rhea Chakraborty’s investigation hogged the headlines, news was filled with her day-to-day activities, from what she ate to what she wore. News anchors and reporters left no stone unturned to make that irrelevant crap sound as important as possible. By doing so, they not only fed us with bogus facts but also pushed the real issues under the carpet
As per NCRB data for 2019 42,480 daily wage farmers have committed suicide in the past 3 years. India currently has the highest unemployment rate in 40 years, highest-ever fuel prices, and is ranked 102 in the UN hunger index. Such issues which should be addressed and discussed with priority by both government and media are altogether missing from news.
But who cares? Political unawareness of a large section of the population doesn’t help either. It’s, in fact, people who give such news channels more TRP for their thrills issues. What Kangana tweeted is more important tothem than the rising corona cases and the massive farmers’ protests. India has officially entered into a phase of recession but news channels are still hounding Rhea Chakraborty.
India is reporting many new coronavirus cases every day, but barring one or two news outlets, none is giving it the coverage if deserves. Instead of questions being raised on this and the government being asked what it is doing to counter it, the media is busy with Kananga’s tweets.
The reasons behind such an irresponsible show from the media can be many. But at least two reasons are pretty clear: TRP, which leads to greater monetary gains, and the political inclinations of media houses. Rhea Chakraborty is one of the many scapegoats used to conceal the disastrous governance of the Modi government. No wonder India is at 140th spot out of 180 countries when it comes to freedom of the press.
There are many news channels that have now became the talk of the town; they have been officially given the name of Godi Media. I won’t take the name of any of these channels because the nation already knows who I am talking about. The only thing that you will hear from any news debate is Noise, Noise, and more Noise. In recent times there have been so many issues that news channels could have discussed, be it the fall of the GDP, the India-China faceoff in Ladakh, the anti-farmer bills, unemployment, and so many others, but alas, our media is more concerned about Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide. Many of the news channels have even held Rhea guilty, while others have managed to establish a negative image of her. “Innocent until proven guilty” is just a phrase for these media houses. News channels have now became courts where the anchor is the judge who delivers the verdict after hearing panelists that are of the same opinion, while those who try to speak genuinely are muted or showed so much in a negative light that they are unable to convey their point.
The game is all about gaining more and more TRP. No matter the authenticity, if you are fast with the facts, you are considered the best. These media houses also fall prey to fake and unauthentic news many a time. A recent example of this was a fake order of 4G being restored in J&K. One of the most authentic news channels of India fell prey to that fake order and circulated it on its official Twitter page. This shows that what news channels post on their websites can be unverified and can’t be trusted at all.
News channels have also become quite predictable. If any Bill is passed in Parliament, its merits will be praised by Sudhir Chaudhary of Zee News and its demerits would be pointed out by Ravish Kumar of NDTV. The website ‘Official Peeing Human’ shared data of recent debates held on four top news channels according to the topic of debate. On Pakistan, 79 debates were held; on attacking the Opposition, 66; on praising the government, 36; on Ram Mandir, 14; but on Unemployment, 0; on Farmers, 0; on the Economy, 0.
Watching news channels nowadays is no less than watching a comedy show. The news anchors look like stand-up comedians, except they sit on a chair. A perfect example of such comedy was the “MUJHE DRUGS DO, MUJHE DRUGS DO (Give me drugs, give me drugs)” antic that everyone who watched must have laughed to the core. These news channels have lost their ethics and the basics of reporting. They are simply making a mockery of themselves.
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