Wednesday 28 June 2006

Fourth Estate – The Indian Perspective

Electronic & Visual Media have taken the Indian viewers by storm. There has been a spurt of Indian News Channels in the last half decade. As many as 25 Hindi/ English News Channels are on air as of today! Add to that the regional Private News channels (and I am not even counting the Doordarshan’s Regional News channels) and we are looking at 30-35 (if not more) news channels splashing news to us in their own unique style and setup.

Thanks to these channels I am always up-to-date with all the current events around me. Now I know “Who” Kissed “whom” at which party. I now know how some Rahul Mahajan took drugs. Even to the detail of how many glasses of champagne he had, which champagne he had and with which drink he had the fateful drug! The case was tried in media and judgment was delivered. It was an open and shut case as far as I was concerned. No more waiting for the verdict of highly paid Judges of High Court/ Supreme Court. I knew everything even before the police could decide on what case to put up for trial! Now that’s News! Going further, I now also know how the last rites of a political leader (Pramod Mahajan) were conducted – even to the detail of from where the woods (for the last rites) were brought! Some important International news (Indian “ishtyle”) that I was made to “know”: What does every foreign President/ Head of State eat when they are in India as a guest. I also came to know what they “liked” in the whole assemble of food prepared for them and how much did they eat while they were in the hotel. I now know the color of the rooms painted especially for the Head of States on visit to India. By the way, to the credit of these channels I am now also enlightened as to the type of food the recently caught cook of famous “Don” Dawood Ibrahim & Anees would cook regularly and which dish would the dons really like!! This news was served to me as an EXCLUSIVE Item! I mean nothing could be of more importance to me. After all National News channels were showing them as PRIME NEWS item and hence all the above and many more such important issues must be important to me!

I have now understood that for me it is not important to know how many people died in Iraq in everyday bombing campaign that terrorists carry out. I should not be bothered about the floods/ earthquake situation in Malaysia/ Indonesia. It definitely is not important for me to know about the problems in Dafur (Sudan), in Somalia or what is happening in most of the Africa/ South America, Europe, Russia, China or for that matter The US of A. Problems currently faced by the international community like that of Nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran are definitely not of concern to me. The least I should be bothered about is say, the Naxalite problem in India. What is more important to me? Well – I should be bothered about the medical status shown in hourly “Medical Bulletins” (whoever coined that term) of Pramod Mahajan. I should be shown this 24 hours a day and should be “rightfully” kept informed of every heartbeat that Mr. Mahajan took. After all, his demise would affect this nation much more than anything else happening around the world or even other calamities happening in our country. That the earthquake in Indonesia killed hundreds in the same period was hardly of significance to me. No Sir it was not! I should definitely bother about how Mica (the now famous Brother of Daler Mehendi and a Pop Singer of some note) kissed Rakhi Sawant (the “Item” Girl). After all how does it matter that there were hundreds killed in blasts (in Iraq) over a period of 2-3 days while Rakhi Sawant was accusing Mica of brutally kissing her. After all it is important for me to know what transpired between the lips of Mica and Rakhi. And lo-behold – it is much more important for me to know the type of goggles Amitabh Bachchan wears and indeed its actual cost. After all it affects nation’s psyche and my personal life. Yes Sir – it does. I indeed should not be worried about the flood situation getting worsened in Assam. Who cares if some people die in floods or indeed many people get displaced in that region? For us Amitabh’s Bunglow, his specs, his company, is of much more importance. So much so that it should be made the first and THE Breaking news of every hour! O! C’mon, people keep dying everywhere – you cannot keep reporting that – now can you? Huh! Amitabh’s specs were stated to be of 2.7 lacs – now that is absolutely important to know. That the Income Tax department dared to ask for his family’s IT Returns was criminal to say the least. I was rightfully informed about it as breaking news and I was justifiably ashamed of myself as an Indian, at the conduct of IT personnel and was outraged at the whole episode. I can tolerate people suffering elsewhere in the country – but for we Indians – to trouble Amitabh is like committing murder! It deserved special Analysis (end to end) and thanks to the News channels – I got the Full story. Now that is reporting at its best! Yes Sir – it is.

Look at the “Breaking News” or “Flash News” as some of these News Channels call them:
“Rakhi Sawant accuses Mica of forcibly Kissing her”
“Mica presented in court”
“Mica gets Bail. Rakhi devastated”
“Medical Bulletin of Pramod Mahajan to be held at 5:30 PM”
“Pramod Mahajan fighting for life – Medical Bulletin”
“Pramod Mahajan is taken to his home after declared dead”
“Rahul Mahajan remains calm and poised during the funeral”
“Star News Exclusive: Rahul Mahajan took Champagne with Drugs”
“Apollo to conduct Medical Bulletin at 5:00PM – Rahul Mahajan Case”
“Rahul Mahajan presented before Tis Hazari court”
“Rahul Mahajan has trouble sleeping in Tihar Jail – Inside sources”
“Cook of Anees Ibrahim in Aajtak Studio”
“Abu Salem cries at night in jail”
“Govinda denies links with Dawood – tape recording shows otherwise”
“Karishma talks to her husband for 10 minutes”
“Kareena decries media over MMS scandal”
“Randhir Kappor upset with the tiff between Karishma and Sanjay”
“A child beaten brutally by his caretaker. Parents file complaint”
“Amar Singh cries foul - Amitabh Bachchan vs Income Tax Department”
“BJP Leaders meet Rahul Mahajan”
“We don’t only bark, we can also bite: Sitaram Yechury”
“Bush to have Indian Food as Lunch”
“Blair gets Kababs packed to take with him to UK

In fact the likes of Star News/ Aaj Tak/ Sahara/ India TV/ Total/ Headlines Today, take the cake in such matters. They will leave no stone unturned to dramatize any matter. You just have to hear them breaking a news to realize: “Did Rakhi Sawant provoke Mica?”; “Did Mica actually kiss Rakhi?”; “Why did Mica instruct his Bodyguards to beat Rakhi’s Brother?”; To know all these and much more on the story – watch our special program “Miss ka Kiss”; (or something of the sort). Or check out the dramatization of Rahul Mahajan’s case: “Did Rahul actually take drugs”; “Did Rahul give money to Sahil to buy Drugs”; “Did Sahil take drugs along with Rahul”; Was Vivek Maitra a drug addict”; checkout our special bulletin at 12:30 PM – “Rahul Drugged”. I remember we used to hear a program on All India Radio some years back in which our very own Ameen Sayani would be heard advertising about a new movie in much the same way. Sample this; “Did Akshay kill Vijay”; “Was Manisha a part of the whole Conspiracy”; “Was Vijay actually dead?”; To know the answers – watch the most entertaining suspense movie of the year – “Kaatil ki Kahani” (The Story of Murderer). I mean – though these are all names from my wild imaginations – but I hope you get my point here.

It is my firm belief and I know most of you have already reached the conclusion by now that these channels don’t “just” deliver news. They deliver sensationalism coated with dramatics buttressed by the histrionics of the anchors of the program. What’s more (and as mentioned earlier) – they deliver judgments even before a civil or a criminal court passes it’s ruling. They solve mysteries fast enough to put even Scotland Yard to shame! And if they are taken to task for infringement on the judicial matters – they talk of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in our constitution and create a hue and cry about freedom to Press and Media.

There is no such thing as an objective journalist. The best we can be is fair (Rod Scott, editor of the Launceston Examiner)

And all my life I thought “News” means an unadulterated version of what actually happened. News was not supposed to be an “analysis” or a “prediction” of any kind. I firmly believe (even today) that all the analysis and Predictions make a reported item biased – biased in the direction a journalist or a newsreader wants it to be. An analysis should cater to all the aspects of a given story – isn’t it? If one can do that – well – go ahead – do the analysis. But then how many times have we seen an analysis being fair? Take the following example: When Pramod Mahajan was killed – his brother was the villain of the script. Period. The journalists went out of their way to crucify him before any court could do it. Pravin Mahajan was the big time villain in this script. “Cut to” Rahul Mahajan’s Drug scandal; these same journalists wanted us to take Pravin Mahajan’s statement seriously when he said – “Rahul Mahajan was innocent and part of a big conspiracy!” They kept on reporting his statement throughout that day as justification for proving Rahul innocent. Pravin Mahajan was not exactly a Villain here – was he?

Don’t forget that each of the headlines/ breaking news/ flash news/ main news I have chosen to mention here are the ones that have all been reported for days together until some other sensational news takes over. A case in point; Does anyone hear about Rahul Mahajan now? I kind of miss him after hearing every heartbeat of his (courtesy our news channels!) for weeks till not so long ago. But he got bail, was released from police custody, gave a good press statement. Over. He became a stale item to report. He was hence dumped in favor of a kiss between two of the most irrelevant people one can think off (Rakhi and Mica)!

Anyways – if we were to believe these channels – there is no life beyond Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Kashmir, Bengal, Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh. The whole of India for them is limited to Central, western and Northern India. For them nothing happens in States like Tamil Nadu (which comes into news only when Karunanidhi is arrested or J Jayalalitha is harassed or when there is election in that state), Kerela, Andhra Pradesh (which again comes in news only when a farmer commits suicide there), Orissa, Northeastern states (like Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland), Himachal, Goa, Uttranchal or for that matter Karnataka (which again is always in news ONLY when there is Kaveri river water distribution issue – I mean ever since the “news maker” Mr. Veerappan was killed). How many times have we heard any news from these regions otherwise? Or should we just believe that there is nothing happening in those parts of our country? Will someone explain how are people of other states worried about a couple killed in Delhi or a girl raped in Delhi or for that matter dowry being taken in UP or Bihar? Excuse me for saying this – but these are local issues. Aren’t they? So why bombard the news (in most cases throughout the day) and its (by now familiar) analysis undertaken by the anchors of the news channels to all the people around the country? And if they have to report Rapes and Murders happening in Delhi/Northern regions – why don’t they report such cases from all over the country – or at least from all major cities? No wonder people feel that all the criminals, rapists & Dowry seekers reside in either Delhi, UP or Bihar. I am sure people do know that Andhra Pradesh beats all these states in Dowry Practices. Why not report that? Or does it not qualify for these reporters as News? Is it not known that Politicians of South or Northeast are equally corrupt? Why don’t they cover that as news? What about the criminal links of MLAs and MPs in Norhteast or Bengal or for that matter even Southern States. Why don’t they report that? And excuse me – sad that it is – heinous crimes like Rape happens and are reported in Police stations of every major city regularly. Then why subject Northern regions alone to such scrutiny. Isn’t it unfair and grossly unjustified reporting?

Someone very rightly said – “Selective reporting has always been harmful for the society – but true as it is – it shall remain so”. Period.

For devils sake – these are “National” News channels dammit. They are supposed to cover news from around the country (I don’t even mean international news – since most of the news channels are incompetent to handle international issues). Is there something wrong if I want them to do that? And again - why always report news of Murder, Extortion, Rape, Terrorism, Naxalism, underworld shootings and their ilk. News has to go beyond all that. To report all the ghastly things invariably leave a horrific impression in the minds of people – especially the youth. It is no surprise to see the current generation of Indians who feel their country is full of shit. An aspect handled particularly well in the Film “Rang De Basanti”. Thanks to the portrayal and, in most of the cases, exaggeration of a news item – today an ordinary citizen is forced to feel that there is no justice for honest people in this country. That everything can be bought (including justice); that all politicians are criminals; that all government employees work only when their palms are “greased”; that police officers in general can be bought; that there are more tax evaders than tax payers; that Indians by nature are looters who would skin you bare if you were not street smart. I can’t blame people for thinking what they do about the country as a whole. They are regularly being served all the horror stories of criminalization of society/ polity and the bureaucracy by these channels. There just isn’t any good “news” shown in these channels (except for occasional Indian Victory of our Cricket team). It’s as if “good” news is no news for them.

So what is it that an ideal News channel should do? I would rather have these news channels follow some guidelines & social protocols that border around respectability of a human being and which do not compromise the integrity of the news being reported. Report facts that are known. Be the first one to relay the news to keep your TRP ahead of others. Analysis of the news should be done as a separate segment with a clear disclaimer that views expressed in the program are the views of the channel and that it may not entirely be correct representation of the actual event. I would also like these news channels to divide the timings of the channel such that there are specific timings for news of a particular region. There should also be a segment for news from around the world. This will make the News channels more representative. And yes, one segment should be devoted to detective journalism too – as this seems to be doing more good than bad for the society. If need be – have a segment for quenching sensationalist thirst of viewers who want them.

And finally I would like these channels to know – an actor falls in love with an actress or a son of a politician is a drug edict or a couple is murdered in a city is not NEWS (not main news at least). News should cover stories that the whole country (or at least the majority of the viewers) is interested in and that it should not be limited only to the areas of coverage that an individual channel has. Sensationalism is a different form of reporting – keep a separate section if need be – just to spare the viewers from all the false rhetoric and drama surrounding such sensationalism. It may help increase the TRP of the channel – but it definitely ain’t no “Breaking news” to be splashed for days altogether. Remember – what sells need not always be News for the masses.

These channels should not forget that they are not in the business to MAKE news. They are here to report events that HAVE occurred – fairly, honorably and truthfully. And that for them should be the starting mantra in the editorial room. Failing which they should shut their shops and spare us.

Think about it.

Mantosh Singh..
28th June 2006’

Thursday 15 June 2006

Success or Failure

Success or Failure! Everybody’s life can be divided into these two phases. Life today has no “in betweens”. Either you are successful in life or if you are not successful then you must be a failure. Gone are the days when people would be happy to lead a stable, normal life in/as a middle class family. Today we measure everything. And in a measurement, the parameters are set – either Black or White. Grey areas are simply overlooked or rather are non-entities. And as I say, either we are successful or else we must be failures. For most of us the choice is pretty clear – success is what matters and we will do everything possible to achieve that elusive “Success”.

Now, why are we so crazy for success? Why is it that people who are successful are always looked up to? Why is Failure such a stigma? After all every GOOD has an EVIL to support. There can be no Success without a failure – isn’t it? Those who have not faced failures will never enjoy the so-called Success. And once you taste that elusive Success – you inevitably remember the period of failure with a lot of pride. Even then - when you are not successful (read it as Failure) you end up being a mental wreck. In those periods of failure you try too hard to achieve your goal and since none of them work, you end up feeling both mentally and psychologically down. You not only ruin yourself – you also leave a wrong/sad impact on your family and friends. Your lack of confidence in your own self in these times of failure makes people around you nervous. You – by being a nervous wreck lose opportunities that come your way – simply because you are too pre-occupied by your self-indulgent trauma. These opportunities would/may have been the route towards that alluding goal of success and since you inevitably miss those or fear to grab those opportunities – you end up prolonging the so-called unsuccessful rein. The quote of William Shakespeare is quite relevant here – “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good that we oft may win, by fearing to attempt”. We tend to forget that it is we and only we who can bring ourselves back on track and hence we should be more on alert than succumb to the unreliable fate. And as Bernard Shaw says – “When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work”. That is precisely the way to deal with this period of failure.

In any case – why do we fear failure? Success is meant to bring happiness. Agreed. But why be sad when you are not? All Good things follow the Evil ones. That is what we are taught and that is precisely what happens in almost all the cases. Yes, all the cases – except the ones in which the person is not ready to identify the opportunity. So, when we know that Good times shall come, why do we get scared of the bad times? Bad times (read again as the period of Failure) will not last long – not unless you really sleep through it. Not unless you are not willing to take your chances that are on offer. Not unless you build a wall of resistance around you which will stop the current of opportunities to come near you. The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious. And you have to be at your best to trap these possibilities

Friends, Times of failure are the ones to be treated with utmost care. These are the times when you should double up and be at your best. And as my Dad keeps telling me during my bad times – Bad times are the times when you should be happier – since you have a hope. You have a hope of achieving success and a hope of better times to come. So why fear? Though it is a bit difficult to be happy at such times. But he does have a point. Hope is the companion of power and the mother of success, for those of us who hope strongest have within us the gift of miracles. Again, Success is not the key to happiness. It is happiness that is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. In fact if you have ever happened to notice – it is the Good times or the successful period of one’s life that he/she is more scared. Scared of losing everything with that one wrong move that would destroy everything you have achieved. Ask any successful movie star or a rock star and you will know what I mean. They are scared of losing their popularity and success. And I contend that it is because they have not enjoyed their times of failure. They are scared of going back into the period of Failure. I find this simply amazing. I mean, look at it this way – We are scared for our present and our future in the period of Failure, and when we are successful, we still are scared to hell about doing something wrong which may bring back the same period of failure. Do we ever come out of this fear psychosis? Well I say in most of the cases – No.

Failures are as much a part of our lives as success. Behind every successful man there's a lot of unsuccessful years. You will, and dare I say you should, fail once in a while. The one who has not tasted failure cannot enjoy success. Unless you know how black color looks, how will you differentiate between Black and White? Unless you know what is darkness – how will you define Daylight? Unless you know Bad times or failure, how will you know the difference between Bad and Good times or, in this context – between a failure and a success?

I wish you could see the things in a different perspective for a change.

There is no point in getting scared or living in fear in any of these phases. As said earlier you never tend to come out of that Fear psychosis – neither in times of Failure nor in times of success. You have to decide for yourself whether you really want to live this life of subversion (?) – Subversion from your own in-built fear. Life is short dear friends. We make it look big by spending every moment of it in a kind of fear. Stop fearing. In fact I would say – Be a bit more careless about things around you. Why not? It will not hurt. It is fun to be careless at times. Life is not such a serious journey friends. We don’t have to make mountain of moles. Success or Failure – we are going to leave everything behind when we take that final bow from this life. So why live in fear?

All I say is – try to enjoy the period of Failure. Employ whatever method suits you. But just be your self. Remember – when getting whipped is inevitable – well as they say – Try and enjoy it. Sick saying (?) – Yes – but philosophically it’s the best way of looking at it. A period of Failure is just a passing phase. Keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. So don’t bother too much? Failures are not to be scared of. Though they are not welcome, there is something in failure that has its own charm. Your true character comes through when you are in this phase. This is the phase in which you can try different things. Things that you would definitely not try in the Good times, in the fear of doing something wrong and losing the initiative. You can be adventurous and you can be enterprising or as my Dad says you (can) be happy – happy in the hope for the good times to come. Losing is not bad – provided we show some grace in losing. Remember we can win by losing provided we try to enjoy the period of such failures.

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is for you.

Think about it.

Mantosh Singh..
15th June 2006'