Thursday, July 23, 2009

The media is crass, isn’t it? Or is it?

The media is an information reporting medium which brings real time events to normal public. The medium might be in the form of print media like newspapers, magazines, online media or even the most popular one, the multimedia telecast by means of radio or TV. I feel nauseated by the deluge of senseless journalism prevalent in our country, in particular. So thought of letting vent to the feelings. I believe the media has a very responsible role of shaping our minds, especially the younger generation. With values and morals plummeting to an all time low and people mistaking tradition-stickling for out datedness, the situation is expected to get even worse in the near future. So along with the education system, the print media and the TV media have a very important duty to collectively shape the virgin young minds in the same manner a potter shapes his clay pots. Rudimentary, isn't it?

So continuing in the same vein, the media should be impartial in publishing news articles. So what is the progress so far? Channels like Aaj Tak have been reduced to the shadows of their former past. It has become a terrible blot in the history of impartial journalism in India. Instead of just presenting the news in a polite and unmodified manner, they force their anchors to modify it and present it as their opinionated mouthpiece. I feel very sad when I recollect those golden days when Aaj Tak was a news bulletin in DD Metro and it then garnered some of the highest ratings for any news programme in India. It had also won numerous awards. All changed in a moment when TV Today-a division of the India Today Group acquired the rights for it. Yes you got it right. This is the same group which banged itself in the wall by redesigning the legendary India Today and converting it into a piece of trash which it is today. Same is the case with some of the newer channels who want more TRP ratings instead of having a Quality Control system in place while delivering news. News of politics, entertainment, administration and sports are regularly delivered with their own “moral” admonishings and sermons as to what has been righted or wronged in the process. Who has asked for your opinions dear sirs/madams? We only want the news. Please we are intelligent enough to interpret it and form our own opinions.

We have to just look at channels like BBC or CNN to gauge the glaring differences in the presentation of objectively-filled content to present the true and accurate picture of an incident instead of the Indian disease of glamorising an incident by terming this as Exclusive and what not. True, we are not as developed as our counterparts in the other side of the globe, but the least we can do is being true to ourselves and not to produce a deceptive picture of an incident. The credibility and reliability of most of the TV channels are at stake. There is no external force behind their undoing. And what have they done to bring back the trust? A big zero. Absolutely nothing. Most of the channels have become mouthpieces of either political parties or large business houses parroting their diktats.

The print media has become even worse. Most of the front page news and editorial articles are nothing but copy-paste from their websites containing blogs by non-descript people,given a thumbs down rating previously by online readers. The same pathetic opinion pieces are regurgitated again and again till the normal reader cries out of fatigue. Large national newspapers' reporting has gone rock bottom with tepid reporting aimed at “I don’t know who.” Gross spelling mistakes give these so called “Largest Daily” papers, a pock marked look. This ruins the vocabulary of the ever growing youth. Either there is a problem with their spell checkers or there is gross carelessness on their part. Irrelevant news is highlighted unscrupulously to attract attention of the public who otherwise would have simply neglected it.

Another issue is the high decibel voice of the newscasters which would virtually make you deaf if you continue listening to their nonstop chatter at normal TV volume. You have to scale down the audio level of the device several notches down to be able to distinguish between noise and voice. I wonder where these people are being imparted training. Nasal grunts and hisses are too common in channels like Times Now where the anchors try to impress you with their unnecessary use of squeaks and squeals. This makes your news watching sessions a nightmare. TV news casting and anchoring is an art and the quality of art depends on the quality of the artists.

All in all, news and views in India has become all the more lethal agent, nowadays capable of rendering your skulls immobile by inflicting painful headaches.

Finally got rid of jobless tag!!!

After joining the Federal Bank Staff College on 19th July, it has been a really comfortable stay in the cool environs of Aluva,a suburb of Ernakulam. The Staff College is a 11 storey high rise called Federal Heights. It is located just yards away from the bank Headquarters,the Federal Towers. The roof top is a decorated rope garden and the night views are delightful. The people here are nice,simple and friendly. The food provided in the mess is simply awesome with fruits,chicken/mutton in nearly every meal with calorie rich delectables like ice creams, fried vegetables, pulaos and ethnic Malayali food being splattered here and there. The accomodations are in line with 3 star hotel facility with a room being shared by 2 officers. The lecture hall is fully air conditioned and has a gallery like seating system for the students. The faculties are vastly experienced and are mostly Fed Bank old-timers with their designations being either Chief Managers or Senior Managers. Class timings are from 9:30 am-5:00 pm. All our Amrita friends are here except Ajit and Manu who didn't join. We are having a jolly good time. On Sunday, we are planning on a reunion of our batch mates who are staying nearby.
The training period will end on 8th August after which we all will depart for our respective posting locations. I have got mine in Kolkata. Feeling a bit nostalgic since I was there for a month during my Summers in 2008. Our initial designations will be Probationary Officers and after confirmation will be Assistant Managers. That's it for now.