Who has not heard of the tower of babel...? This expression is often used when people want to describe a place with a lot of confusion and noise. That is exactly what I am reminded every time I watch talk shows or discussions in most of our news channels.
Politicians clamoring to grab a chance to make their point, journalists
shouting at a higher pitch, in order to be heard over the din... A picture that
is quite common these days. What ails these people? Don't we teach kids at
school to not shout and to be polite and attentive to their opponents,
irrespective of how unreasonable that person's argument might be? Haven't we
seen teachers rebuking students who cannot maintain silence in the class?
I sometimes think that, the very concept of journalism has changed these days,
when TV channels are racing against each other, to prove and establish their own
surveys on which is the most widely watched channel(point to be noted - we do
not know how true the survey is, because every channel claims to be the most
acclaimed. By whom, I wonder!) The popular notion seems to be, get a celebrity,
say a politician(the poor devil is the easiest target, since he has always been
easy to question...Since we know there is a common perception that to be a
politician, one has to be corrupt in every possible way.). Prepare all the questions that one could think of, and keep shooting them in regular intervals.
The most important tip that seems to be given to these "journalists" seems to be, "Do not allow the other person to make a valid point. Even if he does, ignore it. We do not want him to talk or be heard."
No matter what the other person wants to say, the tone of the interview and its outcome is predetermined(by whom, I know not). If that person is low on the popular vote(determined by whom? how?) then the journalist keeps talking during the entire span of the show, leaving people like me wondering as to what was the point of inviting the other one to the show!
I have often felt that these shows are more like Interrogations(only the questioning part though. Answers are not expected.) and less like Interviews, though that is the name given to them.
If it is a movie star.... The scenario changes drastically! The "guest" might be a person with not a clue about what he/she is speaking, but, we are not concerned about that. The guest is a star...more people would tune into our channel...so just let them speak whatever they want to...Who cares how insensible or pointless the chatter is?! The "star" keeps talking of some personal travail and the "journalist" listens to it as if it is the most important issue that ails the millions in this country.
I am personally irritated by these kinds of shows. What is the point of journalism, if everything that happens on a news channel is preconceived and done with some motive other than the sole aim of bringing to light the urgent issues that demand our attention as a people?
The flash news - Breaking news like a famous celebrity couple(not even married yet, his 3rd girlfriend...her 5th boyfriend) breaking up.... I have often wondered at the pointlessness! Do the anchors themselves find these so called "news" worthy enough to be mentioned on national television?
Where is responsible journalism, one that does not blow things above their appropriate proportions, one that does not keep harping on the same news and digging further and further into things that are best left unnoticed, one that does not display irresponsible and over curious and sometimes manner less poking into other people's lives? When will they stop people from killing themselves to escape the cameras? When will they stop playing the same horrible videos just because there is nothing else to cover the time? Is there any hope of reviving the honor that journalism once had?
I hope good times are around the corner!
