11 May 2006

Media Hype

Have u ever noticed how every disaster "Is the WORST EVER disaster to occur since *insert a period of time here*"? Do they fully comprehend the meaning of EVER?

I find it ironic when the media complains that people have become insensitive to the suffering of others. Tell me, everydays headlines talks about so many people have died, so many people injured, so many people killed etc etc and u expect them to react?

With 24 hour news channels having nothing to show and competing with a thousand other channels haven't they ended up losing the essence of what they are? I mean, they are supposed to be the watchdogs of the society and the ones forming public opinion. But right now they seem to be only interested in ratings, gaining a greater audience and hence greater revenues.

Front pages of newspapers showing starving kids and mutilated bodies. Is that what we wish to get up to? Start each morning with the horrors of the world we live in?? Wouldn't it be better if we got up to news of how someone helped making the world better? Some act of courage or bravery? Inspiring stories rather than depressing ones?

I'm not saying don't report whats happening. Just present it better. With these pictures of dead terrorists buried deep inside a paper or at the end of a broadcast ( why have pics at all?). Can't we have stuff like Readers Digest's Everyday Heros or people trying to make a difference? Am i asking for too much???

edit: A friend of mine sent me a link to another blog that has a related post.

2 comments:

ego said...

I guess the "Rating" thing has caught on everywhere... People have stopped doing things because they like it and it's fun.. They do it only to satisfy the herd.. Alas, the herd is dumb!!! Take teaching, art, movies, music.. Everyone wants to reach out to the "masses". Journalism is just another field...

Kim said...

That's y i don't watch news channels. Only read the entertainment section in the newspaper :) well that's not entirely true.

Media has its own agenda & providing news is not one of the items on it. Watch "Fahrenheit 9/11" for Moore's brilliant explanantion on ow media manipulates general thought waves of population. Fortunately India has a alot less gullible fools than in the US.