When CM YSR of Andhra Pradesh died it was a tragic event. The nation was shocked. Shocked more so after the “shock-deaths” and suicides reported in 19 of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh. As the toll started climbing and climbing the media sensed trouble. Soon the chicken was out of the egg and it was clear that not all the deaths and suicides were related to YSR’s death.
Media was consumed by the extreme adolation shown by the people but as the graph rised it was pretty clear that it was manipulated and dramatised. Good the Media has realised this and are running editorials and news stories on this.
BJP is currently the topic of discussion on every news channel. The infight and the seemingly possible collapse of the “party with a difference” structure provides a complete fodder for the media. Everyone wants the front-row seats in this theatre of BJP destruction.
The saffron saga started with an interview of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Times Now and reached a cresendo when just ahead of the ‘chintan baithak’ of BJP Jaswant Singh released his controversial book on Jinnah for which he was subsequently expelled providing enough fodder for the talk shows.
The very existence of BJP is now under cloud thanks to the brilliant PR handing by the party. The media played a crucial role in demonising the saffron party during the elections. Swapan Dasgupta wrote on his blog:
In this election, the media was very successful in painting the BJP as a party of ugly Indians–the fanatics who beat up women, plant boms in Malegaon and deliver hate speeches.
The media is successful again in painting the image of BJP as a broken and faction ridden party incapable of keeping it’s egoist leaders together. BJP needs more ‘chintan’ about the ‘image’ it has given to the citizens of the country who for now don’t seem to be voting for it in majority in the centre for say at least 50 years.
Pro-China and Pro-Communism newspaper ‘The Hindu’ yesterday in it’s editorial page mocked at the outrage in Indian Media about the reports of a paper published which propounds the breaking up of India into 20-30 minor nations like Europe. The Hindu defended China saying that the Chinese authorities had nothing to do with the paper and the expressions expressed. The newspaper said:
This tendency is located in the prevalence of the idea of a monolith China and “Chinese” view which dominates Indian perceptions. This was especially evident last week, when news reports in national newspapers, without exception, linked the claims made by the anonymous blogger to “what Beijing thinks”.
Scholars at the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS) and other institutes said they hadn’t even heard of it, and expressed amusement at the media circus that the obscure website had caused in India.
Mr. Kang’s views often reflect those of a section known in China as the “Fenqing” — it literally translates to “Angry Youth”
This is one of the most blatant displays of China affection by the esteemed newspaper. ‘The Hindu’ goes as far as to say to defend China:
Scholars at the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS) and other institutes said they hadn’t even heard of it, and expressed amusement at the media circus that the obscure website had caused in India.
‘The Hindu’ which does not have kind words for Indian Media calling it a “media circus” is full of praise for the young man who wrote of dividing India into pieces. It says:
Mr. Kang’s views often reflect those of a section known in China as the “Fenqing” — it literally translates to “Angry Youth”
China and communism have a mouthpiece in India -’The Hindu’.
Link of the above article can be found online here.
With News Corp announcing that visitors to it’s websites will have to pay fees to read the news a great era of free information and news seems to be coming to an end. Its highly probable that other media houses follow the same model.
Newspaper corporations have been running into losses in the west. With dwindling readership and advertising revenues most of the newspapers face uncertain future even closure. Most of the readers are preferring internet over conventional newspapers as their source of information and news.
It is unlikely that indian media houses will follow the same trend in charging for online content since the newspaper advertising revenues and readership is robust and does not show any sighns of dwindling in near future.
Charging content on internet for news may snowball to a larger reality when any information means paying money. Howerer that is wishful thinking but it’ll definitely have consequences on the free nature of the internet. The power of information on internet lies in the very basic fact that it’s free lets hope it remains that ways.
Yesterday NDTV 24*7 dedicated a full day to Swine Flu epidemic reporting various news from different parts of the country (especially Pune). The triggering incident for such a media epidemic was the death of a 14 yr old girl Rida. Its worth thinking if the media which is reporting and informing general public about swine flu is actually warning the general public of the flu or have they come out to SCARE people, the citizens of the country as if swine flu is the next biggest killer in the making.
The tone of the various Media is pessimistic and end up scaring the viewers into believing that death is a breath away.
R.I.P Rida ~ The girl who is the first victim of swine flu in India.
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Indi Media Watch welcomes you!
This is INDI MEDIA WATCH. This is a unique and path-breaking concept where the leading national and regional journals and newspapers are reviewed and posted for the sake of comparison between them on the same platform. My goal will be to give you uniterrupted issue-by-issue comparisond of leading journals and collating the issues raised by them. In this way I’ll give my readers a common source they can rely on for review of the national dailies and journals. My effort will be to bring you unbiased and unprejudised review. It is my hope that my readers will benefit from my blog and i will serve my purpose devotedly which is- “To review Indian Media and present it before our readers faithfully.”
INDI MEDIA WATCH (IMW) WELCOMES YOU HERE! I hope you’ll benefit from us!
