Not that I am an avid reader of newspapers, but
It so happens that I wanted to be a good citizen of the world and keep a track
of what was happening on this beautiful planet.
A year into this new
"newspaper-reading" project, I realized (quite late) why I initially stopped
reading the newspapers for quite so many years. One of the reasons being,
newspaper companies publish only news that would sell them fast and publish
only what they want us to read.
Didn't someone once actually say that a newspaper
in the society is more like a watchdog that brings to light the mishaps and the
wrong deeds in a society, to ensure the perpetrators are actually held
responsible? Or was it me who created that statement in my head hoping that it
was said by someone who was more famous?
Either ways, even if it wasn’t said by someone
famous, at least now I am saying it.
Over the past year, the one thing that I have come
to realize is that, our wonderful journalists and reporters are so creative,
that they actually print even the slightest detail like a political figure
passing gas into a creative piece as to how that gas had nuclear contamination that threats the neighboring countries. End result - India pays the ultimate result by losing its innocent lives at railway stations and bus depots!
Today’s journalists and reporters fail to realize
that it is not just a matter of filling the space in their newspapers nor is it
about talking crap on your news channels (filling space is why you have companies to advertize). It is more about having the common
sense to discern what the consequences would be if a stupid statement by an
uneducated politician is quoted in the newspapers or stated on various news
channels.
Indian Media should start acting with
responsibility. If you really want to quote a radical statement of a so-called “revolutionary”
leader of this country, then forward such statements to the Home Ministry or
the External affairs ministry and print or quote what the heads of such
ministries have to say.
I agree that such revoltingly, radical statements
could possibly bring in better revenue for the newspaper companies and TV
channels, but are you willing to do it at the cost of national security and at the
cost of so many innocent lives.
It is time that the Indian media started
thinking, are we as humans nothing more than just “collateral damage”? Are our
human lives nothing more than just a means to sell more papers or get better
viewer rating?
Indian newspaper and news channel companies should
stop quoting arrogant dictators, alcoholics and money hoarders who call themselves
political leaders. Speak to the Ministries in-charge and stop claiming our lives to
sell your papers better.
Always remember, we are a peace loving country. Don’t
instigate it with your irresponsibility.
