Malcolm-X once quoted ‘The Media’s the most powerful entity on the earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of masses’
Think over the above quote and it seems so true in the present scenario. The daily reports that we read in the news paper all abuzz about crime, extortion, ransom demand, forgery, cheating and many more, are all and all shaped by the media. Here media in particular refers to the print, television in primary and so on.
So our Indian media is capricious and at the same time can be intimidating at times. Indeed many do run away from it and at the same time many do run after it. To cut a long story short, the media especially the print and television have a great impact on the minds of people both in rural as well as urban India. A conspiracy, mishap, ‘kaand’ and so forth are the adjectives which would give a gleam of what exactly happens. It can educate the masses and at the same time it can corrupt the masses. It can make stand a Government to rule and it can make it defame to pieces. And in a democratic nation like India where there is a freedom of Speech and thought, media forms a vital role in the overall development. But do our media stand on its terms to shoulder the responsibility? Well this answer has a number of sub-branches and various aspects but to integrate and answer as a whole we have a sad but true answer and that’s ‘NO’
We come across many channels and many news papers which we refer daily to get into groove on the current happenings. The more recent matters have focused more on youth to channelize thoughts. They say young minds are the future of our society. I always failed to understand this. Over this the youth complains that the seniors have intertwined the system so badly and at the root level it’s unimaginable to refine and re-erect. I am of the opinion that our ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ media has all that what it takes on to bring our system on the right tracks. Take the case of a much acclaimed channel ‘The Aaj Tak’. I would refer to this as an entertainment channel rather than a news channel. The channel is a recipient of 6 awards for excellence, really wondering how, and yes it leads the charts in creating the cheapest news. The crew has that set of news which no one can ever think off. Amitabh Bhachan ko hua Julab and then Cheetah ko hua pyar, kya ban payegi inki jodi such kinds of titles just make it absurd and here they gain their fame. Rather than showcasing the proceedings of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha they are keener on knowing where M.S Dhoni is celebrating his valentine or when is Aishwarya planning for a baby?? This might seem silly for most of us residing in Urban India but the rural India does not take it that way and watches it ebulliently. For them the news is a matter of concern and a very factual content. Over this they (news-channel) have the capability to delineate and club the ideas with a hi-tech IT department, that one fails to appreciate the news and start enjoying it as an entertainment. This is where our media tends to divert minds from sense to non-sense, the priorities tend to fade away and on the whole fails to serve the purpose.
The bottom line is the channel keeps the people tuned to the TV and if not all, many people can change their inception and might go under a wrong influence. I always recall one incident which had made people affix in front of the TV, it was about our charming young fellow ‘Mr Prince’, who fell down in the pit. The Star News crew got to reach the destination first and the cameraman pulled down his camera and every inch of his movement was calculated. Was this all really needed? At such a painstaking situation for his parents, they interviewed his mother ‘What do you feel now?’ It was broadcasted and millions are watching them, yet his mother answered with broken courage. Surrounding village cited a commotion and everyone enjoyed the scenario. The authorities engaged in rescuing the boy must have had a good test for their patience. This is the potential of our media to create such hype and furore. This is not just one incidence; there are plenty to goad on.
‘Aaj Tak- Sabse Tej’, Star News, Zee News and many more which are show casted for 24hours wobble around the same bunch of news. Media is indeed our backbone and so can’t be given up completely. When we stroll around newspapers and news channels we always tend to keep a follow up on certain set of news, that is say sports or box-office reviews etc. Most of significant changes that took place in the law, amending of the bills, changes in policies, and reviews of fraudulent companies are brought to light by this media only. Our pace of development can be enhanced provided our media fulfils its duties and works in the vested interests.
One of the crucial changes was brought about by Times of India. They initiated the ‘Teach India’ program which was inclined to educating the masses dwelling in the slums. The management called up for working professionals from various backgrounds and setup a platform for those who are motivated to work for poor. Educated class stepped out of the doors, apart from their offices and workplaces and came forward to give a helping hand. Also one more spectrum of our intelligent media came to light when they collected funds for Tsunami victims, the Bhuj earthquake victims, the floods hitting Mumbai and many more to their credit.
In short we form a perspective, form our opinion, get biased and we are made to think on by this media. Commercials by Jago Grahak, jaagore.com, insisting people to be alert on fraudsters, insisting them to cast their vote etc, are a boon to our rural development. The media at one node testifies and also panders, covering a wide range of people, politicos, bollywood stardom, industrialists, organisations and many more. Media is a buttress to the stratum of our society, provided it works and accomplishes its responsibilities.
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