Hard news has been the biggest casualty in today’s era of journalism as news rooms turn into theatre of inane absurdities
Photo courtesy Twitter
Just when you think that the electronic media has reached its ultimate depths of degradation, it pulls up another act leaving the viewers in shock and awe. The media crews of various channels, boarding flight 6E 264 from Chandigarh to Mumbai on September 9, was one such ludicrous act, which could have put many lives in peril.
A frenzied pack of journos chased actor Kangana Ranaut, who was returning to Mumbai on a pre-announced schedule. Portions of her home in Bandra had been pulled down by BMC the previous day. The journalists boarded the same flight and for its entire duration of two-and-a-half-hours, camerapersons and the mic wielding reporters jostled to get close to the front rows where she was seated, in an attempt to cover the story and get a quote from her.
Passengers on board, which included a journalist travelling on private visit, confirmed that the actor neither looked around even once nor did she speak a word. The hassled cabin crew had to make repeated announcements asking media crews to remain seated. The scribes also caused inconvenience to fellow passengers with their constant moving around. There was total bedlam when the flight landed and the news hounds scrambled to get ahead of each other to grab attention of the star, who has since returned back to Manali.
Safety compromised
The journalists and cameraman on board that day, committed multiple violations of security rules like Aircraft rule 13 which prohibits photography on board and not being seated with seat belts fastened when the aircraft was on the runway. The Covid protocols were also broken as the scribes who were reporting, were not wearing masks and social distancing norms were not followed. Most of their actions also fell under the purview of ‘Handling of unruly passengers on board” section of civil aviation rules. A notice was sent to the airline by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), asking for an “action” against media persons for their unruly behaviour.
The bigger question here is that what is the compulsion for news channels to behave in this manner? When does the business of gathering news involve stalking a person to such lengths? And why is it that there is no regulatory body to check this? In the past media has reported stories of unruly passenger behaviour involving politicians, celebrities and even ordinary passengers. The anchors have been unforgiving and have demanded stringent action against the culprits citing risk to the lives of other passengers. So how could they allow their scribes to indulge in such behaviour and who will take them to task for doing so?
Changing narratives
Since the advent of social media, we have seen that the narratives even on news channels have gone from sober to shrill. Accountability which translates into credibility has gone for a toss and freedom of speech, which was once a fiercely guarded privilege more so by the media, is now subject to grave abuse. Morals and integrity are cheap and even dispensable. We live in times of shoot and scoot and social media platforms make it possible for us to do so. This vitiated environment is being further poisoned by the news media who instead of holding on to their moral compass have gone all out to take advantage of it.
The written or spoken word of a journalist should have gravitas. It used to in the bygone days when people looked up to the likes of Kuldip Nayyar, Khushwant Singh or Prem Bhatia. Today the narrative has become so superficial that there is name calling among the fraternity. Scribes now accuse each other of spreading falsehoods in the name of unverified facts and fake news.
Why did the editors in the news room allow things to get so out of hand?
It happened because now news is less about facts and more about the agenda being promoted by media houses owned by corporates. They have compromised the news industry, (once known as the watchdog of the society), to an extent where they are themselves serving the current establishment and have got polarized. Media is supposed to be the guardian of public interests. It amplifies the issues which have a bearing on lives of common people. What has actually happened now is dumbing down of news to a level where it only titillates and satiates the base instincts and borders on voyeuristic in its tenor and content.
The all-round condemnation of electronic media and its choice of news stories should bring a perspective to the editors. Behaving like detectives, cops or forensic experts and now even stalkers is not required. It’s time to get back to our original roles of gathering and dissemination of news and not just peddling personal thoughts, opinions, beliefs or purpose.
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