India's intimidating media

      Last one month was full of climax, anticlimax, fluctuating fortunes and what not to keep that buzz in the media going. We’ve witnessed everything. From the Nirvana of  a spiritual guru to the end of the Osama era, from the “better late than never” arrests of scandal-filled politicians to a septuagenarian’s fight for a clean India, from the glitz and glamour of the IPL to ‘Go Green’ campaigns. And media has done what it is best in doing- it has hyped, sensationalized and packaged every news to attract people’s attention.

      In a country like ours which relies too much on the media because our system probably has one of the world’s most diverse elements running the industry, a closer insight on it might give us exciting results. India leads the pack in the number of dailies, weeklies and monthlies that are getting published in more than 20 languages.

      The media is often accused of sensationalizing a news. Celebrity gossips and scandals are covered in the most dramatic ways as one would imagine. More spice is added on to these issues. But still nothing should take away the job the media is doing. Many felt that it is the media that  was putting in a lot of effort than even the CBI officials in the CWG scam and 2G spectrum scam.

      The media can be quite tricky too. It might pour praises in volumes but it doesn’t hesitate to take on someone when he/she has an off day. And no one knows this notion better than our cricket players   And when Duncan Fletcher was appointed the coach of the Indian Cricket team by the BCCI, many felt that the major challenge for the Zimbabwean is not just to emulate Gary Kirsten but also to handle the Indian media which is as tough as the former.

      So it becomes fairly imperative that media clearly defines its roles. Should it be just a vehicle to convey information to  millions   or in an extended dimension, shouldn’t it promote itself to have a major say in some of the burning issues? Should a journalist view a murder case just as another news or shouldn’t he do enough to arouse people’s consciousness and join the fight for the victim’s justice? Well, these are the million dollar questions that definitely needs affirmative replies.