the Desi Dork Media

Yesterday, I was watching Now with Bill Moyers. Incidentally it was the last time Bill was achoring Now. He was lamenting how the Republican propaganda masquereded opinion as news and made people believe what was just a creation of imagination of the anchors such as Bill O'railley. The same can be said about the media in India, although it is just that the Indian media leans overwhelmingly towards the left rather than right.

Generally, I tend not to discuss all this, since not only most of the people I know are not interestd in this kind of stuff, discussing politics and related material is looked upon with disdain. Although I believe it is more of a reflection on politicians of our country, India.

However,because of the DPS sex tape scandal and subsequent arrest of a KGPian, there is tremendous amount of resentment, broadly among IITians and specifically among KGPians, against the way media handled this matter. Times of India put screaming headlines announcing the arrest of the concerned student. The media not only published his name, but also the family background and other stuff. NDTV ran the story in primetime. It seems they also went to IIT Kharagpur and covered the story.

The reason for the media giving wind to this story is not a big secret. They need eyeballs, and what could be better masala than a mix of a sex scandal and an institution which is almost iconized by Indians. It turns out that because of this brazen competition for eyeballs, the concerned student has been expelled from the college and there are serious doubts whether he will be awarded his degree.

If it was a crime to sell that video, the guilty should be punished. But this whole episode begs a deeper question. Why does it take an IITian to focus the media on this story? Why did the media not focus on the same story when vcds were being sold like hot cakes in Palika bazar? Why did the delhi police find it easiar to go all the way to Kharagpur to arrest someone, than to raid the local market which could be at a stones's throw?

When confronted about the role of media, the favourite defence of the journalists is : Dont shoot the messanger!. Well said. But then the messanger is not shot because he is supposed to be noble, above the dispute at hand and most importantly because he can be believed. Can the same be said about the media today?

I, for one, have stopped believing in the analysis that comes up in the media long ago. I just rely on them for the news. I just hope they are not making up facts, as yet.