The News Channels Cat Fight

News channels today are greatly influenced by movies. Be it the grandeur (Read coverage), the news presenter (Hero, Heroine), etc have that extra masala spiced up very often.

One of the recent events that prompted me to write was the coverage for Sunita Willams. True, she has set a world record for walking in space, but Is she Indian by birth or has she lived here. In both the scenarios the answer is "NO". But why does the media go gaga over this formal visit. Like say

Channel 1 - Breaking News! Sunita Williams arrives in Bombay, Ahmedabad
Channel 2 - Breaking News! Sunita Williams' relatives house raided by news
cameras
Channel 3 - Breaking News! State Government to confer award on
Sunita willaims
Channel 4 Breaking News! Sunita Williams…….

To me the news channels look like some Bollywood (I hate to use this term!) movies that are promoted heavily with very limited or no content. Over the last 5 years one will not find information on any single news feed that captured the imagination of the viewers for a long time (this might anger some broadcasters J).

Well there are two sides to this coin – Money (read profitability) and Popularity (read TRPs). And today, the news channels are going out of the way to make their presence felt.

What happens to basic Social Responsibility for their country and community in unearthing news, achievements and inventions that can be viewed by one and all across the globe. But at this point, the former is getting more coverage than the later.

Is it because we are lacking true achievers who can create a global impact? Or we do not have business houses / broadcasting companies that can spread their wings to bring news that can captivate a large audience. My vote goes to the later

While I try to get some understanding on this, I think the problem lies in our country's considerate and moderate views on anything that may have led to this situation. For that fact, we have been pioneers in a few areas that we can date back over a thousand years. Be it the invention of "Zero" or the Rig Veda and Indian astronomers who have given the world the entire framework of space research. Modern science is now accepting what they had outlined millenniums ago. This has been emphasised greater in Dr. Kalam's book "Wings of Fire"

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in his inaugural address of the ISRO mentioned this "There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."

So the achievement of a nation is truly not dependent on its economic prowess or the path breaking inventions or achievements of its citizens. It calls for sustained economic and scientific development that will lead to a better system that supplements inventions and growth. At this outset, one would agree that this development has not happened consistently at all levels in India and has left us back by a couple of decades with the developed nations

But, do we stop here or go the extra mile. Perhaps the news channels can look at some inspiring dialogues as well.

"Zindagi jine ke sirf do hi tarike hai. Ya to jo raha hai use bardasht karo ya phir jimmedari uthao use badalne ki"

Or

"Yeh system ko badal ne jao, toh system tumhe hi badal deta hai"

Or

"ek paav past mein, ek paav future mein, isi liye hum apne present par moot raha hai"

The list can go on..... even the kutha, kamina, saale dialogues can appear here