Now lets look at it this way. I sell a product. I sell beautiful images and melodious sounds to people. I try in every way possible to capture a slice of your time so that you can use your eyeballs, ears and mind looking at what all I can dish out to hold your attention. I supress your sense of sight and sound in order to create a brand which registers in your mind and you trust it and respond to it whenever I push and invoke you. I use everything at my disposal to impress, shock and awe your sense of judgement and response. Whether I use a cricket or a movie star, a scandalous politician caught with his pants down or a seemingly intellectual discussion on the state of society I am acting out a particular role of an actor who is supposed to behave neutral and reflect the truth. I create celebrities, I sell them to you. In the process I claim a special role in society where I am entitled to more freedom, special privileges and airtime in your nerve centre. The more number of people I am able to convince or confuse, higher my TRP's, more my advertisements, more the money and thus more opportunity for me to corner you in some some other image and sound.
This can be termed as the other side of the media. The face which media never shows consciously but always knows exists. We just try to smoothen out the rough edges so that we can let know our business is only to learn and tell. Not cut a share in between. But in existence within a system of capital, industry and a failed state media machinery the whole foundation of press is on a system true for every other organization aiming for profit. A capital intensive industry cannot escape the laws applicable with the credibility of any instituition selling a product. The power lies in the fact that when we are able to grab enough attention for a sustained period of time we start exploiting it and people smart enough to realize this exploit us. We do media partnerships and promote a certain cause. We earn out of it and use it to fill slots we are desperate to in order to run a 24 hour network or a 30 page newspaper. People criticize us for this and say we are losing our focus.
When the charge is levelled against the press of being too commercial that is when the time for introspection arises for both the audience and the press itself. The people so engrossed in the boob tube need to think as to how it is unsustainable for a media house to survive, sustain and be confident in its approach towards the reality if it doesn't exploits the medium to an extent and creates a strong financial base. Afterall money is the most powerful tool in today's societal structure. But the same understanding needs to hit the media as well that their role is always of a periscope which reflects the light at the right angle so that the object can be seen clearly. The angled mirror cannot claim to be the object of interest itself. The society too on its part should realize how its very root is failing as its own confidence in the ability to be confident and dynamic deteriorates as it promotes the cause of individual and institutional fame.
Not to undermine the great role the message churned out by the media plays in sustaining a dynamic dialogue which the society has failed to take up actively in promoting the cause of nation building. The most media can and should do is to reflect the truth and uphold the great responsibility of being impartial and brave. Yet we do not want a situation where the fourth estate is forced to approach the executive and the judiciary in order to take up issues of national importance. Its a mutual equation between the press and the rest. The relationship is necessary yet evil in many ways. Criticism and applaud would both exist. The important thing is not to lose perspective and balance. The reality should sustain whatever it takes!
first published:March 20, 2006, 17:04 ISTlast updated:March 20, 2006, 17:04 IST
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do a moral duty. I give people news. I tell them what happens outside the closed doors of their houses. I am the reason they live in a free to inform, educate and discuss all environment. I am the press. The press of this country and worldwide have built their foundations on these principals of moral righteousness and intellectual high ground for centuries now. The oh so common refrain of how we uphold a mirror to the society in order to reflect back its own image so that people can see the truth of their own existence.
Now lets look at it this way. I sell a product. I sell beautiful images and melodious sounds to people. I try in every way possible to capture a slice of your time so that you can use your eyeballs, ears and mind looking at what all I can dish out to hold your attention. I supress your sense of sight and sound in order to create a brand which registers in your mind and you trust it and respond to it whenever I push and invoke you. I use everything at my disposal to impress, shock and awe your sense of judgement and response. Whether I use a cricket or a movie star, a scandalous politician caught with his pants down or a seemingly intellectual discussion on the state of society I am acting out a particular role of an actor who is supposed to behave neutral and reflect the truth. I create celebrities, I sell them to you. In the process I claim a special role in society where I am entitled to more freedom, special privileges and airtime in your nerve centre. The more number of people I am able to convince or confuse, higher my TRP's, more my advertisements, more the money and thus more opportunity for me to corner you in some some other image and sound.
This can be termed as the other side of the media. The face which media never shows consciously but always knows exists. We just try to smoothen out the rough edges so that we can let know our business is only to learn and tell. Not cut a share in between. But in existence within a system of capital, industry and a failed state media machinery the whole foundation of press is on a system true for every other organization aiming for profit. A capital intensive industry cannot escape the laws applicable with the credibility of any instituition selling a product. The power lies in the fact that when we are able to grab enough attention for a sustained period of time we start exploiting it and people smart enough to realize this exploit us. We do media partnerships and promote a certain cause. We earn out of it and use it to fill slots we are desperate to in order to run a 24 hour network or a 30 page newspaper. People criticize us for this and say we are losing our focus.
When the charge is levelled against the press of being too commercial that is when the time for introspection arises for both the audience and the press itself. The people so engrossed in the boob tube need to think as to how it is unsustainable for a media house to survive, sustain and be confident in its approach towards the reality if it doesn't exploits the medium to an extent and creates a strong financial base. Afterall money is the most powerful tool in today's societal structure. But the same understanding needs to hit the media as well that their role is always of a periscope which reflects the light at the right angle so that the object can be seen clearly. The angled mirror cannot claim to be the object of interest itself. The society too on its part should realize how its very root is failing as its own confidence in the ability to be confident and dynamic deteriorates as it promotes the cause of individual and institutional fame.
Not to undermine the great role the message churned out by the media plays in sustaining a dynamic dialogue which the society has failed to take up actively in promoting the cause of nation building. The most media can and should do is to reflect the truth and uphold the great responsibility of being impartial and brave. Yet we do not want a situation where the fourth estate is forced to approach the executive and the judiciary in order to take up issues of national importance. Its a mutual equation between the press and the rest. The relationship is necessary yet evil in many ways. Criticism and applaud would both exist. The important thing is not to lose perspective and balance. The reality should sustain whatever it takes!
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