The real state of Indian Media
It is no secret in the Indian blogosphere, that the Indian mainstream media is in the pits. Plagiarism, outright lies, covering up stories, selective reporting, you name it and it happens here.
Today I came across a very interesting post on The Hoot.
The Hoot is
The subcontinent has plenty of media, it does not have enough scrutiny of the media. This portal is the outcome of the concern felt by a group of practicing journalists at some recent trends in journalism in this part of the world. It is an attempt to revive a concern for media ethics, restore focus on development [ link ]
In an article today there is a comparision between the Pakistan and Indian MSM. Titled Cautionary Tales, its an opinion on how the Indian MSM has slipped into being a joke of itself.
Indian papers, driven by the great forces of the market, have been dumbed down to the point where they are indistinguishable from any other consumer product.
IT takes a good two hours in the morning going through a stack of Pakistani newspapers. It takes about half an hour to go through the leading English dailies that you get in Delhi. I have had to read them – newspaper-reading being a habit that members of the tribe carry with their luggage – these past three or four days and I can say with confidence that I don?t know what?s happening in the rest of the world.
Do hop over and read the entire article. It raises some very valid points.
This does not bode well for a country that is aiming to become a world leader in technology, commerce and every other field it can.
There are a lot of things that the US does that I do not agree with. But one thing I find very credible here is the assurance that the MSM will have an agenda and stick to it. If you are the FOX news loving person, then u will think the NYTimes is so far left that its off the horizon. If you need your daily dose of NYTimes, you will stop talking to anyone who even mentions the words Fox and News in the same sentence. But at least the media scene is alive. And whatever your leanings (intellectualy, politically, sexually) you will always have something that gives your mind fodder to chew on.
Sadly that seems to be lacking in most Indian newspapers. They have become jokes of themselves. A simple glance at the e-paper edition of the TOI, found in an obscure link on their site will show you that there are more ads than news in the newspaper.
The only glimmer of hope I see in this scenario is that the Indian blogosphere will step up to the plate and take the initiative to right a wrong. The IIPM fiasco and the blogosphere’s outright attack to correct a wrong, was only a precursor of the things to come in the days ahead.
