Indian media failed to rise to the occasion once again. It was a tragedy that unfolded in Mumbai for 48 hrs but channels didn't appear sombre and regulated.
Instead, they were over-excited and showing everything as if it was a 'live war reporting' though wars aren't reported in this manner either.
There were alerts, flashes, scrawls and breaking new for 50 hrs. The aim was to grab eyeballs. Ads were not shown as the viewer could switch to other channel in the meantime.
The news channels wanted highest TRP in this troubled times, so that they can later demand higher rates for advertisements and stay up on chart.
Much will be discussed in the coming days whether it was prudent to show the positions of police, commandos and officials in the initial stage of encounter in Taj Hotel that left officers, ATS chief Hemant Karkare and others dead.
Celebrity reporters' questionable conduct
Worst was the conduct of the so-called celebrity reporters who wanted their cameramen to zoom on everything as they lay on the ground. A star reporter-cum-anchor spoke lying on the ground to create the impact that he was reporting from warzone.
Others were not sure how to be on the ground and either grotesquely prostrated themselves or laid down on their back or side. The same anchor was drunk when he first appeared in the first hour of the tragedy.
The slur was visible and he was cut short. He later re-appeared on Thursday morning. In the end, all these channels together made a tamasha of the tragedy and served it to audience as if it was any other tamasha.
Where on earth the reporters are allowed to mob such a site? The government also woke up very late and by the time the TV channels stopping showing 'live' [7 pm on Friday], it was already too late. But our electronic media made a mockery of itself.
Instead, they were over-excited and showing everything as if it was a 'live war reporting' though wars aren't reported in this manner either.
There were alerts, flashes, scrawls and breaking new for 50 hrs. The aim was to grab eyeballs. Ads were not shown as the viewer could switch to other channel in the meantime.
The news channels wanted highest TRP in this troubled times, so that they can later demand higher rates for advertisements and stay up on chart.
Much will be discussed in the coming days whether it was prudent to show the positions of police, commandos and officials in the initial stage of encounter in Taj Hotel that left officers, ATS chief Hemant Karkare and others dead.
Celebrity reporters' questionable conduct
Worst was the conduct of the so-called celebrity reporters who wanted their cameramen to zoom on everything as they lay on the ground. A star reporter-cum-anchor spoke lying on the ground to create the impact that he was reporting from warzone.
Others were not sure how to be on the ground and either grotesquely prostrated themselves or laid down on their back or side. The same anchor was drunk when he first appeared in the first hour of the tragedy.
The slur was visible and he was cut short. He later re-appeared on Thursday morning. In the end, all these channels together made a tamasha of the tragedy and served it to audience as if it was any other tamasha.
Where on earth the reporters are allowed to mob such a site? The government also woke up very late and by the time the TV channels stopping showing 'live' [7 pm on Friday], it was already too late. But our electronic media made a mockery of itself.
