Rajat Sharma, Naqvi and Uday Shankar responsible for turning Hindi news channels into a circus, journalists into jokers

Many are wondering how Rajat Sharma could be awarded Padma Bhushan?

This post is about the fall in standard of TV news and journalism in India.

While Arnab Goswami is accused of killing English TV news [as Outlook claims], who is responsible for the death of Hindi TV news?

This question has been raised by Senior journalist Dilip C Mandal who has written a series of Facebook posts on it.

Mandal, who was managing editor, India Today (Hindi) till recently, names three journalists for their role in bringing down credibility of Hindi news channels.

The names are Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma.

Read the English translation here:

Dilip C Mandal

Under whose leadership did the Hindi TV channels enter the 'circus mode'? In prime time, instead of news, TV channels began showing stories about naag-nagin (snake) superstitions, call girl who charged the most and about cars moving without driver.

This journey continued to such an extent that everybody kept slipping, even falling into gutter, and no one bothered.The three leaders who are responsible for turning Hindi media into Peepli Live and its journalists into jokers are Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma.

I will write a detailed paper on it, sometime later. I have no personal issues with any of them. But they are responsible for the situation that today there are jokes on media. Talk about reporters and kids start laughing.

These channels got audiences addicted to such humour that ultimately TV News channels began showing half-hour laughter challenge shows. If this trio won't be there, may be other leaders would be around, doing the same. But they were leading the three major channels in the era.

There was a time when Ganesha idols were sipping milk but SP Singh countered superstition on TV and used the cobbler's tool and showed that it could also sip milk in the same way, and also demonstrated how TRP can be generated by going against superstition.

There is tamasha in Indian English news too but that is mostly around news. In Hindi news channels, tamasha is foremost and there is no need for news at all. Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma drove Hindi TV news to the superstitious age, even though all of these three persons are modren people. However, news was brought the lowest common denominator.

Read the posts on Dilip C Mandal's Facebook Timeline

Delhi serial bomb blasts: Aajtak's Himalayan blunder

Thirteenth September, Aajtak's Blunder

Just when the story of the bomb blasts in Delhi was unfolding, self-styled 'best news channel of India' committed a colossal blunder.

It ran a flash that 'a kid with bomb tied around him' was caught. Just when the people were trying to cope with the gravity of New Delhi being attacked on the evening of September 13 2008, the news further surcharged the atmosphere.

It kept on showing that the 'boy was arrested and taken away by police'. In fact, it was totally baseless and represented the height of irresponsible reporting. The child, Rahul, had seen a suspicious person, who probably planted the bomb or left it in a polythene.

The police took the boy away for quizzing him about the man. But Aajtak, that shamelessly claims itself to be 'Desh ka Sarvashreshtha channel', aired this unconfirmed news which was manufactured on the basis of probably some rumour and came from the realms of fantasy.

This is not just irresponsible but dangerous reporting. Such 'flashes' do create panic. Any news organisation, whether a paper or a channel, that claims to be doing journalism, should first confirm and then telecast a news let alone causing scare.

Within an hour, there was more panic as people thought that if a 'fidayeen' kid was used what could be the magnitude of terror attacks in future. The channel sheepishly showed a flash later that it was wrong information but didn't bother to apologise. It didn't feel responsible enough to say that and pretended as if the earlier report of 'boy used as suicide bomber' was not telecast on Ajtak. So much in the name of journalism!

Aajtak's 'Mahanagar ke Mard' to show Indian men are eve teasers and charcterless turns a flop

On Thursday Aaj Tak, which apparently ran out of news, tried to grab eyeballs by its 'special programme' Mahanagar ke Mard.

A girl in micro-mini was sent out on the roads as bait and the expressions of youths and men who turned to look at her, were captured by camera. The aim was to show that the most Indian men are characterless and ogle at women.

But it was a disaster from the beginning. Firstly, the woman was deliberately made to wear such a provocative dress, was in itself an unethical thing. Anybody wearing such a dress in chilly Delhi winter will invite stares.

The dress was not only short (I am not saying vulgar) but also grotesque. Eve teasing is bad. But if a man stares at a beautiful woman, it's not a crime. But the channel gave an impression as if all Indian male are such (deprived of the sight of females) and the anchor was too judgemental.

The camera captured the behaviour of many persons but probably found just one or two persons that was a bit objectionable. But the aim was sensationalizing the issue and thus it was turned an All Male Vs All Female thing.

The anchor was clearly opinionated: all Metro (urban) Men are like That. Frankly, it's human nature. If men won't look at a beautiful woman, where they will. Due to social reasons Women may not stare at men openly, but its irrational and un-biological to expect that married men won't look at other women.

Then the channel was invited reaction through opinion poll and it was again a big disaster. The first flash said 'Vote A if you blame Men' but the Second line said 'Send SMS to A if you think her short dress is to be blamed'. This flustered the viewers and strangely the Aajtak-walas noticed this blunder only after half an hour, which was then corrected.

We are neither male chauvinists nor feminists. But such cheap tricks, just for the sake of TRPs and making news out of nothing, shows the channel in poor light. After all, it is the channel's own Prabhu Chawla who salivates the most when he interviews a model or an actress from Rakhi Sawant to Mallika Sherawat.

Prabhu Bawla....err...Chawla:Seedhi Baat with Saurav Ganguly

Watching Prabhu Chawla interviewing Saurav Ganguly on Aj Tak's Seedhi Bat, I had a pleasant surprise. Unlike most other celebrities, Sourav was humble and 'tameez-daar'.

He addressed Chawla respectfully and spoke mildly. Once, if I remember correctly, he started his reply saying 'dekhiye bauji' (like See Sir) despite Chawla's ill-mannered ways and sarcastic style. Ganguly did not lose his cool and spoke with a lot of humility.

Does the Terhi Baat, a comedy show on Sahara's Filmy channel where the anchor Prabhu Bawla (The bald man who played the role of Abdul bhai in Nukkad serial, played host in the show) would speak to imaginary/real guests in a similar style, still continues! Haven't watched the channel for sometime now.