I’ve often had this conflict of impression with regards to the media-journalism to be precise. And acts like the one I’m about to express in this write up unfortunately tilt the balance in the favour of the negative.
I’m referring to a certain interview that I saw on a certain English news channel, a subsidiary of a very popular and aggressive Hindi channel. The news reader in question was interviewing or rather interrogating Ms. Hema Malini over her question regarding reverse osteoporosis (RO), that she had raised in the parliament.
My point of concern is far from who was right in doing what; for what bothered me was the way in which it was done. Let me state here that I’m no fan of Ms. Malini and completely agree with the fact that the question she asked was not appropriate and demeaned the responsibility that the seat in the house commands.
Let me describe the interview-
To begin there were only a few questions that were to be asked-
Why did you ask the question? Can you explain what RO is? Are you embarrassed for asking the question? What is your reaction after having realized that you have made a mistake?
I’m taking into consideration the responsible (read- over aggressive) nature of media while framing the above questions. The above questions plus the time Ms. Malini would take to respond to this would at the most take 10 minutes leaving more room for other more relevant news, but our holier than thou Journo repeats the above question in as many ways as he can as if he has to fit the answer in some crossword puzzle- despite Ms. Malini having accepted (embarrassed as she was evident) that she made a mistake and next time she will do thorough research before asking any questions. The questioning which was very correct to begin with seemed obscene as it continued endlessly…and the sympathy which in the first place should not have been a feeling involved in this piece of news bite started developing and in the favour of someone who to begin with had committed a mistake. As Hema Malini continued to be patient through this interrogation, making an effort to be genuine and cautious, the common viewer who consisted of 4 educated members of my family seems to be irked by the news reporter.
This is just one such case where in the journo has gone over board because of the powers bestowed in him by his position. I can recall another instance wherein a certain talk show hosted by a much respected female journalist popularly known for her gutsy war reporting would often come down heavily on someone who looked when embarrasses on screen despite there being no logical need to do so.
Some wrongs need not be penalized so severely, just as not all rights need to be applauded ferociously…and definitely no position should be taken advantage of so disgracefully.
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