Media Rapes

Let’s make a point clear.

All media is business.

A media business may have been initially launched with an utopian inspiration.

To survive they need to have a business model & forget the inspiration.

The longevity of a media business proves they are indeed clever.

Claims of ideals are hogwash.

How does media work, exist?

Print media earns through selling copies and advertisements.

Many times more through advertisements.

Editorial policy compulsively matches with this requirement.

Fill up pages with advts. 

Then remaining pages with news, opinions.

News and opinions will necessarily need to match with motives of advertisers.

Or will lose out future advts. And precious money.

We have adverts now. But fact remains that a copy totally was and is an advert.

Have you ever heard of a media rejecting Govt ads? 

In fact, they beg for Govt ads.

This is titled as Independent journalism.

Visual TV media acts similarly.

But TrP is fundamental to profits.

The more the TrP, the higher the subscription.

The higher the subscription, more the Advt revenue.

How does one get high TrP?

Media, Indian media believes , humans are emotional beings.

They can hardly think & whatever the thoughts, they can be manipulated.

And keep them excited .

Excite by giving a story that creates fear, anxiety, worry.

Titillate wherever to give relief .

Use words like “historic, landmark, huge, grave, nightmare, shocking, criminal, gross, scared, etc”to describe every day events.

And celebrate filmi Stars.

Visual Media follows Shakespearean technique to attract audience. 

Pick up an everyday incident and blow it with helium. 

Only difference is there are no heroes or no strong characters. 

Feeble dark Iogoians.

Representatives of a party, a group, a line of opinion or serving an interest.

They offer varied ludicrous comments that sensationalises an incident. 

The show pretends to stand up for high morals with cheap,emotional and motional below the belt  silly comments by characters without standards. 

Some western media have better standards. 

Mediamen consider themselves as intellectuals and of supreme power. 

Most have poor academic credentials. 

Poorer character.

Demand personal favours from Govt.

Their access to Politiciams and Bureaucrats makes them think huge of themselves. 

Some even think they have ultimate powers and flaunt them.

Brazen, opinated, they imagine themselves as super human. 

If you join a prime time debate, your social media following goes up. Rickshawallah arguments like iam right and you are wrong without an open mind and downright rudeness makes a debate sensational. But you become known and some call you famous and a celebrity. 

Celebrities are ultimate intellectuals in contemporary world. They sell themselves & receive pay back from unlimited sources. 

Media people are pampered for convenient news at press conferences. 

This gets intensively manifold during Parliament and Assembly sessions. During approval of budgetary demands for Tamilnadu Assembly, was witness to distribution of gifts by every department apart from lunches. During elections, media receives cash at every event. Rarely does anyone refuse. Most of those who refuse openly request for gifts to be delivered at home so their image of honesty isn’t tampered.

Don’t shoot the messenger is the counter. 

Messenger? Is media merely the messenger? Don’t you run a business? Don’t you sell? Don’t you have an agenda? Don’t you take positions? Didnt you prioritise news presentation? Can you survive without sensationalism? Didn’t The Hindu support Emergency? Why? For what? Media is not a medium. It is politics and business rolled into one to look like a chocolate but has slow poison within. To those who are drugged by news consumption, am sure in another hundred years they will wake up to my claims.

Have had friendship with some known journalists across the nation. Almost all of them are in Lutyens mould. They stand up for democracy. The moment I disagree with their opinion, they avoid me to stay disconnected. Peevish, weak? They alone have monopoly to opinions and I better not question them.

Still remember a senior from a leading English daily writing an article on Governor BN Singh as a true Gandhian after he demited office. Gandhian? Reason: He gained some urban land on quota through his recommendations. A Gandhian & a Journalist.

Is it a coincidence that some politicians who made it big, brag about having been running hand written copies to create awareness? What started as a literary enterprise dies the moment it becomes a large business enterprise or when the editor becomes a politician. But this claim is to please media that he was one amongst them. 

When PM Rajiv Gandhi held a press conference on his first visit to Chennai at Raj Bhavan, a journalist asked him a question. “Is there a possibility of shifting Union Carbide case from USA to Canada?”.

He answered No.  Later I asked the local Tamil Journo for his profound question. He answered : My owner has an attorney Son in law in Canada so he ordered me to ask that question.

Media can never ever work without self interest or personal motives. Believe me. Or remain in deception.

Often we talk about threats to journalism. Journalism itself is a threat to humanity. 

Independent journalism in India is plain rhetory. But there are fine humans in journalism. They treat it as a profession. Werent Spinoza, Kant or TS Eliot employed in mundane jobs while helping forming minds by their part time writings?  There may be some unknown work that’s working hard to help evolve society. They are exceptions. Which are achievements.

As TS Eliot coined Grand nothings in a different context, I believe this grand spectacle of journalism is one grand nothing that’s at best a contrary opinion and at worst the silliest enterprise of a civilisation. 

PS. Sorry about the caption. Media is repeating on Rape repeatedly these days. To increase attention. That’s media’s rape, right?