Media Vichar Manch

Redefining news values in India

Here are some new definitions of news ralted jargon, courtesy P Sainath of The Hindu:

Special Investigation: This means the reporter actually visited the place.

Breaking news: Means we saw it on the other channel and had to move real fast to claw our way back into the game.

Exclusive: It has not ever been carried before on this channel.

.....On television, the sun rising in the East is `breaking news.' Rising in the West would make it `a controversy.' If a building collapse draws the same passion as the tsunami, you have problems. And yet, the intensity can be quite superficial. Very dangerous proposals have been approved for buildings that could truly cause mega-deaths. Not to mention mighty traffic snarls. These have received poor attention. Some papers have not covered them at all.

.........There was also a deluge of Tarannum coverage. Where the issues involved are far less important than who got to Tarannum first. Who got an `exclusive' with her, never mind what she said. (For some channels, even the rain falls `exclusively.') It's a kind of yah-boo competition that can destroy lives. The more so if the target is a soft one. Nothing stokes media bravery more than a target that can't hit back.

Read the full piece here:
http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101402261000.htm

posted by Dinesh C Sharma @ 11:53 AM