Idiot who?

Whenever we Indians turn to the television sets to get hold of the latest and most important happenings around us and the world, we are bombarded with countless options to choose from, in the form of ‘News Channels’. Be it Local news, regional news, national or international news, you name it, they serve it!
In a country where television sets have penetrated deep into our lives, it is ironic that we rank one of the highest in the world when it comes to suffering from the menace of fake news. With the sudden upsurge in the number of media houses operating in India, the task of video journalism has changed its shape. In the race to reach the maximum viewership as soon as possible, reporters often fail to cross-verify the authenticity of the stories they cover. The result is widespread misinformation and utter chaos. After all, the newsrooms in India were more confident about the end of the world in 2012 than the makers of the Mayan Calendar. It is only when we take a deeper dive that we realize that the menace of fake news is just one of the many problematic aspects of this ‘big picture’. One wonders, what good are those excessive options if they do not help in altering the scenario. The World Press Freedom Index 2023 places India at the 161st position out of 180 countries. Media independence is an important parameter in the index and we seem to perform abysmally poorly in it. This implies that the major chunk of the news we are provided may very conveniently be biased.

A quick scan through all these news channels and we can easily find a pattern in their ways of broadcasting news. One may notice that the news channels often resort to the infamous Battle of the Panellists to gain TRPs. Every single story has multiple facets and every facet is an incomplete truth in itself. Armed with this incomplete truth, the most reactionary and opinionated individuals across the spectrum are invited to the show and made to discuss the issue at hand. Screaming at the top of their vocal capabilities while being confined in typically 3 - 5 smaller screens, these panelists prove to be instant attention seekers. These battles get even more chaotic when the hosts are louder than the panelists.
In a bid to ensure that the viewers are not bored with the loud newsroom debates, the channels have come up with an even more cringe-worthy solution. They telecast elaborate shows with eye-catching headlines that have nothing to do with the audience’s interest. However, they make it look like the affairs of the world would come to a screeching halt if the information is not shared with utmost honesty at the prime time shows. Another inexplicable phenomenon that is common across all these TV channels is their obsession with showcasing even a tragic headline with a catchy rhyming scheme.

It gets most annoying when these news channels turn their attention towards the divine, in a quest to solve the mysteries of this universe; as if the earthly affairs have already been taken care of! In their blatant claims to prove the existence of the supernatural, they end up framing questions that are either too dark or too hilarious. Either way, they are far away from reality. And just when you realize that this cannot get worse, they prove us wrong in an unimaginable way. Though I do not wish to get into the mandatory high voltage drama and the accompanying excessive display of wealth in the ‘ideal Indian Joint Family’ that is showcased on every other daily soap, it worries me to even acknowledge the existence of an entire show produced and telecast on prominent news channels only to discuss the intrigues of on-screen characters seemingly convinced to destroy each other over lame reasons. Ekta Kapoor surely deserves an honorable mention for taking household conflicts to a whole new level altogether.

All being said, it is not fair to dub the innocent Television set as the ‘Idiot Box’ when we know that the content that is broadcast through it nowadays deserves to be declared idiotic; and not the television itself. Having said that, we also need to acknowledge the truth that accompanies it – They serve it because we consume it.