Sensationalism
Looks like even Indian news channels are also going into cheap tabloid type of news coverage. More than the recent Gurgaon school shootings (a first in India), I was appalled by the way NDTV covered it: the sensationalism, 24×7 hyper coverage, the “story-as-it-unfolds”. Talk about the innocence of a million kids being spoiled (who probably would have never thought of the possibility of handling a gun, till now). Thanks NDTV. They should just stick to hyper-coverage of crimes that are endemic and which very little is being done – like rape, hooliganism, corruption.
Out of principle, I refrained from watching/reading the coverage (until a few weeks after the mania died down). I don’t know which was sadder, a kid gone crazy, or NDTV’s feeding frenzy. If the same incident had happened in my local town (or anywhere in rural Tamil Nadu) the only coverage would be a small column in the newspaper. Well and good.
A child raised in a farm learns about the land, the seasons, the behaviour of animals and birds in relation to human life. A doctor’s child plays with spoons and a string in place of a stethoscope. “Say aaah …show me your tongue!”; and tries to give everyone “injections”. Every school-going youngster wants to play “teacher” at some point or other. Children are natural imitators and the law of Nature is that…
While I’m at it, I’ll like to mention a Tamil station called Makkal TV (மக்கள்). It’s the only channel I’ve found that talks about peoples issues and topics like organic farming, alternative energy, and alternative medicine — all at a level that engages the masses. Not to mention they don’t air any commercial movies nor dance clips – thumbs up to them for that!
In the USA, the only channel still relatively untainted is PBS. Even NPR’s news coverage, has been swept into the rat race, their quality has really gone down (with their most balanced coverage playing only in the wee hours of the night).