An Open Letter to Indian Media
Dear Indian Media,
How are you? I assume that you must be super excited after the surge in the channel TRP’s. Well, Well – That might be exciting for you but I’m a bit worried that you can stoop down to any level to increase your ratings. I am writing this letter to make you aware of your importance in a democratic society where you are supposed to be a neutral element. Your juvenile behavior these days defies the complete logic behind Media being tagged as the 4th pillar of democracy. Try not to make it “democrazy” instead!
I have always believed that the media should be honest and unbiased. You are grown up and you must be aware of your responsibilities. I’m just a citizen of this country but my blood boils when I see some of you in the form of news channels that play with people’s minds. Don’t you think my anger is justified? Don’t manipulate! Whenever some serious issue arises, the first thing that you want is to increase your show TRP’s. You don’t care about an individual’s emotions and you are indeed turning more into a propaganda machine. You come up with twitter hashtags and you intend to trend it.
Is TRP above human feelings? You very well know that there are mixed breeds of people in our nation. The JNU incident proved the point that Indian Media is TRP hungry. Do you know Western media mocks at us? Well, they are not different either but you guys make it obvious. You are the ones who interview a dying man after a bomb blast and ask him – “How does it feels being bombed?”
Well, that’s not an exaggeration! That’s how reporting is done in India. These days media is such that it spews venom into the minds of the audiences. And the poor audience blindly believes what you show. The Rational being is disappearing. Media plays an important role in the life of an individual. People consume what is shown in the media. A few years back when a certain News channel reported about the spotting of a UFO, everyone believed that oh yeah there is UFO in India! Really? Or just another farce! Oh Yes, Desh Bhakt Indian alien!
Some of you are so biased and pro-government that you guys make it obvious. Media should be unbiased and should be like an aggressive bull ready to fight when anything is wrong and ask questions wherever necessary. But these days it is observed that certain news channels doctored a video clip of the JNU students President Kanaiyah Kumar who happens to be charged with sedition.
Do you understand what Sedition is? How can you judge a person even before the Supreme court gives its verdict? You showed doctored video clips and later when few other media channels clarified that it was a fake video then you fell to another extreme level to prove that with another doctored video. Has journalism fallen to this low in this country? Journalists are like the pilot of a plane full of people. You drive them. They trust you. They blindly believe you. How dare you take advantage of this and play with all of them.
Then you went on to tarnish the image of a student who happens to be from a poor family. A sedition charge is slapped on him and suppose after few days when the court finds him innocent and releases him, what will be his life like? You can go to an extreme degree to prove that Kanaiyya was chanting anti-national slogans by faking video clips. Will you apologize for ruining someone’s life? You are earning big by sitting on the shows and gaining TRP’s. Ever thought about how life would be like for the guy whose career has been destroyed by you guys.
Let me narrate an incident that happened in New Delhi. It is a perfect example of how powerful Indian media is! A girl called Jasleen Kaur came up with a story where she claimed that a guy eve teased her on a road junction and abused her. She was called upon by a reputed news channel for a debate. That channel is also known as Debate TV by some and this particular yelling scream machine news anchor single-handedly destroyed the career of this guy ‘Saravjit’ who was falsely accused by this girl Jasleen Kaur. It is also believed that he doesn’t allow his panelist to complete their statements and views.
Okay, this girl Jasleen was called upon by this anchor for a debate. The girl cried on the show and narrated stories about how she tackled the guy. And then our hero anchor, the chief justice of Indian Journalism tagged her as the bravest girl of India and whatnot. She trended that evening on Twitter. A group of news anchors then interviewed the guy. They couldn’t even respect what his views were and we not even ready to buy his points.
But then came the twist. Jasleen Kaur’s version of the story was as fake as the Indian media but they had already caused damage to the guy’s image. He was sacked from his job and looked upon as if he was the nation’s biggest criminal alive. This news should go down as a case study. Will this news channel apologize for criminalizing an individual and hurting his future? Don’t jump into the lake without researching it. There might be a big crocodile inside ready to hunt you. Shame on Indian media for being irresponsible. The Jasleen Kaur incident was one such example.
When there is a dearth of news then you come up with a cooked story like that of the UFO spotting seen at a garden in Uttar Pradesh and what not. And when there is no news left, then you fall prey to Internet trolls. There was a photo doing rounds recently the same day when the Odd-Even traffic rules were implemented in New Delhi. It was a photo taken a few years back and that went viral and some people believed it and blindly shared it on social media. Some News channels crossed the limits and showed it as news.
And then some news channels came up with tweets stating that it was an old photo that was doing rounds.
These are just a few examples. I could write a book on the lies told by Indian media. But I live in a time-boxed world and got no time to entertain such things. Why don’t you understand your responsibilities? It’s because of a few of you, the entire media fraternity is looked down upon! There are some honest people too. It raises a serious question on your credibility. Your role is to highlight certain topics and fetch news from across the country. You don’t have the right to judge someone. No one permitted you to give verdicts. The court Judges are well qualified to give verdicts. So please be responsible.
This ‘chief justice of Indian Journalism’ anchor who happens to conduct a TV debate show should take care of his throat. How about throat insurance? I’m certainly quite sure that in the long run, it is going to affect his throat. You damage our ears, dude! And at times, we feel like shutting down the TV. Please be good to all. Let all speak. Indian media, please be responsible. Do you know what some people say? They call a few of you as government stooge and want you to officially join the ruling political party instead of showing pro-government news. Well, is this what you want to hear? I see tweets every day. Please realize your importance!
It’s because of you guys that my Indian brothers and sisters are categorized and they indulge in name callings. They call each other as Tolerant, Intolerant, National, Anti National, Bhakts, Congress Agent, Aaptards, and whatnot. Let’s remember the fact that we all are Indians first, so let’s live together like Indians and India is known for its unity in diversity. Keep aside the differences. And Media should play a pivotal role in that and support. Media, please show facts.
Don’t just jump into conclusions and damage anyone. And if you damage anyone’s image then please ensure that you apologize on your channel. I’m sure you won’t do that. I believe you but the word TRP scares me. After all, its the game of TRP’s! And yes, to the Chief Justice of Indian Journalism, don’t say ‘The Nation wants to know!’ The nation doesn’t want to know anything. You are not the Chowkidar of the nation. So ask on your behalf! Be responsible for Indian media! It’s a humble request!
An appeal to the Godi media anchors – Arnab Goswami, Sudheer Chaudhary, Anjana Om Kashyap, Rubika Liyaqat, Deepak Chaurasia, Amish Devgan (B&D), and many more – Please don’t corrupt the media and try to do unbiased journalism.
Jai Hind,
A True and a concerned Indian
Enough of this boring shit. Now watch this video and have some fun! See you next time
