If a news channel ran 63 stories on a single issue in a week, you won’t be mistaken in thinking that it is an overkill - unless of course the aliens landed on earth or the PM got assasinated or the US invaded yet another country - something earth shattering. But, the Samajwadi party does not seem to think so. It has accused Doordarshan of having sparse coverage on "Bachcahn in Hospital".

The Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh had accused Congress chief Sonia Gandhi of getting DD to black out news of Bachchan’s health and treatment at Lilavati Hospital.

The last few weeks you couldn’t move without seeing something on Bachchan in Hospital. There is of coure the invasion of privacy issue - let the man recover in peace, but above that it is the a weightage issue. I know and appreciate that Mr.Bachchan is a superstar, and millions if not billions care about him - but inundating the pages with stories on him seems to be a very lazy way of getting away from reporting news. I kind of empathised with Amitabh Chakrabarti’s (head of DD news) statement on the affair:

The ferocity with which these (private TV) channels raise hypes — perhaps with an eye on Television Rating Points — goes close to the culture of tabloid journalism. “It was conscious decision by the editorial hands (at DD) that while presenting news on Bachchan’s illness, we should not create any hype so as to raise unnecessary scare among millions of viewers.”

It’s almost as though Mr.Bachchan has pushed away all other news that are equally important. Winter is here - even in Mumbai, and the quake victims are slowly succumbing to hypothermia. A nation that has fought 4 wars and spent billions on staking claim on this state - are doing woefully little in terms of helping its people rehabilitate with dignity after the event. Even in India the quake does not seem to occupy as much mindspace as the Tsunami. The only news that Indian papers found worthy of carrying is that on Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Kashmir on the event of her 60th birthday. The personality somehow has become more important than the event. Today’s ToI’s entire front page is take up with only Sachin and his 35th century. Entire front page. Every single story. It is a world class achievement, but the entire front page is a bit too much. Having said this, i know that if i was looking for news on the net - i am more likely to click on the contreversy overSania’s pronouncements on sex rather than detailed reports on the WTO fracas in Hong Kong. I might come to the latter story later, but it is the former that attracts attention. I see colleagues pouring over a Mid Day or a Mumbai Mirror or the Bombay Times with more interest than more serious papers. Fashion tips make for more involved reading than the what’s what of the Volker report. Editors claim that they give viewers/readers what they want. And if they (the TG) want celebs more than anything else, that is what they will get. Another chicken and egg syndrome. So, what came first the dumbing down of the news or the dumbing down of the audience?

Tags: Amar Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, India, Media, Media Bias, Media Ethics