The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.”
Most people—those who read papers or watch TV news or scroll news portals, and those who think they are wiser by doing nothing of the kind—would agree. That today’s media are pandering to the base instincts of the public, dishing out what the masses ask for, and are being led by TRP ratings or circulation figures. That serious journalism is dead.
When did serious journalism die? Over that, there is no consensus. It was alive when some of the critics were in school, when some others were in college, when they were working, or before they retired. A few would say, it was alive during the freedom movement, till the end of the Nehru years, during and against the Emergency, post-Emergency, in the 1980s, when all the news was on DD, till the TV boom, before the corporates bought up papers and TV stations, before the internet age and so on.
The fact is, every generation has been saying this ever since news began to be printed on paper and sold to the public—that the media used to be good earlier, and that they are bad now. How else did Oscar Wilde write the line quoted above in an essay 130 years ago?
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin October 31, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin October 31, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Ram temple not an issue in south
Much has been said this election season about the alleged north-south divide.
Haute and sweaty
In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.
MOVE AWAY MARY!
In many parts of the world,unique names are becoming popular
CALL OF THE WILD
Tejas Thackeray, the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, shares his passion for wildlife conservation and photography
CEPA and beyond
Bilateral trade between the UAE and India has grown almost 16 per cent year-on-year, touching $84.5 billion
Brash and raw
When I chanced upon Raj Narain, who humbled Indira Gandhi
Lone voice of dissent
“I am keen to invite Parakala [Prabhakar] to Mumbai… What do you think? Do you know him?” A friend asked. No, I don’t know the man. And no, it is not a good idea to invite him, unless you want to invite trouble, I replied.
Modi and the Muslim syndrome
I have long been intrigued by the prime minister’s desire to hug every passing sheikh and sultan and his contrasting contempt for the ordinary Indian Muslim.
Assam Rifles not trained to guard borders; need separate force for Manipur border
Imphal is blanketed in darkness. The sun has set a little too soon in the valley, but N. Biren Singh is yet to call it a day.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SENTINELS
Manipur government wants the Assam Rifles replaced, but the Union home ministry is focused on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity before deciding who guards the state