That's what I expect to see on the Hindi news channels soon, with their quality of journalistic aspirations.
Just the other day, I saw an interview on Aaj-tak or some other hindi news channel. Any guesses on who was being interviewed?
The 'mehendi vyavasthi' (the person in-charge of henna/mehendi) for the abhi-ash (corniest phrase I have ever heard) wedding. I mean is this the level of journalism we'll have to now put up with? And not just him. Everyone from the tent-house guy to the saree seller to the jewellery guy got his/her 15 seconds of fame.
Another time I saw the demented Zee people showing a very angry sadhu predicting people's future. Viewers had to call up and tell him their problems and this smart-ass would tell them some weird solution. All on live air. Forget about covering serious issues. The least these so called news channels can do is not to promote superstition. The rot seems to be mostly in the Hindi news - channels, the english ones are doing relatively better and I hope people like Prannoy Roy and others of his clan look at things from the right perspective.
I understand that for Hindi news channels, their core audience would be from north India and the UP-Bihar belt. But instead of pandering to their superstitious beliefs etc., to just increase their TRP ratings, I wish to see a slightly more responsible brand of journalism.
I mean there have to be slightly more important issues than the examples I just gave. And mind you, these are just examples, from a library of such cases. In the name of Breaking News, news channels cover anything, from what Shilpa Shetty's maid thinks about Big Brother to what the pandit for the abhi-ash wedding has to say about their wedding dates. Now that's important isn't it? so all those losers who watch these news can fit in The Wedding into their schedules.
Frustrating and disgusting.
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