Ravi’s Speech!

Watchdog on Fire

Attack, slander, name-calling and muck-raking are inevitable when the government is in the mood to show its power. Like in the recent past where the Andhra Pradesh government looks to have pledged to ransack independent reporting, as a result, strangulating the basic rights of the citizens of India. It is indirectly and at times directly targeting journalists whom they see as anti establishment.

Take a look at the recent furor over the arrest of Journalists in Andhra Pradesh for allegedly insulting a Dalit leader for his caste. In this hour of crisis, the media raised their voice against the government’s orders by raising slogans of “we want justice” and “save press freedom”, and alleged that the police led by the government was treating them “as if they were criminals”.

But this isn’t the first time the government has taken strict action against the Media. In an extraordinary move in February last year, the government issued orders to Special Commissioner, Information and Public Relations, to initiate legal action against newspapers and News Channels who published or telecast reports which were allegedly slanderous to the Government.

If this was not enough - the government reportedly threatened journalists of severe repercussions despite facing dire consequences on meeting naxalites in the name of exclusive reporting. 

What is it that the government is trying to do? Oppress the watchdogs of the nation? Cover-up their own loopholes? Or, just plain stifle the voice of the press? Shouldn’t it trust the indefinable media, whose sole existence is to serve in public interest by interposing itself between political authority and the citizens? Or are these arrests and power shows, mere strategies to connect directly with people.

On second thoughts, every Indian has a fundamental right to express and the media is a medium to network and raise issues and such government intervention certainly takes away the basic premise of democracy. 

The tension between the media and the government has heightened to the point that neither is acting in the public interest. It is time for these two adversaries to discuss and come to common ground to build a more constructive relationship rather than retort.

This is not to say that the media must abandon the critical skepticism and its watchdog role, or that the government should stop its attempt to reach citizens directly. But this antagonism sends mixed signals to the public which is a troubling situation, bad for both democratic governance and the media industry. Because amidst all this, the real loser is the one that both claim to be serving: the people.

Breaking News - Exclusive

If you are working in an Indian Television company; particularly Hindi channels, this write-up will not be surprising for you at all. It’s all about the phenomenon called “Breaking News”.

IN TV9 – Breaking News is a constant thing but we make sure the importance and relevance of the news is maintained – whether it’s in Telugu or Kannada or Gujarat or any other channel of TV9 group.
On the other hand it’s sad to see how Hindi channels value news when it comes to breaking it to the audiences. Sensationalism, creating unnecessary pathos and jerking the tear glands of audiences is what makes the TRP radar go ticking.

When I look back at my days in the Hindi channel bracket I hardly came across such degrading news reports. Breaking news had its own importance and that is what I believe, my team of journalists follow at TV9 – the importance and significance of reporting is the backbone. What hurts me know is the people who allow such nonsense are well reputed and distinguished journalists.

Let me tell you; the quality and importance of ‘Breaking News’ on Hindi channels is based on – A BIG RULE – i.e. - There Is No Rule. From untimely to timely rainfall, from the cat spilling the beans to some biggie sneezing his heart out – All these and more can be sold as breaking news, the only criteria being the ‘incident’ needs to have occurred in big cities – to be precise the all important TRP centers.

I don’t want to go on harping about the lameness of the ‘Breaking News’ concept, which is adopted in India – primarily coz I was also a part of it but I make sure that I and my team at TV9 do not fall for the same ‘TR(A)P’ again.
  

Some video grabs sent to me by a television journalist and a good friend – speaks volumes about the standard of broadcast journalism and the ‘Breaking News’ phenomenon in India and mind you these are just a handful of the examples and not the entire picture. My only prayer - Good sense should prevail and hopefully soon. Amen!

Hyderabad Switches Itself Off

Hyderabad might not have gone under a blanket of complete darkness in response to the ‘Hyderabad Unplug’, - a people’s voluntary initiative for an hour from 7.30 p.m. on Saturday the 3rd May 2008. But, the voluntary campaign, supported by WWF-India, urging people of the twin cities to turn off lights and electrical devices, did not go in vain. What it did manage to do is that, it drew people’s attention to the serious consequences of global warming and the rising temperatures.

The ‘Hyderabad Unplug’ was symbolically launched at Mountain Heights, Shilparamam with film actress Ileana flagging off the event and Director Sekhar Kammula switching off the lights. Following the switch off, an awareness programme was conducted with rechargeable mikes, LCDs and the place was lit with candles. The State Legislative Assembly too, as mark of its solidarity, turned off the lights for the hour.

Several apartment dwellers from various areas in the city, voluntarily switched off lights in solidarity and support to the ‘Hyderabad Unplug’ initiative. ‘Majonita Paradise’ and ‘Shantisagar’ apartment complexes in Dattatreyanagar, Asifnagar, Kukatpally, Vijayanagar Colony, Humayunnagar, Malakpet and those from outside city, spontaneously switched off the lights and electrical devices for an entire hour, doing their bit to support the cause.

But the question that needs to be asked is … Is this campaign only about saving power? Or, is it a beginning towards mass awareness about global warming and what can individuals and organizations do to reduce the impact? ‘Power’ being the biggest contributor to global warming, the Hyderabad Unplug took it up as an initiative with the goal of “inspiring people to take action.” It was also an attempt to convince people about the judicious use of power and sensitize them about the ways of saving power like turning off monitors, mobile chargers and unplugging appliances on standby.

The organizers urged the people about another environmental hazard – the use of plastic and the importance of shifting to cloth bags, traveling in car pools or cab pools to cut down on carbon monoxide emissions… All these messages sent across… Awareness created worldwide… Yet many still wonder: I’m just one person. What can ‘I’ do to fight global warming? The ‘Hyderabad Unplug’ began with this very question.