'MEDIA'CRE

also posted on ABHILEKH (APR'07)

A high signal to noise ratio (S/N) is one of the signatures of an efficient instrument. If by any means, we consider the present day "mass media" to be an instrument of human society, then it suffers from an infinitesimally small S/N. Further, if you examine the fidelity of this instrument, you will find that the rubber never meets the road. (For an instantaneous realization of this, refer to some 'spicy' newspapers ; a high dosage of nirvana is guaranteed). I agree that life should be made colourful, but the media is playing to the gallery by sailing under the false colours, which was never called for.

One of the fundamental priorities of the media is to educate the mass, but the present scenario indicates that the media is putting the carts before the horse. For instance, I listened to a recent advertisement on 'Radio City', in which a so- called 'numerologist' was correlating the atomic number of platinum to the position of Jupiter in the solar system, and then he talked about the influence of planetary motion on human life. You need not be an Einstein to realize that he was taking the listeners for a ride. If this is the way the media 'educates' us, then it is high time that we gather steam. Rather than selling its birthright for a mess of pottage, the media should help people separate the wheat from chaff.

Adding insult to the injury, things have gone pear-shaped in news channels and websites, especially the ones owned by politicians, who are armed to the teeth. Unwanted emphasis is thrust upon covering news of celebrities and dime a dozen things (like people tying knots), which surely is a damp squib and makes you feel that the media is dead from the neck up. Many of the media tycoons and filmmakers, at least in India are barrack-room lawyers who run the show just because they have heaps of fortunes, and want to be in thick of things. It is better that these 'Sultans' beat their swords in ploughshares, rather than poke them into people's mind.

Unfortunately, there are very few journalists in the media who have the knowledge and courage to argue the toss of these tycoons and survive successfully. This poses a serious threat to the freedom of expression, and begs for discerning eyes and able hands to lead the media on the road to Damascus. After all, media should never end up as neither use nor ornament.