MEDIA MATTERS
And in 2003 ...
SEVANTI NINAN
WHAT did we learn from the media in 2003?
That India is shining, courtesy the directorate of advertising and visual publicity and the Rs. 50 crores allocated to it by the honourable finance minister, to help us recognise the radiance.
That the shine is regularly assaulted by buckets of tar, courtesy our daily dose of Journalism of Courage.
That a George Bush can bring a Saddam Hussein to heel just in time for an American Christmas, but faceless Iraqis will continue to bring American soldiers to heel every time they think they can relax and dig into roast turkey.
That the line dividing ministers from criminals sometimes disappears in Uttar Pradesh.
That telecom regulation in India is a highly unpredictable proposition.
That in tribute to the Ambani patriarch, the President of India sat in Dhirubhai Ambani's red chair and listened while Arun Shourie told us why he had changed his mind on the Ambanis.
That a pair of noodle straps can help re-launch a career.
That you know Indians are cricket crazy when a village in Haryana performs a havan to ensure that India will win against Pakistan in the World Cup.
That governments in India now indulge in sting operations, and that the ruling party unwittingly legitimised Tehelka by its entrapment of Ajit Jogi.
That Union Minister Arun Jaitley in partisan mode is inclined to forget himself on television.
That Sonia Gandhi is no Indira Gandhi and Ravi Shankar Prasad is no Sushma Swaraj.
That Amma can make a vindictive strike faster than you can say aiyyo.
What did we learn about the media in 2003?
That it owes George Bush plenty for gifting all the news channels in the world a story to live off for nine months of the year.
That the difference between the Americans and Brits is that the United States Government can persuade America's mighty private channels to play ball on the invasion of Iraq, but a public funded channel in Britain can almost bring a prime minister down on the same issue.
That Government regulations in India make odd couples happen, as in Rupert Murdoch being partly bought out by dhoti-ed Bengali gentry, surprising themselves even more than others.
That the media is hopeless at predicting elections.
That a dimunitive Yadav, who was a champion of secularism in the 20th Century, can be kept afloat by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 21st, and the media will treat it as par for the course.
That crooks, whether in Bihar or Chattisgarh, are learning to invest ill-gotten wealth in cable TV channels. And almost getting away with it.
That Prasar Bharati has finally slipped into being an undisputed government jagir without anybody protesting any more.
That in return, it is busy handing over the country's radio frequencies wholesale to the private sector, without anybody protesting .
That even black sheep can do yeoman public service, as in the Times of India appalling many by revealing that it took money to print news, and then later in the year saving the Taj Mahal from acquiring a commercial complex as a backdrop.
And that it can then go back to quietly selling more news without telling us which bits came for a price, while the rest of the media loses interest and goes back to trying to make money.
That the Times of India and the Hindustan Times will continue to delude themselves that readers care about their circulation slugfests.
That big newspapers are more vulnerable than they or we imagined. But journalists will learn nothing from yet another assault on press freedom.
That a pretty model can win hearts by turning ugly duckling on the TV sets. And that teeth in braces sell well on prime time.
And what did we learn about our own media choices in 2003?
That we absolutely hate to have to pay for the media we want to consume.
That we will continue to be suckers for circulation schemes.
That rural readers in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are willing to shell out more money for their daily newspaper than metropolitan readers in Delhi and Mumbai.
That conditional access is acceptable as long as the set top boxes are free.
That we find well-made, restrained TV serials a bore while lapping up Balaji heroines in ghastly make up.
That the South watches more TV than the North.
That if a channel keeps shouting sabse pehle, sabse tez, we will rush out and subscribe enthusiastically to its initial public offering.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
