Media is celebrating the death of memory i.e., sheer ignorance of the past and consequences through immortalisation of Bal Thackeray and contempt of the past i.e., mortification of ‘memory’.
V. Krishna Ananth, senior journalist and associate professor in the department of mass communication and journalism at Sikkim University pens this reaction to the media response to the incidents in the Maruti-Suzuki plant in Manesar, Haryana.
Everybody loves a bomb blast; television channels that can't wait to bring out those hysterical terror montages, those creepy background tunes and them evergreen “Enough is Enough” slugs, conspiracy theorists and, of course, the hardliners from the Khaki Knicker Clan. Whether it's on Twitter where 140-characters of shock, horror and condolence mindlessly turns into hateful messages and quick fix solutions to end terror by hanging that “freeloader Kasab”, or on television channels where popsociologist-turned-socialites ramble on; everybody loves the space it provides them to pontificate on all that's wrong with the country.
[Image courtesy, The Hindu]
I had interviewed eminent journalist and rural affairs editor of The Hindu newspaper, P.Sainath on issues related to "corruption" today besides "media discourse" for the alternative news magazine, Newsclick. The interview is embedded here.A rough transcript (useful for those with limited bandwidth) is also made available below.
I received this message as an email from a friend. I cannot but agree with him entirely. (Image courtesy Reuters)
While children are dying of malnutrition, our leaders are busy comforting the corporate sector
Pragoti is pleased to publish an interview with P Sainath, renowned journalist (rural affairs editor of the The Hindu) and an expert on rural affairs, development and media by V Sivadasan, All India Joint Secretary, SFI. The interview is wide ranging and delves on various issues such as democratisation of the media, media priorities, ethical journalism, alternate media, agrarian reporting - all passionately dwelt by Sainath, one of the most accomplished journalists in the country. Ed - a Malayalam translation is attached with the post.
I was mulling over the Shashi Tharoor-SM Krishna five-star-hotel (non)affair and was keen on writing on this as a blog piece. But a friend, Roshan Kishore channelled those thoughts much earlier and wrote on it and sent it to Pragoti. Hosting this as a guest post.
There have been several reports in the media since yesterday stating that "Setting aside ideological differences, the Congress, the BJP and the CPI (M) have joined hands in Sikkim to fight Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front in the Assembly elections to be held later this year."
The CPI(M) has just issued a statement on this issue that I would like to share with readers.
"The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) today, while saying 'no' to terrorism and 'yes' to caution on media reportage of terrorism has called upon the government to desist from clamping down on the media be it visual or print and instead put in order a Media Council with teeth to act without pressure from the government or other vested interests" Reports INN