Media’s role during troubling times

Hi All,

Love them or hate them, you just can’t ignore them goes an adage. This couldn’t apply more to the media than anything else today. Print, electronic or any other form of media pervades every aspect of our life; informing us and determining, to a reasonable extent, the formation of views and our response to developing situations.

The ongoing Swine Flu Pandemic has highlighted the media’s role yet again in informing, educating, spreading information and awareness among the masses. In fact, I reckon, without the proactive media we have today in this country, the flu could have posed a much bigger threat than it currently does.

Having said this, there are proponents of the argument that media is primarily doing this for the sake of TRPs. Undoubtedly there is great public interest surrounding this flu and media outlets just want to cash in on this frenzy. They point out that we experience greater numbers of mortality just due to preventable diseases like malaria etc. So where was the media all this while, they ask. Fair argument by any measure!

So what are your thoughts on media’s role in this pandemic and in troubling times in general?

Comments

AMIT said…

Media just put masala's on all breaking good or bad news.

How to make a website

August 26, 2009 at 2:05 PM

Unknown said…

@amit...:)

August 28, 2009 at 3:17 PM

Ankita said…

hi

first tym on ur blog! u seem to be a man who loves wearing the thinking hat!

ya, i feel media has lost its quality. most of the time channels can be seen showing the news of a page 3 brawl,'serious' documentaries on celebs' divorces and all that bull****. and in case of swine flu, media over hyped the matter.

October 26, 2009 at 9:29 AM

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