Regardless of our work and where we live, it is good to be aware of what is happening around us. To do that, we read newspapers and watch TV news channels.
A simple example of this exercise's usefulness is that if we know about the possibility of rain on a sunny day, we can carry an umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain while going out.
Before I go any further, let me say that I have no intention of denigrating the media or people in the media by writing this article. I write my observation and my feelings for the expression of myself and the good of the community.
You must have heard some people say, "No news is good news. What do they say that for?
What is the news?
According to Wikipedia, the English term, "news" developed in the fourteenth century as a peculiar use of the plural form of "new."
Whereas, according to the Oxford dictionary, the news denotes newly received or noteworthy information, particularly recent events.
Interestingly, the term NEWS represents North, East, West, and South. In this way, the news covers current affairs in all directions.
We can get news from a variety of sources through a variety of means.
I shall restrict my remarks to print and electronic media. Newspapers and televised news, to be precise.
Journalists are the primary media people, good or bad. So, I made a little effort to learn more about journalism and news.
When I did my research on the Internet, I found the five principles of journalism on the website ethicaljournalismnetwork.org
- Truth and accuracy.
- Independence.
- Fairness and Impartiality.
- Humanity.
- Accountability.
Another website masscommunicationtalk.com has defined news in several ways. Most of the definitions converge in agreement to a point that news is something unusual, something out of the ordinary.
A famous quotation on the news is, "When a dog bites a man, he never makes any news. At the same time, this is great news when a man bites a dog because it's unusual.
This approach of 'the unusual' and 'a man biting a dog' toward the news has been taken so far that now we find press and electronic media full of negative news only. This news has become the synonymous for the bad news. We only see information on crimes and petty politics in all news media.
It is safe to say that the media reports what is going on. No one can deny this, but why overshadow the good altogether.
At present, the news has not remained merely news. It has developed into a consumer product. It has grown into a blend of information and entertainment. In addition to the purpose of entertainment, who can justify the use of music and special effects in an audiovisual media bulletin? The reason for that may be competition to get more viewers.
It can cause depression in the community and lower morale.
In the race to attract more and more subscribers, the media are not minding serving the baser instincts of humans and vitiating the atmosphere of society.
In covering the political news, they seem to be happy with the controversial statements given by some politicians or the scandals.
Now, fake news is another bane associated with the media.
In any field, neither all is good nor bad. Let us reduce the wrong things and increase the good things in the system.
Now, we as consumers of the media products should go for good quality Media. In matters of information, we should subscribe to the channels, which serve it after proper verification, and do impartial reporting.
About the Author
Ravi Ranjan Goswami is a native of Jhansi (UP). He is an IRS officer, a poet and writer. His published titles include Palayan, Asht Yogis and The Seven Shades. Presently he is working as Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Cochin, Kerala.