As Colors gets ready to air Code Red — an attempt at the perilous art of responsible journalism — we have great hopes for the show. Much of it is due to the promise shown by the trailers, yet much of it stems from a fervent desire for positive change in the world of crime reporting, particularly those news stories attempting to highlight the plight of the mistreated. Sensationalism is a word whose emergence into common public conscience has been almost solely due to the acts of the media. In what seems an attempt to extract maximum emotional mileage, our stories of subjugation are dissected in front of viewers’ eyes, much to the discomfort of the victims.
At the launch event, asked whether certain sections of the media were responsible for bringing about a sense of vigilante justice, of playing judge, jury and executioner with the aid of ever louder verbal volleys, Kiran Bedi had this to say: “To an extent, I am in agreement with this thought because I am an avid watcher of these debates. I also participate in the debates I like and say no to the ones I don’t. It is a slanging match sometimes, and it is off the subject. When you read the newspaper next day, you realise that there were certain substantial policies announced which weren’t the subject of most of these panel debates, which is my personal view.”
As for the reason behind this neglect, she said, “A few days ago, I asked some members of the media why they refrain from taking substantial issues, on why their approach is crime-oriented. Crime reporting is fine, but the constant coverage of only a singular issue is a problem. These people said that the actions are motivated by the TRPs and the TAM meter readings. Such reports are demand driven, which may be indicative of the fact that these news stories are a want of the public. Yet I feel what we need in the evening are serious issues being debated by panellists who are not intent on disrupting each other’s point of view. Several channels are giving us a lot of valuable information, but we would want all the media to focus on responsible debates which are intellectual. We are looking not for fights, we’re looking for information.”
Addiction and wellness counsellor Vijay Sinha added, “As somebody who has spent a decade and a half in a newsroom, I think the other side of the problem is that there is no training in journalism. Most of the time, you’re completely out on your own which makes it important for journalists to be well informed.”
Actor Manish Chaudhari, who will be seen in Umeed , a section of the programme which seeks to highlight the issue of suicides in our country, said, “The audiences want better content and it is up to us to give it to them.”
On whether he felt there is a sense of intrusion into the lives of people by the media these days, he replied, “Well, these sensational ideas of the unmasking of people in front of the camera is only temporary, it is a visual for a moment and then it is gone, you don’t think about it. I have always believed that acting is to deal with the human condition. This show is all about the human condition, where we will attempt to make sure these stories travel with those who watch the show.”
In these times, umeed , which translates to hope in English, is our solitary emotion with relation to the stories highlighted by the media: the hope that the need for sensibility surpasses the need for sensationalism in the news that we read or see.
