May 18, 2005 05:20 PM
2167 Views
(Updated May 19, 2005 10:12 AM)
I have nothing against TOI specifically, in that it operates within the same dominant market economy as does all other products and services. And dont fool yourselves into believing that TOI and ALL other national papers are anything but products. It is about earning revenue. It is about doing whatever it takes to earn the maximum amount of revenue. In short, it is an industry. An industry that seeks to maximise its profits. In that case, I am not surprised that we have myriad body parts displayed in full measure, be they to tantalise or shock, that we have 20 pages of Page 3 interrupted only by advertisements that cater to the 'needs' of Page 3 wannabes, that social issues are relegated to the supplements on special days and so on. The folklore of Media being the the fourth estate, the watchdog of democracy is as false now as it ever was. It is an instrument to propagandise and of late, to market.
Overarching Principles
The ownership and structure of a mainstream newspaper have the following traits:
The control of what makes it and what doesnt lies in the hands of a very few mostly upper class/caste men. We have to be content with the limited point of view and political slanting of the board of directors/editors/advertisers. There is no diversity in views.
The advertisers yield an overwhelming power over the content and space of the news, with a result that any piece of news that challenges the dominant thinking and has the potential of upsetting the apple cart either never makes it out of the cutting room or is forced to die a quick and quiet death after its release. Ever wondered what happens to those stories on alternative fuels?
It provides us with readymade analysis, not with the information required to enable us to make the analysis ourselves
It prioritises the international over the local, hence I know the British PM's wife name but not my local Corporator's. It distracts us from our reality and gives us the 'grass is greener' complex. It discourages action as we do not receive the information required to act.
It overtly contributes to the subjugation of women through portraying women, no matter what they have achieved, through the eyes of a over-sexed teenager. It glorifies the objectification of women through its generous coverage of beauty pageants etc. It promotes fear amongst women through entire feature pages devoted to rape.
It is a slap on the face of democracy, when in a democratic country the majority of the population is represented minimally, if at all, in a 'national' newspaper.
The newspaper can be a very powerful catalyst of change but it is but just a tool to retain people in their cozy, self-absorbed, lazy, ignorant, robotic existence. Why do anything constructive when you can get off reading about Britney Spear's latest experience with navel piercings.
My Alternatives
As an alternative to mainstream media, I have begun to resort to alternate media, online and offline, and I interact continuously with people locally and internationally to learn about their lives and their countries rather than depend solely on written text reported by a third party as my only window to the world.
Some good alternate Indian news media websites:
http://www.indiatogether.org
http://www.infochangeindia.org
http://www.countercurrents.org
Foreign news websites:
http://www.antiwar.com
http://www.counterpunch.com
