Source : India MediaWhy cringe when some one says the media takes sides? The presence of political free-loaders at the Press Club of India the other day is a fine example. The meeting was to protest the murder of "journalist" Gauri Lankesh. It was a community protest.
The Press Club management should explain if it indeed invite non-media actors. In the very least, the explanation will prevent further erosion of the media's credibility.
The second issue is about one of the free-loaders, who goes by the name of Shehla Rashid, asked a tv channel to get lost. "We" dont want you here, she is supposed to have said. We? Is she a journalist? Or we all are free-loaders? Let's decide.
Remember how, some time ago, the ageing loudmouth, Mani Shankar Aiyar, asked a tv channel reporter to get lost? Who is he to say so? What are we to take this shit silently? It is shameful attending the press conference of the likes of Arun Jaitley or Ravi Shankar Prasad on Amit Shah. They treat journalists -- I mean those who ask uncomfortable questions -- brusquely. What right do they have? Why are we silent? The more we bend, the more hurting is the stick.
Three. We need to begin to think big. Today, we think small. So we are becoming small. And we are construed small. Every time a journalist is killed or maimed or tortured, we religiously drum up passion on the social media, and actively collect at the Pres Club or the Jantar Mantar.
The speeches are dour, repetitive, without any emotion. It is an opportunity for the speakers to brush up their public speaking abilities. For TV anchors it is a splendid opportunity to do their natural thing outside a studio. All this is followed by a statement which gets printed in the next day's papers. End of Matter.
What is the point in the media being one of the dozens of protest batches at Jantar Mantar? What is the point in the media talking to itself about the crime? The media is supposed to draw the nation's attention to a crime or a wrong. Draw the attention of the people at large. Through a campaign. A sustained campaign. That is how pressure is built up. Such pressure makes a government take notice and act.
Is that happening? No. Why? Because it is so easy to cackle than tackle.