For writing this review I had to choose one TV channel. I have zeroed on Aaj Tak as whenever I select it on my TV, I find only advertisements on it and no news. My friends tell me that there are times when one would find news on Aaj Tak. They may be right. Perhaps to break the monotony of ads some news is also served in between. I am a busy person and perhaps my free time does coincide with news serving on Aaj Tak. I have also visited Aaj Tak website but it wants me to pay a fee of 11.93 dollars to read the news which I could not watch on TV.
I would request that this review should be read and commented upon as a commentary on news as being served by all TV channels.
Media is a very powerful tool for communication and entertainment. Print media which was the only mode of information in India for many people and areas, has now been overtaken by electronic media. With prices going down, TV sets have entered many homes across the country. People, who do not have TV in their homes, watch programmes on TV sets provided in community halls, schools, panchayats and even in markets.
A recent trend in TV channels is the emergence of news channels run by private groups. Today there are large numbers of channels providing only news. People are hungry for news and these channels are competing with each other to satisfy this newly created appetite of Indian people. Every channel is claiming that it is providing correct news. But people are not satisfied with the news coverage on one channel. They keep on switching channels in search of some news, but end up on cartoon or discovery channel.
All this could have been tolerated as long as commercial interests did not overshadow the do?s and don?ts of news gathering and reporting. News channels have now converted news into a commodity. Like any other spicy dish it is being produced and served with frills on the e-counter. Most of the times news is overcooked or undercooked. Very seldom news is served as news. The news-menu is pre-decided by the channel and consumer has no choice of news items. Some news items are served throughout the day without worrying about what overfeeding will do to the consumer.
Many times consumer feels that news is not being served but being pushed down his throat. He keeps on changing channels but finds the same news with each channel trying to score over other channels with more salt and chillies added by new-age newsreaders. The newsreader will talk for few minutes and then somebody on phone will talk the same thing and then newsreader will repeat what that somebody has said.
So many news channels but no news. Why not air ads as news and news as ads?