The last few days we have been bombarded with headlines created by TOI and also headlines from other media created by the TOI headlines. I am sure by now, you all know I am referring to the TOI- Deepika fiasco.
India is a country where for generations the society has been dominated by men. Men have made decisions for the country (only 11% of our Parliament comprises of women), for their families (very often being the sole bread earner of the family) and also for the women of the family. Women were supposed to only and alone manage the house, raise the kids. And no, they were not supposed to expect any help from the spouses. While the men of the house having already decided what the women would do, also decided where she could go and what she would wear. A daughter wearing a low neck kurta would be frowned upon, the wife wearing a low neck not even imaginable. It is not surprising that a society which existed in this way for generations, women today are finding it so difficult to break the barriers and actually gain the freedom of movement, employment and expression (including what you say and what you wear). Crime against women is a case in point.
At the same time there has been a paradigm shift in the way news papers and the entire media operated twenty years earlier and now. Twenty years ago, the sole claim to fame for a newspaper would be the authenticity, integrity and ethics, and to a lesser degree the speed at which news is delivered by a paper. Today these are taken to be hygiene factors and it is generally presumed that all newspapers would uphold these ideals. This presumption is to such an extent that readers would often overlook the commitment of a newspaper to these ideals. Today the most famous criteria has become the amount of subscription and the wild race to proclaim oneself as the "Country's most read" newspaper. Some masala is now an accepted by even the most discerning of readers. But it seems that in this wild race somewhere the thin line is sometimes overstepped. The TOI-Deepika fiasco clearly demonstrates that.
What is really surprising is that media is one industry among the very few in India where the representation of women is quite high. There is an almost 50:50 sex ratio in many of the media houses. It would be expected that given such a percentage of women, there would be more respect for a woman for who she is. Probably the journalist who authored the controversial article is very respectful towards women in his personal life. Maybe he raises a voice if he sees someone ogle or whistle at a passing woman. We don't know. What we do know is that he in the quest for more masala for his article ended up creating the blasphemy.
But it is surely not the fault of one journalist. We all are responsible, the TOI house, other media houses, and us readers. We all helped create an environment where only juicy news would sell and we not just tolerated, we accepted masala as a part and parcel of news. While newspapers kept on printing masala after masala - all in the quest to become the most widely read paper. In this wild race they forgot the weight of the responsibility that rests on its shoulders. Media has to be cognizant of the fact that it is not entertaining, it is educating large parts of the country. In a country where so few get to complete graduation, newspapers and TV serve as a way for them to let their minds soar in the winds of the world. Not only adults, even children are affected and groomed by the media. This responsibility they cannot shrug and the larger their readership grows the greater becomes their responsibility. After all "With great power, comes great responsibilities"
At the same time there has been a paradigm shift in the way news papers and the entire media operated twenty years earlier and now. Twenty years ago, the sole claim to fame for a newspaper would be the authenticity, integrity and ethics, and to a lesser degree the speed at which news is delivered by a paper. Today these are taken to be hygiene factors and it is generally presumed that all newspapers would uphold these ideals. This presumption is to such an extent that readers would often overlook the commitment of a newspaper to these ideals. Today the most famous criteria has become the amount of subscription and the wild race to proclaim oneself as the "Country's most read" newspaper. Some masala is now an accepted by even the most discerning of readers. But it seems that in this wild race somewhere the thin line is sometimes overstepped. The TOI-Deepika fiasco clearly demonstrates that.
What is really surprising is that media is one industry among the very few in India where the representation of women is quite high. There is an almost 50:50 sex ratio in many of the media houses. It would be expected that given such a percentage of women, there would be more respect for a woman for who she is. Probably the journalist who authored the controversial article is very respectful towards women in his personal life. Maybe he raises a voice if he sees someone ogle or whistle at a passing woman. We don't know. What we do know is that he in the quest for more masala for his article ended up creating the blasphemy.
But it is surely not the fault of one journalist. We all are responsible, the TOI house, other media houses, and us readers. We all helped create an environment where only juicy news would sell and we not just tolerated, we accepted masala as a part and parcel of news. While newspapers kept on printing masala after masala - all in the quest to become the most widely read paper. In this wild race they forgot the weight of the responsibility that rests on its shoulders. Media has to be cognizant of the fact that it is not entertaining, it is educating large parts of the country. In a country where so few get to complete graduation, newspapers and TV serve as a way for them to let their minds soar in the winds of the world. Not only adults, even children are affected and groomed by the media. This responsibility they cannot shrug and the larger their readership grows the greater becomes their responsibility. After all "With great power, comes great responsibilities"
