Today life is so short-tempered that that the non-fulfillment of our selfish desires breeds an atmosphere ’serenity’. But this very nature of the passage of life serves as a food for thought of the media. Agree or no, I have reasons to disagree to what president kalam said in his address at the Ramnath Goenka awards organised for Excellence in Journalism.

He is right when he said that there is no room for sensationalism in journalism even if sells in the short run. I am not acting as a double-edged sword but making an effort to present a transparent picture of media before you. There is absolutely no room for sensationalism in journalism as it resides in their blood, which is governed by the corporate minds.

The definition, dimension and parameters of media has undergone a dialysis and this new body is governed by Corporate reviews. What enjoys priority here is not local or global issues but advertising that generates revenue for media.

Now the working is like this:

Media organization craves for profit; the source for this expected revenue depends upon ratings received by it. Now the big question is how to generate ratings? With blind eye and deaf ears, the handpicked solution is to ensure that its efforts are being watched by the audience. How can their eyeballs be glued to their shows? By serving them with something that is SENSATIONAL, invites their curiosity, interest and reaction, making them turn-on their sets the following day. If this happens, then big bucks are assured.

In fact the hypothesis clearly reflects that media is playing smart. Now here is a piece of news that is not sensational yet interesting. Renowned TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai bagged the ‘Journalist of the Year´ award in broadcast category while Ritu Sarin of ‘Indian Express´ was honored in the print media category. The award carries a cash of Rs 250,000.

The jury that selected the award winners included Bakul H Dholakia, Deepak Parekh, Fali S Nariman, Keshub Mahindra, M S Swaminathan, Naresh Chandra, N R Narayanamurhty, Rama Bijapurkar, Shobhana Bhartiya, Subir Raha and Shyam Benegal.

I think Rajdeep and Ritu are the right candidates to define the relation between sensationalism and media. I will be glad if they do so.