This is the classic debate between print media and blogging that has been going on for a long time now. It’s amusing to see how columnist Chris Watson describes his plight as his role at the 150-years old daily newspaper called Santa Cruz Sentinel in California seems to be ‘evolving’. Looks like after enjoying the warmth of a good and comfortable readership, Watson got a rude shock when he was asked to contribute on contract basis and was given less column-inch space to write in. Well, the dude leaves a smile on your face when he ends his article (please read ON A BLOGSITE) with a very cheeky ‘Got any writing jobs? Contact me’.

Hey, it is not the end of a generation. C’mon, agreed that blogs are THE big thing today and stalwarts like filmmaker Shekhar Kapur have ventured into it with a warning to print journalists that they may be out of job soon if they don’t start blogging. I am not trying to negate that after all, I too am a blogger and would never like to be called a hypocrite. All I want to say is that, each form of media has its special place. There may be alterations in the domination scale of course, but all DO exist in harmony. To be honest, don’t we all still like to pick up a newspaper each morning even when we know that we can catch more updated news on TV or the radio, and the same applies to blogs.

Via BookCriticsCircle

Indian chapter of Transparency International conducted a fresh survey, Global Corruption Barometer 2007 among 1069 respondents revealed that political parties grab the lion’s share in the field of corruption.
As high as 76 percent of the respondents opined that political parties are “extremely corrupt”. The Police are only the competitor that goes neck and neck.
The recently conducted Gujarat assembly election is before us to show how low the parties campaigned against one another. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are no exceptions to evidence the character of our politicians. No doubt few watch such programs.
Politicians who claim to posses’ blood of patriotism even do not know the lines of our National song or National anthem. Gone are the days when leaders and politicians exerted themselves for the betterment and upliftment of the common man.

Presence of MPs and Legislators in the Houses some time well below the mandatory quorum exhibits their loyalty towards nation and people.

Nations must eye at heightening level of CORRUPTION.

Special Court of Mumbai holds Praveen Mahajan guilty of murdering veteran BJP leader Promod Mahajan . The Session Judge S. P. Davare adjudged Praveen guilty of commiting serious crime and forcing entry into house without permission. The Court is likely to read out the sentence on Tuesday.

A case under Sec 302, 449 was registered against Praveen Mahajan. The veteran BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was reported to have been shot dead by his brother Praveen Mahajan at his residence on April 22 2006.

The Police had filed charge sheet last year in JULY. Before hearing the Prosecutor had advanced a list of 58 witnesses before the court and had demanded a death penalty during argument. The Prosecution had produced wife of Promod Mahajan, daughter Poonam Mahajan, sister and brother-in-law Gopinath Munde as witnesses whereas the wife of Praveen Sarangi and Computer Experts were produced by the Defense.

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.