Talk shows: More heat than light

Channel surfer

By

Randeep Wadehra

On the day Pranab Mukherjee was declared as President Elect news channels were full of him – doing biopics, interviewing his kin or putting together whatever they had on him in their files. His interviews on NDTV, Times Now and CNN IBN etc, expectedly, showed him as erudite and polite. However, he was quite clear about his role as Rashtrapati; that he is not going to be the proverbial rubberstamp.

Pritam Bhattacharjee, a student from Assam on his way to Delhi for higher studies, was murdered by some goons in Bihar. He had, reportedly, approached the railways and police authorities for protection against his assailants, but in vain. Newshour (Times Now) took up the issue with customary zeal. After airing Pritam’s father’s reactions, began the channel’s trademark interrogation that generated more heat than light. The anchor pressed the Bihar DGP to “explain” the steps taken to identify and apprehend the culprits, and to “answer to Pritam’s father.” One would have preferred more focus on railway travelers’ security. Talk shows aren’t mere conduits for venting pent-up emotions; their purpose is to help create an informed public opinion by arriving at a meaningful conclusion if not a tactile result. What would be achieved by berating and badgering the perceived culprits or responsibility shirkers? Instead it would be more rewarding to focus on lapses and possible corrective actions – which invariably get a short shrift on TV talk shows.

What strikes one is the lopsidedness of TV discussions. Take the shameful Guwahati stripping incident. Most news channels were unable to provide full details, thus generating conjectures. Was she 17 years of age (IBN Live), or 20 (other channels)? Was she drunk, as indicated by several channels that aired video clips of the brawl involving her? These details would have provided a cogent perspective to the discussions on various channels without mitigating the seriousness of the crime against her. Along with focusing on the NCW’s lapses and general indifference to the girl’s plight, issues of parenting and emerging value systems too could have been taken up. Unfortunately, all one witnessed was anger and outrage – something that has been missing in case of two minor girls who were humiliated by the Kanpur police, or a woman’s stripping and humiliation in Rajasthan. Incidentally, this is not the first time that a girl has been so assaulted in Guwahati. Five years ago a young tribal woman was molested too, but our news channels did not hyperventilate like this at that time, why?

NDTV’s Buck Stops Here featured an ex-Major, Mohammad Ali Shah, who was “de-boarded” from a private airline in New Delhi, allegedly for his religion, although he had admitted that he was a regular flier on the same airline and had not faced such “racial slur” before. So, what went wrong this time? Obviously, there was more to it than had been admitted. Nevertheless, BSH pegged an entire talk show on this incident, discussing whether minorities face prejudices in India. At different times prominent Muslims like Shabana Azmi, Saif Ali Khan, Javed Akhtar etc have also mentioned this. So, what could the solution be? Over to the talk show mandarins.

Published in The Tribune dated August 05, 2012