the elephant trap...

fellow wolves.. the lone wolf is back after a long hiatus.... was on a perilous journey encompassing life, death and everything in between.. Humans,lesser mortals that they are... call it the university exams... The wolf has been through hell and beyond...
i was thinkin and thinkin.. wht shud i write on.. and i caught a glimpse of today's newspaper... Alongside the terrorist attack in the RSS headquarters.. there was a half a page article about a rogue tusker being captured... and it was the seventh article in the series.. i guess its the MEDIA EQUIVALENT OF REALITY TV...
the wolf shares a sense of bretheren with the mighty tusker.. But cmon.. The guy is getting undue publicity ... today he shares the media space with our Prime Minister..!!
which brings us to the core issue... Has the role of media been reduced to the 3 S's:-
1. SCOOPS
2. SCANDALS
3. SENSATIONALISM
the wolf believes yes... today the media revolves around news that people want to hear.. two headed goats in some village in kasargod, 11 yr old being molested by 45 men, gory details of mao activists chopping off the head of innocent villagers in nepal.....
Is this what we want to read?? clearly yes... The wolf pities the humans for still being primitive and carnal in their thought process despite claming to be the most civilsed race...
all of us Agree to the fact tht media plays a pivotal role in a country like india where corruotion and malpractices are rampant..
Take Tehelka for example... We all agree tht it was the worst tht people at such positions should be doing... or the couch casting issue involving the "bad" man shakti kapoor....
BUT ISN'T THE MEDIA CREATING NEWS RATHER THAN REPORT THE NEWS??
Let us take the case of the tusker episode.. the dude has been around for quite some time causing trouble.. nobody took notice.. neither the forest officials nr the government...
but one fine day the newspaper reports the issue... and bang!
things start falling into place... the paper has its masala hathi safari to entice its readers, the tribals have one less trouble.. and the forest officials get a chance to play Superman....
everybody is happy.. i agreed... BUT SHOULDN'T THE PAPER HAVE STOPPED WITH THE FIRST REPORT? WHY GO FOR A MEGA SERIAL INVOLVING THE TUSKER, THE FOREST AND THE OFFICIALS..... one simple answer... money speaks..
More sensation means more readership... more readership means more money....
Is this a good thing or a bad thing??( personally the wolf reaches out for the film supplement before the editorial...)
Its probably a generation thing... the present generation lives on the fast lane.. sensation is the fad... And media are really cashing in on it...
the wolf is not against PAGE 3, scoops, tehelka or dance bars.... But news should speak the truth... always.. and should not be fabricated for the sake of extra readership or satiation of a few perverted souls...
Everybody loves a good story.. But one needs to wonder whether newspapers are the right place for these fictitious stories...
the wolf walks.. into the night..