Press-titution

Yes, the title is trying to be suggestive  and I intend to keep it that way. What brought me to this profanity? Well, it is the India media. Of late, following a few news channels and newspapers, I've noticed a lot of whoring around activity by the media. Not literally of course. The above term suggests that someone who claims to be unbiased but they actually sell their morals/ethics for money. Such is the state of the current Indian media. It has become an expression of media-cre(pun intended) activities.

Just recently, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan was involved in a controversy because of one statement which he uttered. The media misinterpreted his statement and reported differently. This caused a huge uproar among Indians and the social media. 

Another incident where Rahul Gandhi was slated to deliver a speech and discuss matters about youth and the country in a college in Bangalore. The reason he chose this particular college(Mount Carmel College) is because it primarily consists of young women who are majoring in different fields in social studies and economics. This honourable man wanted to discuss about issues faced by women in the country and how the young women can bring about changes. According to insiders, his speech was tailored well to suit an audience of young women and he managed to put across his point eloquently. But the media, who were not allowed during the session disagreed. They have stereotyped this particular man based on his past and have misreported this very interactive session. The media misconstructed his words and shamed him publicly trying to bring about humiliation with headlines and hashtags like '#RahulStumped', 'Rahul's speech backfires'. All they want (the media) is some kind of sizzling news which will keep their channels running and TRPs soaring. Doesn't matter how they achieve it. 

I must add that India is not the only country which faces this issue. Every other country's media does the same thing in one way or another although it may not significantly impact the integrity of the nation, in India, it negatively impacts it. The rise of crimes, intolerance and various political spats are  consequences of media misinterpretation and misinformation. 

This issue has been there for quite some time in the world. Even fiction has portrayed this issue. For example, in the Harry Potter series, the reporter for The Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter is notoriously known for altering original opinions and misconstruction of people's words. This actually had a major psychological impact on the protagonist, Harry. 

This has been a quite a big problem in our country as the majority of the population rely on media for information. This type of unethical media culture has affected the opinions of people. People's opinion on politics and democracy is now heavily influenced by the media. The media controls what you see and what you don't. The media trains the minds of the innocent to suit to their needs. In this way, the media can abuse this in many unethical ways many of which are currently happening right now. 

There are few independent agencies which fight for pure and ethical journalism. Even though they get suppressed by the giants, they still manage to survive and keep fighting to survive. Think Quibbler in Harry Potter. These reporters are brave in this journalism war and I am positive that they will eventually win. Until then, we have to continue reeling under hypocratic and blasphemous journalism.

This is the murky side of media. The ugly truth we are living with. There will be a change, but the change should be done by the right people. As Darth Vader says and I quote, Do not underestimate the power of the dark side. 

May the force be with those who are fighting. 

PS: Comment below with your thoughts on this issue. Because people's opinions matter whether they are right or wrong.  

PSS: For anyone who is interested, here is the link for the Open letter by one of the student who was present at the interaction session with Rahul gandhi. http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mount-carmel-students-open-letter-%E2%80%8Erahulstumped-enthusiasts-36340