This is an open forum for anyone wishing to write about the ills in today’s media. People are encouraged to write in to wheresdnews@gmail.com and we hope that soon the numbers increase from the 50 that the initial mail was sent to. Abusive language is discouraged and baseless remarks against people are not welcome. This is an experiment with the hope that it will lead to something.
This site was a result of an email Samir sent to people on his mailing list. The idea was that it would be forwarded to others and thereby become something of an informal petition on line that gets to the media.
Some hit the reply button and others the reply all button. All made very valid points which we will share.
This is how it started -
“I am not a Maoist, nor do I condone violence.But when I place myself in their shoes and try to reason out the cause of this violence I am met with violent reactions.
Maybe this has something to do with the media.
The media reporting of the Maoist acts has been about their viciousness, their temerity and the various responses from the government and other political parties. The media has forgotten that those who have taken up arms are the ones who have the most to loose – their freedom, life and land. There must be a reason for these people to take up arms.
So I have a few questions for the media
- Why are environmental destruction and human right violations relegated to environment shows or reports from Citizen Journalists which are broadcast at vague hours or for a few minutes?
- Why can’t Pranoy Roy, who did an election special from a subzi mandi, do an environmental special from Jadogoda and other environmental hotspots?
- During the recent droughts Pranoy asked politicians if they were sending their MPs and MLAs to drought stricken areas. Why isn’t Pranoy Roy being asked to send his reporters to find out the cause of this upsurge?
- Why isn’t ‘We the People’ filled with people from rural areas
- When did music become part of news?
- During the reporting of the spread of H1N1 virus the media began with a scare (remember journos with masks?), then the media played it down saying that thousands die of malaria, cholera etc etc so H1N1 is not a bother. So why isn’t there any news of those diseases now?
- Why is it on Newsnight that a question that goes something like this -’where are the human rights activists?’ asked when there is a Maoist killing?
Most of my questions are for NDTV because that’s the channel I happen to watch.
I am sure you have questions. What are they? And could you pass it on?
samir
“
