Reading newspapers is a habit I acquired early, and not because of some interest in national issues, but because of the stories. It was precisely the same reason that I liked history books too. Stories of people succeeding, people innovating, people motivating, erudite historians explaining war strategies, esoteric economists explaining market movements. Up down. Up down. Comes the pedantic orator, who decides to enlighten everyone with his views on these issues. But all of it made it worthwhile.
Slowly, the trend defining the print media changed. I liked the editorial sections, because they focused on opinions. Much like the pedantic orator. But rest all changed. The success stories of people transmuted to protests. Motivations converted to sedition. People raged, rioted, looted, raped, getting killed! The newspapers weren't worth reading anymore. I started to predict what the highlights would be. More graft, more scams, more protests. But what seemed even more fascinating was how the mood of different newspapers changed periodically over time. Once a praising session begins, it continues, and suddenly it is revealed that the government isn't doing such a good job after all, and the collateral criticism starts. In the recent past, a myriad of under table deals have suddenly surfaced. This sheer volume coming out in such a short time is astonishing, and when the media too starts lambasting the government instead of being impartial and putting both perspectives forward, it is hard to not be skeptical about the reliability of newspapers today. Even to the extent that would exonerate the government from various blotches on its image. In a movie of Hitchcock, he shows a similar fate cornering James Stewart, when public opinion accrues to charge him with graft, even though he is the one unveiling it. Just imagine, such a powerful force somehow pressured to follow a directive. And it is not hard to do so. In most of the country, with pronuclear arguments coming from people like President APJ Kalam, or the hard earned Nuclear treaties signed with USA, people are voicing in favour of the Kundankulam Nuclear Plant. Voices supporting the protesters are difficult to be heard. Or with the Jal Satyagrah just finished in Khandwa, the Madhya Pradesh government came out in good light even when it was culpable for the problems plaguing the people there. With the Congress bashing going on at present, there was no space in which to fit the plight of the Khandwa villagers, so the news remained elusive for 20 days. And it came out with the promise of Chief Minister proclaiming "Government flexibility for suiting people's wishes".
The tendency of a business to shift its products towards the consumer base is evident when newspapers skew articles to fit public opinion. When the public opinion is pro-government, the shortcomings of the rulers get carefully draped. This happened a while ago too. Indian government was lauded for the Copenhagen Summit. The newspapers praised the diplomacy of Jairam Ramesh, showed how the decisions benefitted India and made its liability for environment minimal. Then came the Wikileaks, and blew the lid of the act! The US supposedly scripted the whole event, sending secret wires to national representatives, pressuring, forcing them, and finally passed its own model. And as it came out, all the news reports became a sham, inconspicuously lured in creating a false public opinion without knowing the truth. And this is just the tale of one country, on government. There is an ensemble of governemt and non-government actors waiting to stage their acts. And the sad part is the truth remains elusive to most till a breach inside reveals it. The mood at present is anti-government, and with even the foreign elements now blaming the government for its indecisive and deriding policies, the sudden comprehensive surge in the anti-government sentiments overhauling the newspapers seems perfunctory. It is hard to believe that the forces are not at work again, that it is entirely true, and many crucial elements aren't hidden while the articles are construed to suit the public opinion.
Truthfully, since the WikiLeaks came out with their horde of documents, it has become hard to believe that a secret government, or anti-government channel is not functional to try and feed us the news it wants. And unlike Hitchcock's hypothesis of a single person controlling the entire faction of media, it is the secret information flows between the controlling group, which I think exists and we don't know about, that trouble me. Much like the wind currents in higher altitudes which mysteriously bring rain.
If I ever wanted to join politics, it was only to get a look at these secret information flows.
And be a part of it.
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