Bombay terror attacks – another game show for TV channels??

a sad day, when the terrorists have held the country to ransom..

what is downright appalling is that our television media is making a spectacle out of this chilling incident. whether it is shoving micrphones into the face of released hostages or hounding unfortunate parents of a child who were lucky to escape displays an amazing lack of basic courtesy..

to hear some of the statements made makes u wonder if u have suddenly stepped into another planet.. i have heard the word ” interesting” multiple times.. a lady reporter mentions although this is not the first terror attack, this one has really stuck home because it has been in a five star hotel.. maybe she is worried about going to the celebratory parties once they have cashed in the TRP’s..

the downright ridiculous is the minute by minute explanation of what the NSG and the other  guys are doing. it only makes me shudder to think if this has actually caused any of the deaths.. i hate to think that a terrorist pulled the trigger on a NSG guard or a hostage after figuring out what was happening on TV..

and not one word asking viewers to keep restraint, to stay away from the affected areas. nothing on information that could be useful to the general public. leave that to the boring regional/smaller channels, the national ones cant waste time on any of that, they need to help the nation with their assinine speculation and interpretation of events, their wondrous ability to spread mis-information and their prowess to prattle gibberish for hours on end..

a few years ago, as soon as the Tsumani stuck, i recall very eminent TV personality and reporter repeatedly saying “death, damage & destruction” with almost a glint in the eye; you could feel his anticipation for the news to come in so he can do his spiel.. sadly, this attitude seems to have become all pervasive now

and while they are busy making a gameshow of a tragedy, an annual catastrophe is wrecking havoc in our southern states.. but havent we had enough floods for the year?? the viewers are probably bored with a lot of water…

for a few TRP’s more…

The Sydney test might be a watershed for technological assistance in umpiring, hopefully some better onfield behaviour and some more grace in defeat. one thing i dont see changing quickly is the petty and utterly disgraceful attitude of the Indian television in particular.

the front runners are obviously the so called expert panels of the 24*7 news channels..there has hardly been any moderate and remotely sensible reaction to the umpiring fiasco. some of them have to be heard to be believed – a bowler was asked to kick an umpire in his run-up by one such expert.Coming from someone who has played the game at the highest level and is recognised as such, it only reinforces to the millions watching that it is nothing short of barbarism out in the middle.You also wont find the experts wasting a lot of time giving the opposition credit too- cant remember Brad Hogg, Hussey and Hayden being mentioned except in connection with the racism episode..

The umpires are biased – the channels tell us. Re-running tapes of incorrect decisions made by Bucknor is the way to re-jog everyones memory about the damage he has caused over the years, but it is also strangely silent on the occasions that Indians have benefited.  also, no mention of the correct ones he has made in tough circumstances? obviously not, that will be tarnishing the evidence.Meanwhile, a fine man is heading off into oblivion after good service to the game.

dont get me wrong, I am not defending the bloomers made by the umpires in the sydney test, but cant help feeling that the television stations might be fervently praying for a dozen every time, anything that adds a few notches to the TRP..

these channels have perfected the ability to whip up the audience to a frenzy for a percieved slight or even in the case of a geniune error.. if it doesnt work – they always throw in an emotive interview with a players relative or publish a poll’s result that justifies the outrage.this media outcry feeds itself anyway, they are also wary of letting it die.. even when the issue seemed settled atleast temporarily, one channel had a poll for absolving bhajji before the appeal ran its course..

unfortunately this is also what makes India a cricketing superpower and its ability to hold the cricketing world to ransom

where does this leave the spectator??  Fed on a larger than life cricket they dont know any better, for even when at the ground, the television cameras attract more attention. monkey chants are a direct effect more than anything else..

the real impact sank in when i realised that you cannot have a chat with a player from an opposing team in a 3rd division league match in bangalore without being stared or sledged at. even Neville Cardus could not have imagined this impact when he said that camera & experts will one day become a subsitute for the spectators own assessment of the game.

one only hopes that the media has the sense not to kill the goose that lays the proverbial golden egg..