News or views

Preface: The recent terrorist attacks in the city is a terrible thing happening. Killing innocent people is Indeed a very cowardly act. This blog was written around a week ago and could not be posted due to some problem in my PC. Some of my views have changed since then, and so have some of the things in this blog. But I still feel most of the things haven’t and readers should consider that was a period where news channels had no big news and relatively smaller news had gained importance.

Warning: Long Post ahead!!!!

Recently I turned on the TV for the day’s Headlines, and this is what I get. Someone goes out of the big boss, Some politics going on over Malegaon Blasts, India winning match over England. HC giving justice to a rape victim after 10 Years. Not in exact order, but these were it.

It’s sometimes so painful to see the change that has come in news channels over the years. I mean, where are the issues of National and International interests?

Media wants stories to tell. They don’t want just news. It’s first the news, then the analysis, what people think, what media thinks, inferences from the news, future predictions and much more. Why cant the keep it just plain news and let the viewers interpret in whichever way feels appropriate to them. What is the need of personal opinion in news?

Go to a politician’s speech, find a small fault in the otherwise perfectly executed speech and capitalize on the mistake. They’ll never mention 100 other positive things he mentioned, just the one controversy he created. Not to mention the slanting of the news to create more hype.

Another feature of News channel is tone and body language of presenters. Some news presenters present news in such a shouting tone just to sensationalize it. Watch programs like ‘Sansani’(…remember Gaurav Dobhal in spoof……) at night and you’ll know what I am talking about. It looks so funny, stupid and silly even if the story is horrifying.

Sometimes get the feeling that Indian media channel people should be made to sit and watch BBC news for an hour and feel the difference. It makes such a pleasant viewing. Just the news from all over the world, hardly any tone change, very rarely the use of personal opinions. That’s what you call news. That’s what makes it a great channel. In India DD news is I feel the best if you are interested in just the news not the crap.

Protection of privacy is another big issue. Take for instance the Aarushi murder case of Delhi. One of the news channels was publicly displaying the content of some email Aarushi got the day before her death. Display of some private text messages in her Inbox. It is so inappropriate for the media to do so. I agree that the person is dead, but so what. Everyone wants their secrets to die with them. Certainly not want for the public to know them.

Events like Bomb blasts are happening are dealt in a tone ‘Oh wow! Something great happened! Alas some news! ’. Don’t cameramen feel bad taking images of people crying on a blast site? Is money so important than the grief of a person who lost his loved one? Media can reach flooding Kosi river in Bihar to take stunning photographs, but not to save thousands of people dying from it. Feels so pity.

Another bad thing is misleading photographs. Some channels like showing older images of sometime ago or older coverage and stating it as current update. For eg. It was one of those heavily raining days in Mumbai, TV channels continue to show pictures of flooded streets even when rain has stopped in most part of the city. That’s so badly misleading. Most people depend on media for correct information, businesses are unnecessarily stopped, just because these news channels have given wrong info. One rainy day, I was at Milan subway. My phone has a TV so turned on to see it. I saw images of Milan Subway being flooded and they were termed as latest. Great, here I am with little water around me, yet can say I am in a flooded region courtesy news channels.

There is also a question mark on some of the news being classified as news. Is somebody getting out of a reality TV serial show a news for a reputed national news channel? Further, is it worth around 15 minutes of air time? If yes, is it worth making a Headline? And one more question. Why are comedians like Raju Shrivastava on news channels? Is it supposed to be funny!!

Morning shows showing astrologers talking crap about how the day is gonna be for you, lucky number for the day, which color to wear etc. Come on! This is news channel, not some entertainment channel. Instead in the morning, summing up previous day’s news would make so much sense.

Sometimes, one news takes over the entire episode. I understand some issues are very vital and should be addressed in detail, given more TV time. But in the process, don’t kill the other smaller news. They may not be that big or sensational, but they deserve to be told.

Throughout this post, I might sound like a person who does not believe in being with the times. Consider me stubborn for not accepting the change as positive. For not considering the fact that ‘Masala’ makes an interesting viewing and that news should be more than just plain news, it should be about views to present a bigger picture. Don’t care what people say, they are just my personal opinion. Doesn’t BBC news feel in being with the times? Why haven’t they changed their style over the time? It is because that is what they call it ‘news’, and it’s BBC news not views.

Rarity

Recently India won the test series with the Aussies. The whole cricket world got crazy over it. The Celebrations would have never been of the same scale had there been England or West-Indies in place of Aussies. Victory was more special because it’s not every time that you see a team like Australia losing convincingly.

Rarity certainly gives value to things in many cases. Diamonds are precious because they are rare. Not that they are not beautiful, but I think if Gold was rarer than Diamonds, it would have been more precious. I am sure many would agree.

If you are a football fan, especially Premier League follower, you may be surprised how in the League cup or FA cup, second or third division teams upset bigger teams like Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd. It’s because smaller teams seldom get a chance to play against these big teams and when they get it, they consider it as chance of a lifetime and give in all they have for the cause of winning. Coz for them it’s a rare event.

In Europe, if your train is 20-30 minutes late, you get refreshment coupons at the rail counter on showing ticket & if it gets further late you get large amount of the ticket money back as compensation. In India, trains are supposed to be late and the compensation thing is such a joke. In Europe, it’s possible coz trains getting late is a rare event so compensating in 1 out of 5000 times is no big a deal.

Why do people pay so much for designer wear when bulk factory outlets provide good clothes with reduced prices. They want their dress to be unique and uncommon.

Everyone of us has a part of them which is unique, which distinguishes us from the crowd. Instead of leading a common life like hundreds of faces in the crowd, we got to find that talent which is in us. Very unique, very different, this will lead us to not being mediocre. I hope to find it someday and hope the reader finds it too.

My belief

I believe.......

• I believe that every defeat makes you more hungrier for success
• I believe that people are like crayons it's not the color they are.Its the pictures they make.
• I believe in 'Change for the better'
• I believe in love. It is however, not a fairy tale or ever perfect...and will not always have a happy ending, TRUE love between two people meant to find each other does exist
• I believe in myself......for all the dreams i have made for.
• I believe in luck, how else would you explain success of people whom you dont like.
• I believe in learning something new each and every day of our lives
• I believe that best friends are best friends because no matter how long it's been since you've talked to them,when you see them again,you can start right where you left off.
• I believe in keeping all promises I make.
• I believe that rainy days are entirely necessary and not simply to provide water
• I believe in God, for getting me through the difficult times
• I believe in selflessly helping people, someday i might be at the recieving end too
• I believe most of the poems are boring and dull, but the ones that are good really make an impact
• I believe sometimes Silence is Golden
• I believe best things in life come cheap, if not free
• I believe in simpilicty of life
• I believe the next person who will read this will add an comment
• I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows.

and finally the R Kelly song lyrics.........

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

Dream Destinations

This is the thing i enjoy the most. Travelling the world around and seeing lovely places. I used to make a list of places which I would never like to miss out on in a lifetime. A lot of this has been modified over time as some alternatives on list were visited. These are the seven things that are on top of the list currently. They may not be Seven Wonders of the World, but certainly great places.

1. Watching Midnight sun at Helsinki…..
This is on the top of the list for a while. It would feel incredible to see the sun right up in the sky and watch the clock say it’s 12 at night. Plus they say European summers are great. And then watch the sunset at 1 in the night. Seems crazy while just thinking. Actually may sound so cool.

2. Great beaches is South-Africa.
Cape town, Durban or be it any other, they are the coolest beaches in the world. Just want to be there to watch the beautifully blue coast, and the water sport that come with it. My friends argue that Mauritius is on top of the beaches list, but since I’ve visited it, it doesn’t figure here. And surely Goa doesn’t even come close.

3. Disneyland California
This is one of the big dreams. Watching your childhood cartoon characters coming alive is so great. The Mickey mouse, Donald duck, Alladin, Pinnochio,Dalmatians and so on.One way that it is different than other amusement parks such as Essel World, Ocean Park(Hongkong), Lotte-World(Seoul) is that it has a theme. And it also showcases a parade of all Disney characters at the end of the day.

4. Niagara falls
It may not be the highest or biggest waterfall in the world, but is one of the most beautiful waterfalls on earth. Canada on one side and America on the other. What a splendid way to separate two countries!! The view at night is even more fantastic as artificial light falls on the waterfall according to themes. A hotel with a waterfall view for the night will cost a fortune but is certainly worth it.

5. Super-star Virgo
Or for that matter any three of Singapore Star-Cruises will do. What a way to take stress off for 3 days. I’ve never been in any boat for longer that 5 hrs(dat was kerela backwaters..) but this surely is fun. With friends it would be even better. After seeing Titanic for so many times, cant resist without going on a Star Cruise.

6. Sand-dune surfing near Dubai
This is again one of the things seen on discovery channel that seemed irresistible. Previously Ice-skating used to be here on this list, but after Leh and Switzerland, enough of ice, sand surfing is better. Some of my friends going on trip this year might do it in Rajasthan though. Bit jealous about it.

7. Watching Fifa World cup final newhere.
The best is for the last. This is infact a resolution made by some of us friends in school that we’ll watch the football world cup final, or atleast semifinal in 2018 wherever it is in the world and no matter who is playing and how much it costs.