Media bashing is one of the favorite pastimes of the Hindu right. You know those Facebook posts with split images showing supposedly equivalent stories – and how the Media reports on one and not the other? The comments section of a story in the Times of India, Deccan Herald, NDTV, Hindu, or whatever are filled with outraged words like “presstitute” and “sikular”.
The media is such an easy target isn’t it? It’s not humanly possible to cover everything and being a business, they’re only going to print the news that they feel people are interested in. Despite what you might think, they have no moral duty to do squat. They’re not some charitable organization whose duty is to provide you with unbiased facts and figures in a column. Stories are written by people who have opinions and we like it that way. We like the media to put a spin on things. Is anyone here interested in a dry recitation of facts? Not me.
If you don’t like what a particular media channel puts out, if you don’t agree with their opinions, if you feel they’re covering up stuff on a regular basis, I have three sweet words for you.
Free. Fucking. Market.
Stop bitching and whining about the “evil media”, get off your butt, and go make some big bucks!
“Waaaah, the TOI is biased and only reports bad things against the BJP!”, or “See how NDTV is not giving enough coverage to the National Herald case because it involves the Gandhi Family!”, or “The Media is going bonkers about Dadri and refusing to cover Prashant Poojary!” or “Why is the Media constantly focusing on the ‘Intolerance’ debate?”.
Well, my dear conspiracy theorists – go watch some other channel then. What’s that? You say no unbiased media exists in the country? Well if you feel there’s sufficient demand, go create your own news channel! Please show us how it’s done. Tell us the truth the way you feel it should be told. Give us what we want, what we really need. Open our eyes. Show us.
But you won’t will you?
And don’t tell me that starting a newspaper is prohibitively expensive. Sure it’s not dirt cheap, but it’s nowhere as expensive as running a hotel, manufacturing cars, or any of the other free markets in India that have plenty of competition. If the target market is as high as you think it is, get a financial backer, demonstrate the demand and take off!
Hindutva types like to make it sound as if the entire country is clamoring for the truth and the desperate media is trying to cover it up. They like to point out the buzz on social networks, trying to show that the entire country is up in arms against the media channels. But guess what? The media is not a monolithic entity like the government that can change only once every 5 years. There’s so much demand for an unbiased media right? Go create your own.
The US has done exactly that. The right wing in America felt that the evil “liberal” media was not representing their point of view. And hello Fox news! What’s more, it’s profitable – it makes more money than any other news channel. I mean sure everyone makes fun of it, but so what? At least someone saw an opportunity and made use of it. Good for them.
So what’s stopping the Hindutva brigade from doing the same thing in India? Go ahead. Stop bitching and whining about the “evil media”, get off your butt, and go make some big bucks! We’re all waiting with bated breath to see what you come up with. Show us how it’s done. Come on, give us the unbiased new we’ve all been waiting for. With so many supporters and such a terrific demand, you can’t fail can you?
But no – it’s much much easier to simply take easy potshots against existing players than actually going out there and changing the game right? Well guess what – the media doesn’t owe you anything. Take it or leave it. Or go make your own.
