Thursday 18 July 2013

That is what they want!

Okay. I admit that my limited knowledge of the media has led to terrible rifts with  the world around me. But yet, I do not seem to stop questioning the most strange yet accepted approaches in the field.

An area that often contradicts one's thoughts could be the way in which content is presented before the public. Be it television, radio or even online, there is no formula to the ideal representation of information to the audience. To begin with, many in the industry fail to define their audience which does lead to a lot of chaos and confusion.

As a viewer I am puzzled by the rather obscure depiction of various content in advertisements, cinema and even television shows. How does the media know what we want? Is it that audiences of the 21st century are uninterested in good yet innovative work? Or do the big-daddies of media still believe that the age old formula or drama, masala and 'modernity' is still the only solution to a successful business? On the one hand, we curse the media for exaggerating certain topics. While on the other, media schools encourage students to conduct further research so as to understand the market and of course the mind-set of the audience.

Entertainment TV in India is perhaps a wonderful example that clearly explains the varied moods of the Indian media. From flooding its screens with soaps, many channels have now resorted to reality shows. No offence, but an over doze of the same formula can bore you to death! It has become next to impossible to consider other forms of entertainment solely as we have tuned our audiences to watch the various versions of the famous the saas- bahu hungama!. Ah! Yes, then there are the celebrity or film shows that many claim to excite people. Let us be realistic. The first of its kind will always have a charm of its own. But you can't guarantee that a similar show with 'major'modifications will bring you the desired viewership.

Whatever happened to creativity? Who dares to think out of the box? Why are ideas being ignored in the name of competition? Why must me follow the others?

Interestingly, even television news seems to have adapted the same formula and has become (if I must say so) more entertaining than soaps. Death, rape, corruption and everything that is not nice has suddenly taken over the screens. Nobody truly values NEWS, FACTS or even INFORMATION. It is all about the number of eye-balls one can grab in 30 minutes. Our anchors scream at the top of their voices, making a situation sound tense and life threatening, while in reality there is nothing immensely dangerous that could take place. Nobody raise questions. Instead, they continue to state the obvious in as many vocal variations. All of a sudden, news is not about digging deeper. But it is about the how effectively you can raise the TRP of your channel and perhaps become no.1 in the business.

I think it is high time we accept that the media is not only about latest fashion trends, the stars or even the glamour. It took many great minds to make it what it is today. And as future members of the media, we must strive towards keeping their dreams alive. And bring out something unique, special and memorable every second. Gone are the days when fashion ruled the screens. With youtube or even  It would not be long before mobile applications or even laptops would replace television sets. We have to dare to be different. We have to dare to stand out. Most of all we must dare to make a mark at each stage.

So gear up for a more competitive and happening experience in the media!!

I hear you

This is an attempt at poetry after a gap of nearly 17 years. _________ I hear the noise around me The rage, the anger, and the hate A...