TODAY -
The Media's Obsession With Celebrities And Ignorance Of The Common People
Countercurrents.org | Shahidur Rashid Talukdar | June 24 2011
For the Indian media, only the celebrities are important. If you are not famous enough, your say, your cause and even your life has little news-value for the mainstream media. In India , when a celebrity sneezes, whole media weeps in sympathy whereas when ordinary people die, in protest, atrocities, calamities, or even in state sponsored massacres , it's hardly a news.
This is not the only case of media's apathy towards common people. Unless you are famous enough before the media, your cause - however noble it maybe, will go unnoticed before the media's blind eyes. Our not-so-famous iron lady from Manipur, Irom Sharmilahas been fighting against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) , a draconian law which bestows unlimited powers to the armed forces, for last 10 years. What is the media's take on this? A decade of Irom's hunger is not enough to awake the mainstream media, which has largely been quiet on the issue. Why is this apathy? Is it because she is not as famous as Anna Hazare or because the effect of the AFSPA, which has taken away hundreds of innocent lives, is not dangerous enough?
Be it the poor victims of Forbesganj, Irom Sharmila of Manipur, or Swami Nigamanada – the bleak face of Media apathy is same. The only reason, it seems, is these people are not famous enough for the media to take interest. Hence, their death or their suffering is not news-worthy. These faceless people are the real heroes of genuine concerns. India salutes them even though the media may not care.
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* This Post is uploaded on June 25 2011.
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