Reality Bytes

Bhaskar Ghose on why the written word is sacrosanct

Integrity,truth,responsibility in the time of TRPs is fact and not fiction,believes and trusts Bhaskar Ghose. The pertinent question of the day,as Ghose addressed students at the Chitkara School of Mass Communication was,’Is there a space and place for these values in today’s media world and can young,enterprising media people make a difference and bring about change?’ In these times where money and TRPs rule the industry,Ghose,former Director General Doordarshan and Secretary to the Government of India Ministry of Culture does not refute the fact that these are trying times and ideas of change are many a time swallowed up by the system. But instead of being cynical,Ghose is hopeful that the body of people who can work to create a balance between revenues and quality and truthful work in both electronic and print media is large. “The greed must stop,we have to reach a point where we earn the revenues,without compromising on the integrity of the media,” smiles Bhaskar,who in 2005,set up and was Chief Executive of Lok Sabha Television. A 24-hour television channel that carries live proceedings of the Lok Sabha,this one says Ghose was thought for the discerning audience,with programmes ranging from discussions on current affairs to selected feature films,dance and theatre programmes. “It was an absorbing and challenging assignment,and I insisted that it be a 24-hour channel,for otherwise we would get lost in this rush of so many channels,” Ghose talks about how television remains a cold medium and the fact that newspapers have reinvented themselves,with more and more people relying more on newspapers for accurate information than television. “Print is a medium that has a lasting effect and nothing can change that,” the former IAS officer is writing his second book (first being Doordarshan Days) The Service of the State. The book is a personalised look at the IAS and questions its relevance in the 21st century,with absorbing personal accounts an integral part of the book. Looking forward.