Malpractice in journalism is the core of Brokering News,a new short film Amitabh Bachchan turns into a television newscaster before the release of his film,Rann. Quick tips on which stocks to invest in,masquerade as news on business channels. Several newspapers run PR-puffed pieces on political leaders disguised as election coverage. And,in lifestyle glossies,a thin line separates product recommendations from advertisements. If the people who make news think of it as a commercial product,it is time to ask a few questions, says Umesh Aggarwal. His latest film,Brokering News,which was screened at Open Frame,a film festival organised the Public Service Broadcast Trust (PSBT) in Delhi,does just that. Aggarwal,a former journalist who traces his career to the 1985 television show Newsline won a National Award for The Whistle Blowers,an investigative film on pesticides in bottled water and soft drinks,in 2007. Brokering News,a one-hour-long film on the dark side of journalism packs in a lot of information and analysis in its narrative. His aim was to raise questions without becoming confrontational. We needed to create some kind of reverberation, he says. The film unfolds like a thriller a corrupt but powerful system,big money at stake,a lone crusader and lost idealism. Except that Aggarwals is a true story. The lone crusader in the film is a former journalist who was allegedly asked by his publication to generate income through paid news. He is seen brandishing receipts and various other documents as proof. The narrative also unfurls another instance. What is one supposed to think when one article,extolling the virtues of a politician,is carried by three newspapers under three bylines? asks Aggarwal. Watching Brokering News is like reading a newspaper with different sections politics,business,sports,films and lifestyle one fades out as another fades in. The film includes bits from from television shows,photographs of different newspapers and snatches of interviews with eminent people in the media as well as editors to create a strong visual story. There are more than a few insightful moments. One is when filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt,who now has the reputation of a dial-a-quote media expert,makes an ironical point: I thought I was in the entertainment business; since when did you join my flock? If everybody is going to be in the entertainment business,who is going to give us the news?
