Opinion Once again,without feeling

While this is thrilling news for voyeurs sitting at home and perhaps boosted viewership ratings for the day,it seems as though the channels were exploiting the controversy over the source of the footage. Logically,there is no reason for them to show us the offending video clips. They could simply have reported the matter and done what they always do so well: solicited reactions and then set off a chain of reactions resulting in a debate with outraged experts — which is what many news channels did on Tuesday evening. Nothing but titillation was achieved by showing the couples in a clinch. Its not as though we would not have believed that such footage existed without seeing it. Also,the footage became instantly accessible to millions of us who would otherwise never have seen it.

News channels were far better off showing us victims of acid attacks. After the Supreme Court had censured the Centre for the unregulated sale of acid,news channels like Zee News and NDTV 24×7 (Primetime,The Buck Stops Here),invited women who had been disfigured in acid attacks to the studios. They spoke poignantly of their lives after they were attacked and we saw how irrevocably and awfully they have been transformed.

Wish someone would transform television news for the better. The bomb attack on the Bodh Gaya temple complex on Sunday saw news channels initially rush to the spot. On Monday,the evening debates were devoted to the attack,but the attack was not their focus. Instead,the news channels allowed rival political parties to have a blast — forgive the dreadful pun,but that is what happened. Once Congressman Digvijaya Singh had let loose a fusillade on the BJP and Narendra Modi,the news channels staged an exchange of fire on air. Singh was seen up against the BJP’s Nirmala Sitharaman on channels like NDTV 24×7. Times Now indulged in “instant politicisation” of the attack,as did most other channels. As happens all too frequently,the core issues — who staged the attack,why,and was there a security lapse — were sidelined in favour of mutual recrimination. This “tu tu main main” may entertain viewers,but is it worthy of so much space and time?

Headlines Today took a different angle: it linked the Bodh Gaya blasts to the attack on the Rohingya in Myanmar. It reported on Monday that many websites were disseminating inflammatory visuals concerning the minority community. But,it said,such content was false,fabricated as propaganda to inflame Muslims. Such “rumours were fanning terror”,it concluded. The same could be said about Headlines Today: without any tangible proof,wasn’t the channel fanning rumours of the link between Myanmar and Bodh Gaya?

And why was CNN doing a story about the famous dabbawallahs of Mumbai (Monday)? Has it just discovered the city’s most efficient and reputed service? If so,it is surely one of the last to do so. It was much better off concentrating on the political and street turmoil in Egypt,something Al Jazeera has done very well. It is alleged that the channel is pro-Muslim Brotherhood (it was asked to leave a press conference by the military and police on Monday),which was ousted from power last week,but for comprehensive coverage of the country’s political deadlock,the channel is ahead of its rivals.

Lastly,DD Sports covered the 20th Asian Athletics Championships in Pune. Didn’t get to watch many of the events live during the day,but watched the closing ceremony on Sunday. Or tried watching it. An odd thing happened: there was no commentary,at least not during the parts when people marched in the stadium with the Indian flag. Never watched such an occasion in silence before. After the week’s hullabaloo on TV,it was almost welcome.

shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com