Opinion Seizing the story

Jammu and Kashmir government to work for “stability”,as he put it,in the state. Now,it wasn’t at all clear,watching him,whether he had come prepared to say what he said or whether it had been prised out of him by some canny questioning,by Arnab Goswami. As Goswami asked pointed but leading questions,Singh became more and more expansive,more combative and,in the process,may have revealed more than he intended to — at least,that’s how it seemed from the distance of the TV screen.

It was a perfect match-up: the general in his labyrinth after The Indian Express report on an army probe into the controversial Technical Support Division’s activities,and television’s prime inquisitor. For a change,Goswami was calm and razor sharp. Gone was his usual persona of a bully who hectored his guests,interrupted them at will and positioned himself as the nation’s conscience. Here,he employed his skills as a journalist to extract information from his guest. If only he,and other TV anchors,did this more frequently,television news would be a far better place to be — informative and interesting.

TV news couldn’t do better than to treat 60 Minutes (CNBC) as its lodestar. This American TV news programme is riveting to watch,even when it is on subjects which,ordinarily,would never catch your eye or attention. For instance,last Sunday it took an in-depth look at a gentleman who trains dogs for combat and intelligence work. Previous episodes include the Boston bombing and the attack and killing of Osama bin Laden as told by one of the SEALs involved in the assault. This is seriously good journalism and seriously good television.

The coverage of the al-Shabaab attack on a mall in Nairobi was one of those difficult cases for TV news where precise information on developments inside the mall was understandably hard to come by — and yet,coverage is essential. The Kenyan authorities provided updates in sporadic bursts,rather like the gunfire,we were told,inside the mall. Viewers wanted more: the siege was a compelling although horrifying human drama and BBC World,CNN and Al Jazeera provided constant live updates.

But despite many interviews with civilians who had escaped from the mall,and live pictures of the smoke billowing out of the building,there was a sense of being distanced from the events,different from the way that the Boston bombing in the US,for example,had felt real. In that instance,there was an immediacy to the attack and the manhunt that followed that were missing on this occasion. Perhaps the reasons were geography,an unfamiliar terrain,the inability of news channels to rush enough correspondents to the spot and the Kenyan government’s iron control on information. Whatever,the enormity of the attack and in particular the hostage crisis,never hit you between the eyes.

Crime Patrol: Dastak (Sony) finally aired its two episodes on last year’s December 16 gangrape in Delhi. This dramatised version of a crime we all know only too well was unexceptional for that very reason. We have lived through the events as they have unfolded over the last nine months,we have watched interviews with the victim’s family,the friend who was with her at the time of the attack,and revisited the crime many times on TV news. So,in this instance,reality scored over the reel enactment.

Mercifully,the dramatisation of the attack in the bus was not too graphic — mostly,we stared into the ugly expressions of the culprits — but the injured girl lying in a hospital bed was still too raw an experience and sent a shiver down the spine.

On a less sombre note,Star World Premiere HD follows Times Television’s launch of the rom and com channel Romedy Now. Star Premiere is only available on Tata Sky as of now (Romedy is not on Tata Sky just yet) and promises to telecast new or ongoing series in sync with their telecast in the US. Watched a new FBI series,The Blacklist,on Tuesday but for many,Homeland season three is the big draw.

shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com