Opinion The news amid the natter

DD News and Al Jazeera stand out like islands of calm reflection in an otherwise chaotic sea of TV channels

July 28, 2011 12:38 AM IST First published on: Jul 28, 2011 at 12:38 AM IST

When you are away from Delhi and wish to find out if the seat of power has sagged a little more in your absence,you must watch the private news channels. They press down so hard on the UPA government that,sometimes,Dr Manmohan Singh must feel sat upon. But if you want to acquaint yourself with the news of events around the country or even the world,on no account must you watch anything other than DD News. It gives you news,raw facts and figures like a news agency ticker,while private news TV provides you controversy. With DD News,you get plenty of unmediated information,instead of perpetual speculation on what A. Raja meant when he said what he did about the prime minister in the 2G scam.

What a relief it is to hear news without discussions. Just the plain naked facts,not a fancy-dress party. And weve said this before,but it bears repetition because of the constant complaints that the PM,the Congress president,Sonia Gandhi,and Congress general secretary,Rahul Gandhi,are only seen and never heard in public speaking on any subject of import,so we dont know their opinions on a variety of national issues. Well,if you watch DD News,you will hear them speak on a wide variety of subjects last week,for instance,we heard Dr Singh,live,at a global seminar on the environment. Similarly,you can hear Sonia Gandhi at rallies and functions,particularly outside Delhi. Of course,these are prepared speeches that she simply reads out,but they do give you an idea of what she is saying to the public and should be heard for that reason alone.

Another channel that is bursting with facts you have not encountered previously on other news channels is Al Jazeera. It is unavailable to many of us,as DTH systems like Tata Sky do not offer it. But cable operators do and it should be compulsory viewing. It offers a refreshing and alternative worldview. It gives you the latest,especially from the Middle East where all the action is these days.

Last week,there was news of nuclear power plants in Iran,which was not broadcast on our news channels (preoccupied as they are with Indian power politics). Its coverage of the Oslo bomb blast and the Utoya island massacre was as restrained as the BBCs with its stiff upper lip. But here is the difference: at some stage,on Saturday evening,the BBC,being the official public broadcaster,began a series of interviews with British government officials who simply offered official statements of condolence,etc,whereas Al Jazeera told us more about Anders Behring Breivik. Al Jazeera is a noise-pollution-free channel where people speak without shattering the sound barrier,and with none of the high-pitched delivery stuff.

Speaking of which,the cricket from Lords was wonderful in every way,except that we lost (Star Cricket). And that when David Lloyd spoke,it was like a googly encountered a floater and went down his throat as a wrong un. In other words,he is very difficult to read,sorry,understand. Unlike Sourav Ganguly,whose voice has all the sweetness of his drives. Ganguly has moved effortlessly from the captains position to the vacant spot by Harsha Bhogles side and its really interesting to listen to him since hes known the Little Master,the Wall and Very Very Special Laxman,Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh at very close quarters. He and former England captain,Nasser Hussain,make the perfect odd couple on the commentary team. There was a lovely moment when Bhogle suggested that from being adversaries on the field the two former captains were now friends. Hussain went,Well,I wouldnt go that far. Honestly,how honest is that?

shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com