Anything Under the Sun!!!

“Why did you leave journalism?”

I have been hearing this question from the time I dropped the idea of pursuing my higher studies in journalism and instead landed in a completely different job. So why the big leap? And that too at a time when media’s the most sought after career.

Well, we are taught a lot of things in the classroom. But its not the real thing. You get to know the real thing only when you land up right in the middle of the s**t. Not that I had the “chance” of getting stuck there. I wanted to get into television; news scripting or editing. But the plight of the news channels today made me reconsider my decision. On second thoughts, I realized, “Why should I compromise on my values and be trampled on by some money-loving ‘news makers’?”

They are ‘the news makers’; they create news if there isn’t any. Or just exaggerate any news story, unnecessarily hype it so that people are stuck to the news channels. If there’s a main news story, it would be shown on the channel the whole day, pushing the viewers to desperation to look for other options (though people love to devour “interesting” stories, but it becomes unbearable after some time). Why don’t the media barons realize this?

News channels are the most viewed ones especially during a crisis or disaster. So, why not make it effective journalism? Something worthwhile, something that would really help people. But does anyone care? Do people like us-ME and YOU-really care?