Media loves unethical and rich !!

In a recently released research and analysed report of the BMW hit and run case and Shivani Bhatnagar murder case by the http://www.newswatch.in/research/1758 wherein the court verdict came out pronouncing respective cases accused as criminals. Print and online media unnecessarily hyped the accused and to some extend did the job of collecting the sympathy for the accused of the cases. Writing the points stating what Nanda (prime accused in the BMW hit and run case) wore to the court and R.K.Sharma (main culprit in the journalist Shivani Bhatnagar murder case) does in the jail, makes no point.

Hello! Is anyone interested in such frivolous issues, guess no? Media seems to work for the rich, gets operated by the rich and creates sympathy for the rich. No point talking about degrading standards of the media ethics, where in they repeatedly reported the name of the poor nun, rape victim of the Orrisa violence clashes. Talking, debating, analyzing media might be of some help but actually talking in numbers and cases media standard are going to hell.

One can always revert back to the report published by World Press Freedom Index 2008 of Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) where in India holds the position 118 in the list. The fact that monopolization of media has eaten away the ethics that are taught in the media schools giving way to lot of discrepancies in the practical scenarios.

Somebody please suggest some policy iniative to help these ‘media retail outlets’ to rise above their financial crisis and do some healthy work for the better future of our country.


Priyanka Mittal

The Noida Nightmare

After staying in Noida for a whole month, I vowed never to come back again. At that time, I was interning with a TV channel in sector 63 and stayed close by in a flat with friends and fellow colleagues to make commuting easy. Compared to the hustle bustle of Delhi, Noida seemed like an unorganized, impersonal city with long lonely stretches of road and poor connectivity.

The actual nightmare was the every day commute to work. Though it took only 20 minutes to reach (a marvel by anyone’s standards), those 20 minutes were the worst. From cat calling, haggling with callous auto-wallas to almost being run down by lawless drivers (while crossing roads); it truly was a teeth gritting experience, more so for my Manipuri friend who was constantly bothered with calls like ‘chinese’ and ‘chowmein’.

To go out anywhere on our off days, we walked, changed buses, vikrams, rickshaws and walked again. Moreover, we envied anyone and everyone who owned a set of wheels. In short commuting was a pain.

Four months later, I’m back in Noida, in a different sector with a different firm but the same problem. What’s worse is that this time I have to commute from Delhi and the best and the most economic way to do so is by bus. In these 3 days I have learnt a lot.

There are a lot of blueline buses that go to Noida from ISBT provided you’re ok with literally hanging out of the bus or being cramped in with people who desperately need a shower.

The few Noida Authority buses that run are the most sought after as they take the shortest route possible. However traveling in these is far from comfortable. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat and a partner who ignores you, the one and a half hour ride can even be called pleasant. If not, stand close to a window for fresh air and start elbowing your way to the bus doors a stop early. Ignore offers for modeling, voice modulation etc. In any case, how fantastic can the offer be if it’s coming from someone who travels in a bus?

After all’s said and done, the fact remains that Delhi-Noida and inter Noida connectivity is dreadful. I, for one, am looking forward to the metro which will run from June 2009. Till then, I’ll just have to pluck my courage and carry on or work really hard at my job, get a raise and hopefully, cab service all the way to the office and back!

Maasoom Dhillon

Morals Questionable

Recall when you were a kid in 5th grade. I said about 5th grade because that is the age where one starts understanding things around him. There is a thick line drawn at that time in the MORAL SCIENCE class as to what is good and what is bad. He starts understanding those things and grabs them. Thereafter he starts implementing on it. Yet there is still a major childishness as everything beyond his vision and sight is a fantasy and hence he starts questioning about them.

So if you could recall, the things that were taught to us at that time were help the poor and the needy, do not talk to strangers, wake up early in the morning, respect elders and be truthful and do not steal things and help people whenever they need them.

Now the thing is, are all these morals relevant in today’s time? For reference I would like to recall the latest incidence when the entire Delhi was shook by the serial blasts. The one bomb blast among the many in the capital had one thing in different. N September 28, a nine-year-old boy, was killed on the spot as he innocently picked up a black polythene bag containing a Tiffin box bomb, as it exploded in his face. If he wasn’t taught the moral values of helping people on streets who by chance (read deliberately) dropped a bomb near him.

At the end of the day, it is our honourable ministers asking people to maintain peace and calm in the face of this adversity. The meeting to beef up security system immediately lands on the first seat. But as some time passes, the things seem to be done with a cold shoulder. Why our system can’t stands boldly on the issues like this. Besides what do they think we should teach children as in the moral values? Should we start teaching them what the real world is like? Should we fill them with so many negatives about the world that they make their own life negative? Should we tell them that, ‘sorry kid, learn a different lesson because the moral that you had been taught, no longer survives in the world today’. The morals seem to be a decayed history today as the child had to pay for it by giving away his life.
(Picture courtesy-www.granitegrok.com)

Shikha Garg

How safe is Delhi’s metro?

Picture this. A young woman enters the metro station’s security check point at Kashmere Gate, carrying a rucksack, and is airily waved off by the security guard who, after a quick glance at her, flips a page of her novel. This was months before the September 13 blasts.

After the blasts, security was supposedly strengthened. At the Dilshad garden metro station (post September 13 blasts) a number of security guards stand together while only a few of them search purses and bags. No body search is conducted on women. . Nearly 2 lakh people travel daily by metro and to physically check each one of them is an arduous task.

DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) has now installed X-ray Baggage Inspection Systems at prominent stations including Kashmere Gate. However, the DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said that other Metro stations will also be equipped with similar machines in a phased manner. The public transport system is already under high alert. Why weren’t X-ray scanners installed much earlier and how long will it take for all the metro stations in Delhi to have a foolproof security system?

Sadly, for reasons unknown, the X-ray Baggage Inspection System, at the Kashmere Gate Metro Station remains unused. One can see the presence of sniffer dogs and increased personnel at the stations but the question of safety still remains at large.

Maasoom Dhillon