It is the task of the media to strike a balance between freedom and responsibility. It should try to avoid stereotyping, discrimination and must not scapegoat the voiceless. Most of the people find it difficult to resist the media coverage of terrorist attacks. The way it is shown is horrific. Still, many of us watch saying that we are in need of reports of future attacks and be prepared for that. A few say that they watch these terrific events in order to digest the reality. Though there are umpteen number of reasons, one must accept the sad part that the impact of media on the public is deeper. The more one watches the coverage of the terrorist attacks, the more one feels stressed.
While covering a terrorist event, the journalists must try to identify, what exactly the terrorist wants, what the government wants, and what the media wants and what the people at large, especially the victims of the affected area want. The media has to stay fearless, forthright and frank. Instead of simply reporting the political health of the country alone, it should try to capture the snapshots of the entire society as a whole.
Though much has been talked about the ethics of the media, does the media adhere to it is a mute question craving for a sincere answer. There are several cases, where the media simply acted as a mail carrier (postman) while taking the information to the masses. It immediately jumps to conclusions and presents its own judgements before identifying the authenticity of the facts and figures. Most of the times, it gives much importance to the negative sides of an issue, and fails to project the positive sides. It tends to sensationalise the conflict, instead of sensitising the people to the realistic reasons behind.
The media likes to make more profits and thereby survive in the competitive commercial world.
Time and again, our people have proved effectively that they are made of sterner stuff and they cannot be cowed down by the acts of...