This is an appeal from the heart: Can someone please, please, rein in the TV anchors and their panelists for at least as long as the election campaign lasts?
Now, wouldn’t that be just absolutely wonderful — or ‘loverly’ as Eliza Doolittle sang in My Fair Lady?
It’s all very well for the Election Commission to ban politicians like Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, BJP union minister Maneka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan from the poll campaign for two to three days – no less than they deserve.
But what’s the point of making examples of them for their unparliamentary language and thoroughly disgusting ‘provocative’ remarks – Adityanath referred to a ‘green virus’, Azam Khan indulged in a ‘khaki underwear’ jibe, while Mayawati solicited Muslims votes and Maneka Gandhi threatened Muslim voters – when channels like News 24 and Zee News see glasses and fisticuffs being hurled around along with some choice abuses?
#DNA analysis of Azam Khan's derogatory remark against Jaya Prada@sudhirchaudhary pic.twitter.com/2r46Fyc2HM
— Zee News English (@ZeeNewsEnglish) April 15, 2019
Every evening, someone insults someone else or makes a provocative statement on a news channel, so why punish only the politicians on the stump? And TV news channels do so with complete impunity because they are a law unto themselves.
They are governed by what is delightfully called ‘self-regulation’ – in the name of freedom of expression – which gives them the license to all but kill – yell, shriek, shriek louder, use three, four and five-letter words that are as insulting as they are demeaning and should invite our contempt.
Freedom of expression is sacred but the nightly abuse in TV studios is just crass.
Also read: Rajdeep and Ravish fear for TV debates: ‘Is the day far when there’s a stabbing on air?’
Two examples from this week should suffice to illustrate the point. Politician and on-and-off Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh not only rounded on Azam Khan for his remarks about Jaya Prada, calling him ‘filth’, but proceeded to use filthy language against him and the SP. That will not be repeated here a) because it is filthy and b) because he doesn’t deserve publicity for his objectionable remarks.
He must have burst his spleen venting his ire, Monday, on ABP News, NDTV India, India TV, TV9 Bharatvarsh and other channels.
Arnab Goswami’s language plumbs new depths every evening. On Monday, he decided to hound Congress supporter Rajiv Desai. It is a mystery why he chooses to appear on Republic TV despite being badgered and insulted in every appearance.
On this occasion, Desai asked Goswami to remove the ‘dog whistle’ from his mouth; Goswami told Desai to ‘stop barking’ and made repeated derogatory references to the man’s best friend in his description of Desai. Again, his comments do not bear repeating.
BJP’s Nupur Sharma jumped in to say that Desai was a ‘senile old man’, and all that was comprehensible in the din that followed were words like ‘idiot’, ‘moron’, ‘shut up, shut up’.
Equally putrid exchanges occur on other channels as a regular feature of primetime debates. In fact, they are the main attraction of these shows.
Shouldn’t something be done about them?
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has given another interview, this time to Rajya Sabha TV. So, here’s a curious fact: Modi, who has disdained the media and successfully avoided interviews to the media, barring a few choice interactions during his five-year stint as PM, is now averaging one or two interviews a week – between electronic and print media.
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who begins to make media statements before the TV mikes could even reach him and who holds frequent press conferences, has appeared in not even one mainstream TV news interview this election season.
However, Modi and Rahul Gandhi both feature in their election advertisements, frequently aired across TV channels. Both are catchy – BJP’s rap song ‘Banda apna sahi hai’ faces off against ‘Main hi to Hindustan Hoon’, and votes are equally divided over which one is better. The BJP’s is more commanding, the Congress’s more catchy.
Speaking of advertisements, Times Now anchor Rahul Shivshankar appears in an unusual role to promote a Swachh Neta campaign for ‘clean’ candidates.
Now, if only there was someone who could clean up the language in the TV studios.
Also read: A recent Bisleri ad and Ayodhya TV debates have much in common
Simpler to use the remote.